Teenage substance abuse and a high number of high school dropouts
Rethabile Tshabalala
In Kroondal Ikemeleng, one of the biggest challenges we face is narcotic abuse. Underage smoking and alcohol consumption are rife, and it is an arising matter that must be dealt with. A high number of teenagers are dropping out of school, and it has become a norm, so much so that more than 30-40% of our youth dropped out of school. Most of them don’t have a choice due to personal circumstances such as lack of proper documentation.
Some are from families that are not doing well financially, and other kids look down on them just because of their poor background. That to me is the greatest injustice of all, because most of these kids end up turning to drugs and narcotics as a way for them to evade their problems. That leads to addiction to the point where some of them stop going to school because their friends don’t go to school as a matter of distress.
We are losing valuable members of society; our environment will never develop if our youth is not properly cultivated. They will fall into a pit of debt and generational hunger. This matter can be approached in a lot of manners, but one of the best would be creating an educational environment. An environment where kids can not only be taught but motivated to strive for more, to want more in their lives, and not look at their background as disadvantaged. I believe that all people are equal and if our youth could be taught that, it would change a lot of the outcomes that we see and have. Another way is to approach the local mines around our area to donate to poor kids.
They can identify children from struggling families and assist them with schooling uniforms or provide every child with a school uniform to preserve other’s dignity. I believe that if we can interact with the youth and create community programs, where youth can properly utilize their time and minds in more creative and innovative ways. If we create a more conducive environment for the youth, then hopefully our community has a chance of developing into more than what it is now
#InvestInTheYouth
