Moses Ndou
Of late there has been a lot of sad stories about young people in the media.
Some are admitted in hospitals, others have died.
All this being caused by drug abuse.
It is no secret that there is a disease far much lethal that will explode.
Drug and alcohol abuse by young people will destroy a generation.
We seek solutions to end the scourge now.
The earlier we nip the problem in the bud, the better for our country.
Instances of young people engaging in drugs as a way to pass time must not be ignored.
The adage, an idle mind is the devil’s workshop sums it up.
An observation around Bulawayo shows a similar trend endemic among drug users.
They spend the whole day doing nothing but “chill”.
They go numb, in what they say is “ukustikha”.
They loathe bathing, put on heavy clothing in the hottest summer.
If not sleeping, they sit on the trenches.
So what can we do about that?
I suggest we keep them busy.
Introduce the youngsters to gardening and all those small but necessary chores at home.
Small starts bring change.
Youths have nothing to do other than spend most of their time being home.
They are not inspired.
Now that sporting activities have been allowed to resume in schools, teachers have an obligation to make partaking in sport compulsory.
It’s not harsh, but a necessary measure.
Keep them doing something to kill off free time.
Anything that bring progress.
Youths in some instances have faced different types of abuse, some which lead them to end up taking some drugs.
Let us sit down in meetings with them and we talk.
Elders must not assume and think the problem is far.
It is with us.
We need to keep talking.
There are other situations driven by sexual abuse by family members.
We have seen that such stories are shared at school with classmates and teachers as their role models but some have no one to share with which results in them opting for drugs in order to relieve the pain and stress.
Let’s keep them busy.
Moses Ndou, is a young anti-drug abuse advocate based in Bulawayo.