Vukha Skhokho: The Jermaine Lungile Schmidt Rehabilitation Programme

We are about saying Yes! Yes, to living large. Yes, to realising dreams. Yes, to becoming the best you. We at Vuka Skhokho: The Jermaine Lungile Schmidt Rehabilitation Programme know that prevention is better than the cure. Knowledge is power and the fight against drugs amongst the youth in our local communities is one that can be pre-empted if the said youth are properly educated by people who have not only experienced life as a substance abuser but who have also overcome that particular battle in life. How are we different from other such organisations? We are young and relatable, we talk the same language and have to deal with the very similar pressures they do and we therefore we actuall... read more We are about saying Yes! Yes, to living large. Yes, to realising dreams. Yes, to becoming the best you. We at Vuka Skhokho: The Jermaine Lungile Schmidt Rehabilitation Programme know that prevention is better than the cure. Knowledge is power and the fight against drugs amongst the youth in our local communities is one that can be pre-empted if the said youth are properly educated by people who have not only experienced life as a substance abuser but who have also overcome that particular battle in life. How are we different from other such organisations? We are young and relatable, we talk the same language and have to deal with the very similar pressures they do and we therefore we actually understand them the youth. How else are we different from other such organisations? We provide tools, constructive thinking tools that promote self-awareness. For years campaigns have come up with Say no to Drugs slogans and campaigns but have never thought past the informative stage of such a campaign. If kids say no to drugs what then do we propose they do as an alternative? Have our predecessors even sought to seek out why the drug scourge has risen more than ever even though the said youth know "Drugs are bad"? In what other ways do we significantly differ from our counterparts? We do not preach or sermonise. We create areas and spaces that allow the young to talk and express their views and ideas then we provide them with the relevant facts and information in a manner that it can understood, absorbed, digested and be made use of. Times have changed and as such so must our strategy. Media and social media serve as the instrumental forces of influence for the youth. What is deemed cool and socially acceptable is dictated on the now hundreds of TV channels the youth are now exposed to. What sets as the standard of material "must haves" is now daily Snap Chatted, Facebooked and Tweeted. Materialism and a glamourisation of substances are now the culture which consumes and drives our youth and whilst we cannot change this we must make them understand that the two are fundamentally incompatible. You cannot aspire to have nice things and take drugs. At the point and time you begin to experiment with drugs you are letting go of any chances to realise your dreams-which in the case of most township youth is to better their living circumstances and gain financial freedom. A large part of our campaign is to provide the necessary education on drugs and their harmful destructive repercussions- it is a fact that whilst some of the physiological effects of drug taking are known to the youth the psychological impact of addiction is virtually unknown to them. The road to recovery entails far more than just stopping drugs and resuming your normal life again. But the bigger part of our campaign is to pre-empt drug experimentation and this can and will be done by creating a greater sense of self awareness amongst the youth. If they are able to determine who they are and what they want from life i.e. identify their dreams, goals and ambitions and are encouraged to work towards them they will not easily be waylaid or side-tracked by what they know will hinder their success. Thus far we have begun by giving educational talks, plays and facilitations at various schools and clinics in the Alexandra community. Our primary focus is to get the youth to identify what issues lead them to experiment with drugs and then have them deduce whether or not the pro`s outweigh the cons for themselves. We do not lecture or deliver sermons our job is to make them discerning and try evoke debates, talks and engender a culture of thinking and wise decision making. As stated previously our team of volunteers are all recovering addicts who through God and because of the harsh realities of the poor choices they made in their youth have not only turned their own lives around but have for the past year passionately invested of themselves to making sure they can try help the youth of today not go down the same paths they themselves went down. We will decrease drug demand in our community by putting programs in our schools and community that quite literally demand all their time and energy and that challenge them in ways that make them focus on committing to make better life choices. We will be a presence in their schools demanding they invest of themselves in their education and we will be a presence in their otherwise "free time" engaging them in activities like arts, music, dance, choir and debating. These activities actually require very little in terms of physical resources and need dedication, discipline and passion to be run successfully. We have these in droves!!