Haramaya University fights addiction

Haramaya University Women, Children and Youth Affairs Directorate trained 40 youths at Bate kebele from February 1-2, 2022 to raise their awareness about substances/Drugs abuse.

Nowadays Drug abuse is one of the gravest social harms. Recent years have experienced a drastic rise in drug abuse among youths. Thus, the need for special attention to the issue is deemed to be important. Therefore, the main objective of the training is to raise youths’ awareness about the issues of substance abuse, the nature and severity of drugs as well; the training is ultimately thought to reduce drug abuse related problems such as crimes and control drug trafficking by coordinating and organizing the youths in the town, said Ato Alebachew Kassa, a coordinator of the training and an Expert for Women, Children and Youth Affairs Directorate at the training.

Having thanked Haramaya University for its overall efforts, Nasir Jemal & Jafer Ahmed, who are among the participants, said, narrating their life experiences as an example to the participants, that the training is crucial as it raised their awareness about substance abuse and it helps to eradicate the wide spread of different kinds of addictions in the community.

On the closing ceremony, W/ro Kedija Abdulkadir, Haramaya University Women, Children and Youth Affairs Directorate Director, said that drug addiction brings multidimensional risks on individuals, societies, and countries at large by jeopardizing the countries socio-economic stabilities. Despite this, the number of people exposed to addiction in our country is increasing at this time, especially youths, so it is found important to train the current youths to save them from such destructive addictions, recommended W/ro Kedija, promising that the university will support those who translate their knowledge they gained from the training into practice and try their best to get out of substances addiction and educate others not to be addicted. However, an addicted person cannot save others from addictions as him/herself is being burnt in the fire of addiction, W/ro Kedija noted at their closing speech.

The trainees, in their part, said that the youths are exposed to various addictions, but it is possible to tackle their inclination to addiction by facilitating youth recreation center and sport filed or gym in the town.

Source: HARAMAYA University