Churches in Bulawayo heed call to fight drug and substance abuse

Flora Fadzai Sibanda, Chronicle Reporter
CHURCHES in Bulawayo have heeded the President’s call in the fight against drug and substance abuse and yesterday some embarked on a number of activities targeting youths as part of raising awareness and conscientising them on the dangers of abusing drugs.

United Congregational Church of Southern Africa (UCCSA) and the Seventh Day Adventist Church (SDA) yesterday had different activities which were all aimed at fighting against drug and substance abuse.

UCCSA held a march themed “Church fighting against drug and substance abuse” in Luveve suburb and ended the day with different sports activities.

In Makokoba suburb, the SDA Church held a march around the suburb and people were treated to entertainment in the form of music and drama.

Zimbabwe is witnessing a surge in drug and substance abuse and most of the people abusing drugs are youths.

Following President’s appeal for churches to complement Government efforts in the fight against substance abuse among youths, many churches are conducting awareness campaigns.

In Makokoba the SDA youths carrying banners with anti-drug messages marched through the suburb together with other congregants and church leaders

Pastor Mlilo said as a church they felt the need to conduct an awareness campaign targeting youths.

“We are not ending here and we are going to have a youth movement formed which will give youths a chance to work together in tackling the problem of drug and substance abuse. As such we are going to be hosting camp meetings for youths in Makokoba regardless of their affiliation,” he said.

“In these meetings, we are going to be discussing issues around drug and substance abuse and how best they can be tackled. We are also going to support different youth groups so these young people can feel supported and continue doing things which will push them away from drug and substance abuse.”

Ward 7 councillor Shadreck Sibanda said the campaign was meant to help educate youths on the dangers associated with drug and substance abuse.

He said as a community they have been doing parallel campaigns with schools.

In Luveve the UCCSA congregants marched from Maplanka Business Centre to Amakhosi Grounds in Gwabalanda with youths and pastors carrying banners and singing songs denouncing drug and substance abuse.

After the march different teams from Gwabalanda and Luveve came together and held football and netball tournaments.

Organisations like Nedbank, Holiday Inn, and the National Aids Council were present.

The church’s Zimbabwe synod secretary Rev Sikhalo Cele said the country is losing a lot of youths to drugs and substance abuse.

He said they are doing a series of outreach programmes which they started a few months ago and visiting different suburbs to encourage people to join in the fight against drug and substance abuse.

“Since we are trying to raise awareness against drug and substance abuse in the community, we want to get everyone involved.

After conducting our marches we go on and have sporting activities which are meant to give youth something to do,” said Rev Cele.