22 May 2018

Government has been asked to consider assisting churches financially to enable them to establish rehabilitation community centres to help address the social ills crippling the country.

A retired community health nurse, Ms Boitshwarelo Mbwe, said although churches were making efforts to augment government endeavours in the fight against social ills, they needed to have their own centres in order to tackle the root cause of the challenges.

She was responding to a comment during the annual campaign aimed at raising awareness on the fight against substance and drug abuse organised by Seventh Day Adventist (SDA) church.

One of the elders had asked if the church was achieving its objective since the inception of the campaign.

Ms Mbwe said the church had not dealt with the root cause, adding that rehabilitation centres would be ideal for providing support, counselling and education to the affected.

In addition, the centres would focus on supporting the affected persons to stay well, improve their wellbeing and build practical skills for independent living.

“We may be disseminating information and raising awareness about substance and drug abuse, but it is a pity that shebeen owners, who are the major contributors, have not been taken on board. Through the establishment of centres, we could reach them,” she said.

She said it was disturbing that some shebeen owners used harmful ingredients such as batteries and human waste in brewing alcoholic concoctions.

Volunteers engaged by such centres would embark on house to house campaigns to spread the message, which would help people to come to their senses and stop the practice.

Ms Mbwe appreciated the work done by African Comprehensive HIV/AIDS Partnerships (ACHAP), which has provided technical assistance and health-focused capacity building, saying its efforts were successful.

ACHAP, she said, used a comprehensive approach to support HIV and Tuberculosis prevention, care and treatment with remarkable results.

A psychiatric nurse, Ms Kearabetswe Ozoo said drug usage could lead to dysfunctional families, noting that  some parents under the influence of drugs used vulgar and threatening language towards their children.

She also emphasised the need for parents to allow children to express themselves openly.

“You should let your children express their needs and wants because failure to do so would lead to frustration,” she added.

Ms Ozoo said children emulated their parents hence the need for them to act responsibly at all times. Ends