REFLECTIONS OF SAAM 2022

The BOSASNET substance abuse awareness month (SAAM) celebrated in the month of August is slowly coming to an end.

This year, SAAM was commemorated under the theme ‘Women and Substance Use #Shadesofpink’. This theme aimed to educate Botswana on the issues and challenges faced by women who use substances. Several activities were held to drive the SAAM 2022 message, which were the; Wall of Hope, Virtual Flash Mob and Share My Share.

The Virtual Flash Mob is an activity that was used to create awareness and hype up the overall SAAM 2022 theme of #Shadesofpink. Volunteers were approached to dance to the beat of a popular song called ‘We Run the World’ by an American artist. A choreography was set up and individuals had to record themselves dancing on and use the #Shadesofpink as part of their caption. This activity was done with the hope of starting a trend on social media. However, this activity faced a few challenges which made it difficult to make #Shadesofpink trend. One main challenge was lack of incentives that were likely to motivate volunteers to make Tiktok videos thus starting a trend.

One activity that touched many hearts was the Share My Share activity. In this activity, two women who had gone through challenges of substance use shared their story of how they were able to get where they are today. This highlighted even further the challenges, stigma and heartaches women go through when using substances. With the permission of these women, their stories were shared on the BOSASNET social media pages with the hope of other women going through substance use challenges to realise that speaking up and seeking help is vital, and that they are not alone in what might feel like the world has crushed on their shoulders.

One other that was always in the background throughout the month of SAAM (August) was media. The BOSASNET team made it a point to be on different media platforms such as radio, TV and print media to raise awareness on the SAAM theme while also educating the public on women and substance use.

The activity that acted as the main event for SAAM 2022 was the Wall of Hope. The Wall of Hope is a big canvas that was placed in malls in Gaborone and surrounding areas specifically; Airport Junction, Game City, Main Mall and bus rank. The Wall of Hope was placed there one day a week over the period of one (1) month and individuals, particularly women and girls, were asked to write on the Wall of Hope hurtful words, labels and negative statements that they have been subjected to by virtue of being a female. Moreso, they were also asked to write the positive they hope for in women who are in the midst of those challenges. This was be done throughout the month of August. The Wall of Hope was a true reflection of the stigma that exists around women who use substances. This is because when the women were approached to express the positive and negative words attached to women who use substances, they were unwilling, extremely uncomfortable and shy to participate. This showed that there was stigma in just the thought of putting oneself in the shoes of women who use substances. However, one thing that we noticed was that older women above thirty years old expressed more discomfort as compared to the youth below thirty years old. This observation speaks a lot to the stigma associated with women, particularly those who have transitioned to adulthood and motherhood.

All in all, SAAM 2022 campaign was the starting point of breaking the stigma and getting women to be more comfortable to seek help and simply speak up on the challenges they face. It is for us as prominent members of the public to do our due diligence and advocate, assist and break the stigma.

BOSASNET offers counselling services to people experiencing problems with substance use, depression, anxiety, stress, anger management and adjustment issues. If you think that you might have a problem mentioned above, or if you have a friend or family member who does, we encourage you to seek help. For some, it can mean the difference between life and death. You can find BOSASNET on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Tiktok or call us on 3959119 or 72659891 for more information.