Spread the love, not drugs

Hundreds of Alex’s schoolchildren returned home for the weekend wiser after an unforgettable Friday’s celebration of Valentine’s Day.

Hosted by non-profit organisation South African National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence (Sanca) and other partners at Altrec Sports Complex, they learnt more about this day of love which couples and humanity in general should exude. The children of MC Weiler and Skeen Primary, and East Bank and KwaBhekilanga Secondary schools were educated and advised on the virtues of love as part of Sanca’s drug awareness campaign. This was reinforced by messages on T-shirts such as ‘Drugs are not my Valentine’ and ‘My Valentine is drug free’.

Leah Mokhele of Sanca which is based in 8th Avenue, said it was in the interest of society to save children from drugs and other substance abuse through acts of love. “It starts with you acknowledging the problem and helping the children to know that the month of love starts with them, knowing what love is, loving oneself and internalising positive values,” she said.

“Boys in particular should know that loving a girl should be displayed through genuine acts of affection and not to spike their drinks in a blind date in order to abuse her.” She advised girls that expensive gifts from blessers were not a sign of love but to soften them for abuse. “You must, in the month of love, aspire to be supported with life skills, positive values, knowledge of clean health and hygiene and on how to handle life-threatening challenges.”

She urged society to use the month of love as a platform for awareness on the importance of protecting children from any form of abuse. “It will prevent them from experimenting in drugs from as young as nine years of age. Some of them drink a concoction of cough mixture and coke to get a high but end up drunk and dabbling in alcohol. This becomes a habit in the long run if it is not addressed in the home,” she said referring to about 50 children who seek help at the organisation monthly for various forms of addiction.

Mokhele decried the fact that most of the children were referred by schools and not families. “They [parents] should know better as they are with the children most of the time.”

She urged parents who were in denial after being told by social workers that their children were showing signs of substance abuse to heed the advice before it was too late. “Some of them don’t come when called to discuss their children, claiming to be busy at work or that they do not have the R150 fee required for multiple drug tests.”

Mokhele said Sanca’s interventions included individual or group behaviour modification and five months of aftercare support to prevent relapses. She pleaded with local leaders to help establish a care facility to ensure that all the holistic services were available locally. In the interim, she urged those who have been weaned from drugs to avoid relapses by spending more time in libraries to further their education and explore their sporting talents and other gainful ventures.

Also, she urged the leaders and law enforcement to ensure taverns complied with bylaws and desist from serving children, and urged residents, in general, to avoid drinking in public which encouraged children to emulate them.

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