Learners get education on the consequences of drugs
The drug awareness campaign was organised by the Twin Plugs Entertainment in partnership with the Tsakane Youth Development Programme and other non profit organisations fighting against the use of drugs and alcohol abuse.
Learners at Tsakane Secondary School received education and were told about the consequences of using drugs last Wednesday.
After visiting many secondary schools in Tsakane, the Twin Plugs decided to educate the learners at Tsakane Secondary School with the aim of engaging learners in an attempt to find a solution to drugs and alcohol abuse challenges faced by the youth.
According to Siboniso Sibiya, Twin Plugs chairman, after realising that most of the drugs and alcohol abuse victims are young people who started taking drugs while they were still in high school, the organisation wants to hear from the high school learners about the factors that push them to using drugs.
Aaron Kunene, a recovering drug addict and also the chairman for Loyalty, Obedience, Respect and Discipline (Lord) organisation motivated the learners.
Kunene who has been clean from drugs for two years, explained that he gained nothing from using drugs and that his addiction drove the most important people in his life away from him.
He said while he was using drugs no-one took him seriously and his life was controlled by drugs.
“I used to wake up in the middle of the night to take drugs so as to feed my addiction,” he said.
Kunene advised the learners who have started taking drugs to stop and encouraged those who have not yet been involved to stay away.
“The drugs’ journey leads to the death of dreams and contributes towards the increase of crime in our communities,” said Kunene.
Grade 11 learner, Katleho Tsotetsi said learners need drugs abuse education.
“We think that we know everything about drugs, but the truth is that we need our elders to educate us about the consequences of taking drugs,” said Katleho.
Thulani Hlatshwayo, a Grade 10 learner, said the lack of knowledge about drugs is what he believes drives more learners to using drugs and leads to others dropping out of school.
“The peer pressure and a hunger to have a sense of belonging are some of the contributing factors to the high number of learners using drugs,” Thulani explained.
He also suggested that the organisations fighting against drug use must not only focus on drug addicts but also educate the young children to grow up with the mentality that using drugs does not mean being smarter than your peers.
