Seminar on drug abuse and prevention in Tanzania

The Maendeleo Youth Centre in Kigoma, Tanzania, held a seminar on drug abuse and prevention from 9 January till 12 January 2016. The main goal of the seminar was to create awareness on drug abuse and the consequences of drugs. It was presented to the youth, by the youth.

Drug abuse is a big problem for the young generation in Tanzania. It is a huge challenge for the local population and the government. To deal with this problem, some co-workers of the Maendeleo Youth Centre gave a seminar to more than 100 youngsters. They trained them some skills and strategies on how to be able to avoid the use of drugs and how to sensitize fellow youngsters concerning the use of drugs and its bad consequences. The purpose is that these 100 trained youngsters spread in their turn the same skills to 1,000 other youngsters within one year. These 1,000 youngsters live in six districts in the Kigoma Region (Kigoma Town, Kasulu, Buhigwe, Kibondo, Kankoko and Uvinza) and belong to forgotten and deprived communities in that region.

The Maendeleo Youth Centre is a small-scale, accessible initiative that offers activities and care to vulnerable children and adolescents from the surrounding area: street children, refugees, drug addicts traumatised children, mentally disabled children, etc. Everybody in the centre lives together in a community. The youth are treated as individuals and are encouraged to develop a sense of responsibility for themselves as citizens of their local community. Emphasis is placed on highlighting abilities and contributing to the social aspect of life: including commitment to education, development, culture and sports.

More info about the Maendeleo Youth Centre: http://www.fracarita-international.org/#!maendeleo-youth-centre/rwh3g

Click here to find out more about the seminar.