Life has enough challenges for youth without adding drug abuse to the mix, say the volunteers of Giselle Foundation. 

Giselle Foundation is a Kenyan nonprofit dedicated to providing “life-changing interventions aimed at improving wellness of disadvantaged persons in the society.…” High on the list of priorities of founder Barry Paul is drug prevention. He adopted the Truth About Drugs campaign of Foundation for a Drug-Free World to accomplish this goal. And his team of drug prevention volunteers share his passion. 

“So many families have been destroyed by drugs,” says Paul, who is featured in an episode of the Voices for Humanity series on the Scientology Network. His motivation is to create an environment where children grow up with vision, in a vibrant, healthy and productive society, free from drugs.

Working at the grassroots level, Giselle volunteers have observed unforeseen consequences of the government’s indefinite nationwide closure of bars to contain the spread of COVID-19. It appears that the heightened sense of isolation has resulted in more and more abusing alcohol and drugs at home.

“The pandemic has made people isolate themselves,” says a volunteer on the group’s Facebook page. “They are abusing drugs to escape the reality of their situation right now..…Alcohol consumption has gone so high because of the stress levels and anxiety levels that have been brought about by the pandemic.” 

That’s why the Truth About Drugs team continues to reach out to people. One recent afternoon they handed out 4,000 copies of the Truth About Drugs booklets, answering questions and pressing home the importance of understanding what drugs are and what they do. 

“We all need better knowledge,” says another volunteer. “So we are reaching out to people in the streets. We are giving them booklets..…The responsibility starts with me and you. We believe that through knowledge, by giving people these booklets and talking to them—by giving people true information—we are able to change them, we are able to change their perception.”

“The world drug problem has been plagued by misinformation of many kinds,” reads a post on their Facebook page. They have taken this on through “one-on-one sharing the truth about drugs…giving out Truth About Drugs booklets and sharing their content for better understanding.”

Foundation for a Drug-Free World is a volunteer-based organization. Free online drug education courses are available on the Foundation’s website at drugfreeworld.org/course. There are hundreds of Drug-Free World groups internationally with many of them hosted by Churches of Scientology.

The Church is the main sponsor of the program, enabling the Foundation to provide this secular program and materials free of charge to parents, community leaders and drug educators worldwide.

The Voices for Humanity episode on Barry Paul and the Giselle Foundation is available on the Scientology Network on DIRECTV 320 or online at Scientology.tv.