First Lady engages thousands of learners on drug, substance abuse
THOUSANDS of learners converged at Alan Wilson High School in Harare yesterday where health ambassador, First Lady Dr Auxillia Mnangagwa, was guest of honour in recognition of her efforts in the fight against drug and substance abuse that is rearing an ugly head in communities, robbing children of their future.
Drug abuse has often led to sickness, injuries and death, while in some circumstances it has triggered crime.
Adding colour to the event was radio and television personality, Oscar Pambuka, who was invited by the First Lady and singer Pauline Gundidza, as well as other drug survivors who chronicled their journeys, giving children insights into the effects of drug abuse.
The First Lady has been leading from the front in the fight against drug abuse through sport, awareness campaigns and recently opened a skills development centre for drug addicts and survivors in Mbare, Harare.
She has traversed the length and breadth of the country, warning children and communities on the dangers of drug and substance abuse as well as encouraging people to venture into income generating projects to kill idle time.
In her remarks yesterday during the drug and substance cycling awareness programme, Dr Mnangagwa said she felt honoured to be part of the event and encouraged learners to put into practice all they were being taught to stay away from drugs.
The event was organised by Deputy Minister of Industry and Commerce, Rajeshkumar Modi and cyclists from Bulawayo.
“Ladies and gentlemen, it is with great pleasure that I stand before you here today following an invitation from Honourable Modi and would also like to congratulate our cyclists who have managed to cycle this far in pursuit of this noble campaign against drug and substance abuse within a short period of time. The anti-drug campaign is an ongoing initiative formulated by the Government of the Republic of Zimbabwe under His Excellency Dr ED Mnangagwa with the rationale being our fight against drug and substance abuse scourge as a nation which has culminated into a pandemic ravaging our youths and crippling their futures.
“To complement these efforts, through my office and Angel of Hope Foundation, I launched a skills training, rehabilitation and reintegration initiative in Mbare with the launch of the First Lady’s Skills Development Centre for children working and living in the streets. Deputy Minister Modi thank you very much for this initiative and that you have encouraged and we have seen and witnessed today the cycling of our children from Bulawayo to Harare, thank you very much. It is our responsibility as elders from authoritative positions cascading down to household level which is the root point in order to shape our children,” she said.
There was need, said Dr Mnangagwa,
to instil values of discipline, ethics and good morals in order to preserve the youth from an entire sweep caused by addiction.
“In our context as Zimbabwe, our last census that was conducted in 2022 revealed that the youths form 67 percent of our entire population. It is therefore imperative for us to safeguard our majority demography through initiatives such as these ones.
“To all the youths gathered here today, I would like to say that we all want you to grow up to responsible adults and contributors to societal development for the good of our country. All this cannot be achieved once one turns to illicit drugs as these not only incapacitate but cause varying risks to your health both psychologically and physically on both short and long term basis,” she said.
The First Lady chronicled to the gathering the effects of drug and substance abuse.
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