PDF (Lessons learned in drug abuse prevention: a global review)

LOCAL
these problems. Decision-making is achieved by youths and the community discussing
both the problems and the solutions on a mutual basis. The project is directed toward
the needs of the community, and realised in a way that community members can relate to.
● Development of a child’s rights charter against drug and alcohol-related violence:
Workshops, discussion forums and awareness campaigns are used to provide youth with
information regarding national policies and their entitlements to services (e.g. advisory
services, medical care facilities). The requests of the young participants are noted and
presented to Members of Parliament and policy makers. As the youth networks act as a
pressure group, their views can be heard and changes can be advocated.
● Gaining support from the Government: A number of awareness meetings with the
local Councils, and other stakeholders such as the Ministry of Health, have been carried out.
Monitoring & Evaluation:
The evaluation process is ongoing, and is carried out by the district team. This team is
comprised of the district administrator, public relations officers, police, council officials,
and health representatives. A participatory approach is being used so that the youths can
also become involved in the evaluation procedure.
Outcomes:
Number of children /youth reached: 225
COVERAGE
Number of peers/mediators/educators/teachers etc. trained: 14
Number of families reached: 186
Number of institutions/associations involved: 3
There is no outcome evaluation as yet, but the process evaluation showed that:
● Funding is to be increased, in order to enable more income-generating activities to be
established.
● Parents and schoolteachers are to be more heavily involved in order to provide moral
support to the programmes.
● The programme is to encompass other nearby villages, so that a meaningful impact
among youths can be realised.
● Surveys and research are to be conducted to assist the impact assessment.
Lessons Learned:
Planning phase:
● It is crucial for the youth participating in the programme to be involved in the
decision making process of the project: A youth network was formed to allow all
young people living in the villages to have the opportunity to express what they believed
to be the problems and the potential solutions in their village. It is those living in the
villages who better understand the circumstances they are living in.
● Parents and teachers need to be involved in the youth programmes to give
moral support: The problems encountered by young people are the same as those encountered
by the rest of the community. Teachers and parents have a lot of contact with young
people. Young people therefore need to be able to interact with them, to reinforce the
information that they are being taught and to guide their change in attitudes.
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● Working with politicians can be difficult when they are countering the project
objectives: It is important to have the support at a political level to maintain the
sustainability of the project.