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The
Drug Wise Counsellor Campaign
Saalihah
Seedat
June 04, 2002
Southern Africa carries a quarter of the world drug trade. In Zimbabwe
today, there is an ever-increasing need to deal with pressures,
fears, insecurities and uncertainties brought about by socio-economic
and
political change. Young and old alike therefore seek escape and
it is not surprising that moodchanging drugs are becoming popular.
Many in our society find the pressures they face simply too much
and they see no future. Moreover, conditions such as family breakdown,
a breakdown in legal structures, unemployment and economic deprivation
all increase the possibility of drug abuse and our society is simply
not set to handle the growing drug problem.
The DRUG WISE COUNSELLOR campaign is a South African initiative
and was launched in SA in 1992. The mission statement of Drug Wise
is:
TO ENCOURAGE
PHARMACISTS TO BRING TO THE WIDEST SPECTRUM OF THE PUBLIC, THE
DANGERS OF SUBSTANCE ABUSE, AND TO ADVISE, PARTICIPATE AND BE SUPPORTIVE
IN
REMEDIAL ACTION.
The purpose
of the Drug Wise Counsellor campaign is to disseminate as much info
as possible to the youth. Drug Wise believes that by empowering
the youth with life skills and knowledge about the causes and effects
of drugging, teenagers will be in a position to make an informed
decision.
26 June 2002 (WED) is International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit
Trafficking. I have arranged for volunteers to hand out yellow ribbons
(signifying the day) and for petitions against drug abuse to be
signed. Volunteers will be at the following shopping centres from
11am-2pm on the
Wednesday:
* Avondale - outside Bon Marche
* Borrowdale - Sam Levy's Village
* Newlands Shopping Centre - outside TM
* Marimba Shopping Centre - outside SPAR
* Arundel Village Shopping Centre - outside SPAR
On 22 June 2002 (SAT) at Ridgeview Primary School Hall from 2:30pm-3:30pm,
I will be giving a talk on Drug and Substance Abuse. However, this
talk is restricted to FEMALES ONLY as the afternoon's programme
has been arranged by the Muslim Womans' Group of Harare. If there
are any female pharmacists who wish to attend, please contact me
for the necessary tickets, directions, etc.
Depending on the response and success of the 22 and 26 June, I will
be drafting a proposal to the Head of Drug Wise Pharmacists in Gauteng,
South Africa - MR BOBBY HAMMAN. Hopefully then they will use this
as motivation to come and train our Zimbabwean pharmacists as Drug
Wise Counsellors in the
near future.
If there are any queries, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Saalihah Seedat
B.Pharm(RHODES)
Drug Wise Counsellor (SA)
cell:091-902415
home:775470
email: salseedat@hotmail.com
Drug Wise web
site: www.drugwise.co.za
Please credit www.kubatana.net if you make use of material from this website.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License unless stated otherwise.
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