Volunteers gain tools to fight epidemic drug addiction among Tschwane township youth  

A training session held at the Church of Scientology Pretoria August 5 introduced community leaders, nongovernmental organizations and other concerned individuals to the Truth About Drugs educational program.

The Tshwane townships of Mamelodi and Shoshanguve are plagued by nyaope, a mixture of low grade heroin, marijuana, cleaning detergents, rat poison and chlorine. The drug of choice among township youth, the highly addictive nyaope costs users about $2 per hit.

The volunteers were walked through the basic curriculum of The Truth About Drugs, a drug education initiative of the Foundation for a Drug-Free World.

The Truth About Drugs materials and lesson plans make it very simple for anyone to reach out to youth with factual information about what drugs are and what they do.

The educator package includes lesson plans, booklets, public service announcements, a feature-length documentary, posters, and recommended activities to help youth resist peer pressure to experiment with drugs.

Those attending were invited to sign the Foundation’s drug-free pledge, another tool volunteers use to help youth commit to living drug-free.

The Church of Scientology and its members support the Foundation for a Drug-Free World, one of the world’s largest nongovernmental drug education and prevention campaigns.

It has been conclusively proven that when young people are provided with the truth about drugs—factual information on what drugs are and what they do—usage rates drop commensurately.