Vusumuzi Dube
Michael Magoronga
Midlands Correspondent
ADOLESCENT girl children are usually at the receiving end of the drug and substance menace that has gripped the country as they are exposed to abuse due to intoxication.
Although the drugs are being abused by both boys and girls, the latter are more prone to abuse which has become a barrier to curbing HIV and STI cases among the age group. Speaking during the familiarisation function for adolescent girls and boys in Kwekwe recently, National Aids Council Kwekwe District Co-ordinator, Ms Fadzai Mudondo said the facilities were targeting adolescent girls mostly as they were the most affected group of the population.
“We offer SRH services mostly to the girl child as they are prone to abuse when they are drunk from drug and substance abuse.
“We decided to partner the local authority so that we can work together to reduce cases of drug abuse and replace them with dressmaking, sports, carpentry among other activities,” she said.
Ms Mudondo said HIV infections were prevalent among girls due to their risk of abuse.
“Generally, HIV is reducing among the general population but remains high on adolescent girls because they are likely to contract the virus from elderly men. On the other hand, HIV is still high on elderly men as compared to their female counterparts of the same age because the older men prefer younger girls,” she said.
Kwekwe City Council has rolled out a programme targeting the refurbishment of recreational facilities and its stadiums as the local authority seeks to keep youths busy and keep them away from drug and substance abuse among other social ills.
To date the local authority has successfully refurbished Mbizo Youth Centre which houses Mbizo Hall and also has tennis, basketball and volleyball courts among other facilities. The centre has since been equipped with a pool table donated by one of the partners and a well-equipped gym and counsellors have been visiting every Tuesday and Thursday to offer free services.
In Amaveni, the local authority has also refurbished the hall where almost similar activities will be rendered.
The council is also in the process of transforming one of its beer halls in Amaveni into a rehabilitation centre to cater for those who would have fallen victim to drug and substance abuse.
The local authority will then rehabilitate its two main stadia, Amaveni and Mbizo Stadia which themselves have been turned into drug centres due to their dilapidated state.
At all these centres, the local authorities in partnership with other organisations, are offering services ranging from counselling, Sexual Reproductive Health (SRH)training among other services.
The drug rehabilitation centre which is almost complete, will come in handy in addressing drug and substance abuse cases prevalent across the country.
Recently, the institutions were officially introduced to the youths who gathered in numbers and took part in various sporting activities including soccer, netball, chess, pool, volleyball among others.
Acting Director of Health Services, Sister Patricia Shumba said the idea to rehabilitate the infrastructure was mooted after noticing the increase in drug and substance abuse cases not only in Kwekwe but across the country.
“We came up with the idea of officially launching the centres as a way of introducing them to the youths. This was after we discovered that they were not using them so we took advantage of this school holiday to introduce the facilities to them so that they can be occupied,” she said.
She said since they were opened to the public, there has been a notable increase in the number of youths who visited the facilities for various services.
“Since we launched, we have recorded 85 youths who came, requiring various services and we expect the number to increase in the coming days as their children get to know more about the centres. The idea is to catch them at one place where they would come for sporting activities and render the services to them,” she said.
Director of Housing and Community Services Mr Edson Chiyangwa said council was aware that the stadia were now being used as drug hubs and they were in the process of refurbishing them to secure them from such activities.
“We are aware of the situation and as we speak, we have already secured some partners who are ready to assist in the rehabilitation of the stadiums. We have already secured two soccer academies in Mbizo and Amaveni that are putting the facilities to good use,” he said.
Mr Chiyangwa said the council had already rehabilitated Musoni for tailoring and Muvezi as well as Mhizha for carpentry.
“These are our facilities that were already in existence but due to this menace, we are now resuscitating and refurbishing them so that they can be utilised to teach youths life skills,” he said.
Bongani Ndlovu