How
did Daryn Jones, our social worker, get 15 of our learners to volunteer to be
trained by SANCA as peer counselors at School of Hope?
 |
| Photo by Masixole Feni |
“In
April the School of Hope had a focus week: Drug
Education and Awareness. A survey that was conducted at the School of Hope revealed
that the majority of students have witnessed adult family members using drugs in
front of them. Those learners who have tried using drugs or are still currently
using drugs, did so for the first time before they were 15 years old. The most
common drugs identified in the survey were Methamphetamine (Tik), Heroine
(Unga) and Marijuana (Dagga).
Adolescence
is a significant period where there is rapid development between childhood and
adulthood, involving complex cognitive development. The prefrontal cortex is
mainly responsible for this development. It allows a teenager to be able to
start thinking in more of an abstract manner, using a wider perspective of
understanding and reasoning. The thoughts, ideas and concepts developed during
this period greatly influence the type of adult the adolescent will become. A
study conducted in 2012 by the University of Cape Town and the University of
Stellenbosch in South Africa titled ‘Brain imaging
illuminates the impact of addictive drugs on the brain’, found that Heroin, Tik and alcohol are all responsible
for the reduction of cell development in the prefrontal cortex. This means that
drugs can damage or impair the part of the brain responsible for social and
moral functioning of an individual.
In
order to educate and create awareness about the impact of drugs and alcohol the
school hosted two guest speakers who are recovering addicts to share their life
story with the students. The students hung on their every word, often relating
many of the life events and situations that were shared back into their own
lives in the Cape Flats community.
Then
SANCA (South African National Council on Alcoholism & Drug Dependence) came
to the school and educated the students about the physical and psychological
effects of using drugs and spoke about how using Tik has been a variable linked
directly to the increase of contracting HIV due to the physiological effects
the drug has on a person.
Drug
Education Week ended with 15 of our students volunteering to be trained by
SANCA as peer counselors in their school. This means they will be able to pick
up the signs and symptoms of their peers who may be using or abusing drugs.
They will be able to do informal counseling and know how to communicate drug
information to their peers as well as how they can go about accessing the
relevant treatment.
School
of Hope will also be having NA (Narcotics Anonymous) meetings once a week where
students who are affected by drugs can share anonymously in a group and receive
support and counseling related directly to the various affects drugs can have
on an individual, a family and a community.”
(Daryn Jones)
