DEC educates on importance of family role in anti-drug campaign

AS the Drug Enforcement Commission (DEC) battles drug and substance abuse among the youth, a healthy family environment has been identified as an important tool in deterring adolescents from going astray.

It has been proven that homes in which children are adequately parented can play a big role in dissuading youths from falling prey to social vices.

According to the DEC, Southern Province is among the regions that are affected by high levels of drug and alcohol abuse among adolescents.

For this reason, the DEC in Livingstone has embarked on an exercise to sensitise parents on good parenting skills in an effort to stop drug and substance abuse among youths through improved and strengthened family ties.

Twenty-seven parents and guardians from Maramba township, whose Malota and Zecco compounds are notorious for drug and substance abuse, were recently trained under this programme.

Charles Makumeli, a father of four, who is also keeping five grandchildren, is one of those people that underwent training.

Mr Makumeli is happy to have been selected for the training because he believes it will benefit him and children under his care.

“Malota is a very notorious place and learning these parenting skills will most definitely help me raise my children in a very good way,” he says.

Speaking at the launch of the Second Family and Parenting Skills Training at Shungu Primary and Secondary School in Maramba township here recently, DEC Southern Province regional commander Elizabeth Mumba said improving parent and child relations is a major goal of any drug abuse prevention and intervention programme.

Ms Mumba said the family environment influences every aspect of a child's life. "Abuse of alcohol and other drugs have continued to be a threat to our nation which if left unchecked can cause serious health, social and economic problems," she said.

Youths as well as adults in Zambia are vulnerable to unhealthy behaviours which include alcohol and drug abuse. These vices thrive on easy access to the substances, idleness due to poor opportunities for education, poverty, a violent environment and having the financial clout to afford the substances, some of which are costly.

“Family attachment, supervision, and family norms are strategies and pathways that protect children and youth from drug use,” said Ms Mumba.

She added: “Because the family environment influences every aspect of a child’s life, improving parent-child relations should be a major way of any prevention and intervention programme, hence this training.”

The first ‘Family and Parenting Skills Training’ programme in the district was launched at Dambwa United Church of Zambia (UCZ) where 20 parents were trained.

Under the programme, parents and guardians are taught better ways of communicating with their children in order to prevent alcohol and drug abuse.

Ms Mumba interacting with the participants.

"We expect children to be free with their parents in communicating issues that may be affecting them and possibly lead to the abuse of alcohol and other drugs," she said.

Acting DEC Livingstone officer in charge Tasila Makala said the eight week training programme will also help parents and guardians in identifying common behaviours in children involved in substance abuse.

"It will also give the parents the skills needed to deal with the said behaviours. We are hopeful that it will yield the intended results," she said.

In June last year, the DEC conducted a raid dubbed ‘Chalo Bantu’ in Malota and arrested over 100 people for drug-related offences.

Out of those arrested, it was later discovered that three were former pupils of Shungu Primary and Secondary school.

It is for this reason that school head teacher Orgency Malumbe is happy with the training programme.

He feels it will help keep his 1, 115 pupils in school.

“We are located in the heart of Maramba which is notorious for drug and alcohol abuse, so for us, this is a good initiative because it will benefit us in the end and help keep the children in school," Mr Malumbe said.

He said the school administration has been engaging the DEC, especially on open days to talk to the pupils and sensitise them on the dangers of alcohol and drug abuse.

“We have seen and felt it today that the DEC is not just about arresting and prosecuting, but also educating (people). This is very much encouraged and we are happy to have been chosen and included in the programme,” he said.

Other parents that are among the 27 undergoing training and are all optimistic that the training will bear fruit include Konda Nkhoma, Susan Sibajene, Elizabeth Mwandwe, Celestina Phiri, Susan Chewe and Albertina Haloba.

Precious Ngwira who is in charge of education and counselling at the DEC in Livingstone says the commission is looking forward to training as many parents and guardians as possible in the tourist capital.

“Many young lives have already been lost due to substance abuse. It is therefore important that we do something about it to avoid any more loss of life to something that can be totally avoided. It is my prayer that the parents and guardians take this training seriously,” she said.

With adequate training of parents in parenting skills, the DEC expects that this will improve communication between children and their parents or guardians. Open communication should culminate into the youth having open discussions with their parents on matters affecting them so that they do not fall prey to such social vices as drug and alcohol abuse.