Director of SANCA Western Cape, Dr. David Fourie,
Principals,
And learners.
Today we celebrate as each of you have come full circle and can now graduate as fully fledged South African National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence (SANCA) peer counsellors. The last time you were addressed by National Youth Development Agency (NYDA) representative, it was at the launch of the NYDA and Sanca Drug Rehabilitation and Awareness Project.
I would like to take this opportunity today to acknowledge the great service each of you as peer councillors are offering your communities.
Substance abuse continues to ravage our families, communities and schools with young people the worst affected. In fact, according to the 2nd Biannual Anti-Substance Abuse Summit Report 58% of all substance abusers are youth!
For us as the NYDA and as a nation this problem is catastrophic! We cannot address this problem without the involvement of young people, if the youth of South Africa do not take up the fight against substance abuse then we have already lost the battle.
The national government of South Africa considers substance abuse a national crisis so much so that the Youth Day commemoration on June 16th hosted in Newcastle, KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) was themed, Working Together for Youth Development and a Drug Free South Africa. For all the young people who are determined to overcome these hardships we will support you as far as we can.
As the NYDA we are intensifying our fight against alcohol and substance abuse and this is but one of our programmes aimed at curbing alcohol and drug abuse. We need to run more programmes such as this one so that we can educate more and more young people about the dangers of experimenting with alcohol and drugs.
Each of you are drug free ambassadors, Sanca ambassadors and NYDA ambassadors. Remember that other young people might not be prepared to listen to what you have to say but through your volunteerism and community service, they will be inspired to want a better life. You are the inspiration and hope for other young people.
Today, each of you as peer councillors represent a beacon of hope for other young people in your communities because you are now officially peer councillors and you are taking a stand. You are taking a stand and saying that you are too valuable to allow substance abuse to taint your future, you are too valued a community member to allow drugs to continue ravaging your communities.
As peer councillors, each of you are living ambassadors of the NYDA’s National Youth Service programme and therefor part of a global network of volunteers who give of themselves and their time to improve their communities.
As the NYDA it is our role to serve and support as many young people as possible through our programmes and services. The NYDA might not be able to offer each and every one of you a scholarship or business funding but play your part in ensuring that you excel in your studies and perhaps you will qualify as a recipient of the NYDA’s recently launched Solomon Mahlangu Scholarship Fund.
The Fund is aimed at promoting academic excellence, as all young people should strive to be educated and skilled in order to take up the multitude of opportunities created by government.
When the NYDA embarked on this substance abuse campaign, it was in response to media reports, government and schools statistics indicating the escalating level of substance abuse and as the responsible party for all issues affecting youth we were obligated to take a stance against this scourge.
We went in search of a partner or service provider that has existing experience with substance abuse and a partner with a substantial footprint particularly in the Western and Northern Cape where the programme will be implemented. The South African National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence (Sanca) was identified and we at the NYDA could not be more confident with our decision to partner with SANCA. We hope that this is only the beginning of a fruitful and erstwhile partnership.
We expect each of you as peer counsellors to reach approximately six learners with substance abuse problems every six months and refer them to the nearest SANCA branch for follow-up assessments and treatment. But this is not the defining goal, each of you as peer counsellors should set your goals to exceed this amount by double if not triple.
Remember it is easier for you to relate to your peers at school and young people from your communities than anyone else as you have direct experience with the issues affecting youth and the daily challenges faced by young people in your home towns.
So go out there into your communities and be the living, breathing examples and role models that our youth need.
Let us take responsibility for our country and our future.
I thank you!
