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Reverend Odwa Buso, public relations officer of Kairos Assembly, confirmed that as church members they are playing a major role in ensuring youth stay away from alcohol and drug abuse.
He said that they are doing this by hosting sports tournaments.
Buso said this during an Anti-Pens Down Campaign hosted by the Eastern Cape Liquor Board (ECLB) at Southernwood Hall in Mthatha, last week.
He said that they had hosted these tournaments working together with ECLB, with the aim of creating something that will shift the minds of the youth from alcohol and focus on something else.
“We are also trying that on Sundays, they must also attend church services, but unfortunately they have to attend their weekend classes at school. They also come back from school very late, but we are trying our level best to talk to them. We are always encouraging them to stop drinking alcohol because they are destroying their future,” said Buso.
Spokesperson for the Eastern Cape Liquor Board, Mgwebi Msiya, said that ever since they started these campaigns before the Enyobeni incident which left 21 young people dead, they had seen few changes, but that does not mean the problem of underage drinking is sorted.
Msiya confirmed that also launching the Ambassador programme had assisted a lot, because it also created more change. According to him, these ambassadors are some of the learners attending schools in Mthatha. He said there are 10 schools participating in this programme.
He confirmed that they will not win this battle alone, which is why they are working together with churches and parents.
Msiya said that parents should play a major role to solve this problem, because they are the ones who live with their children.
“We are having a challenge of youth who become parents at an early age, who are still living their own life and not acting as parents in front of their children. We are saying when you are raising a child let us be an example to our children. Nowadays it is easy to get alcohol; that is why it is important for us as parents to ensure that we are not doing any how in front of them.”
