Cyclists tackle drug and substance abuse

Story by Yolanda Moyo

THE fight against drug and substance abuse has been taken to another level after a team of cyclists embarked on an awareness campaign from Bulawayo to Harare targeting school children and college students. The campaign was led by the Deputy Minister of Industry and Commerce, Honourable Raj Modi.

Dubbed “Together we can win this war,” the campaign launched this Monday features a dedicated team of cyclists from Bulawayo who are using their passion for the sport to raise awareness on the dangers of drug and substance abuse targeting school children, college and university students.

“Our youth are the future of this nation, we cannot afford to have them crippled by the scourge of drugs and substance abuse. This campaign is a call to action, urging your people to embrace healthy living and rejecting the destructive path of substance abuse. We want to raise the impact of drug and substance abuse from school children to university students,” said the Minister.

The Cyclists are driven by the desire to make a difference in society.

“We are not just riding our bikes like we always do, we are carrying a message of hope and empowerment. We want to show young people that they have the strength to choose and healthy and productive path. I chose to be part of the change makers in my country and raise awareness against the drug and substance abuse issues,” said one of the cyclists, Meli Ncube.

A rehabilitation centre is also on the cards in Bulawayo, with a view to providing crucial support to individuals struggling with addiction.

“The provincial inter-ministerial committee has been working flat out on designing interventions that relate to curbing the drug and substance abuse menace. One of the things that we are doing is that we have recommended the creation of a halfway house, and we have one at Robert Tredgold building. Secondly, we have obtained land in Cowdry Park where we are planning to build another rehabilitation centre. We have also ripped in churches in the fight against drug and substance abuse and capacitated our major hospitals to be able to tackle these cases from the main hospital,” said the Permanent Secretary for Bulawayo Provincial Affairs and Devolution, Paul Nyoni.

Government has approved the Principles for the enactment of the Zimbabwe Drug and Substance Agency Bill that will pave way for the establishment of an additional security service and specialised National Drug Agency.