Shun Friends Who Use Substances" - Korle Bu Expert Counsels Youth at Damang Expo

The call was made by Mr. Charles Kwakye Osei, a Certified Addiction Professional and Unit Head of the Addictive Diseases Centre at the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital. He was speaking at the sidelines of the Purposeful Youth Expo, an event organized by the Adingelah Foundation in collaboration with the Local Council of Churches, Damang.Under the theme, “A journey from reconciliation to restoration, then into purposeful living,” the Expo served as a platform to educate and equip young people with strategies to resist peer pressure and avoid destructive addictions.

Mr. Osei emphasized that the company a young person keeps can often determine their path. “The youth should look into how they make friends and desist from moving with friends who are using substances,” he advised, “and rather make friends with people who will show them healthy things to do.”

He also placed a significant part of the responsibility on parents, noting they “have an assignment when moulding the youth.” He stressed that parental monitoring and guidance are crucial, especially during the formative years when young people face inherent limitations. Furthermore, he underscored the importance of the youth taking their education seriously as a cornerstone of a stable future.

Beyond Abuse: Understanding Full Spectrum of Addiction

In his detailed presentation, Mr. Kwakye Osei said he moved beyond basic awareness to provide a comprehensive education on the nature of addiction itself.

“We looked at peer pressure, making sure they don’t experiment,” he explained. “We also educated them on what addiction is because some of them know about abuse alone. By doing that, we also looked at the management and how they can function without drugs.”

Significantly, the education extended beyond substance use to include behavioural addictions such as gambling and masturbation, topics often considered taboo. Mr. Osei noted that the engagement and contributions from the youth throughout the session were “enormous,” indicating a high level of interest and concern.

A Foundation’s Mission: Impacting One Life at a TimeThe driving force behind the event, the Adingelah Foundation, believes in the power of individual impact. Its founder, Mr. John Kwasi Adingelah, stated that the foundation’s core belief is that “if each person tries to impact one life, the world will definitely be a better place.”

While their work extends to orphans and other vulnerable groups, Mr. Adingelah identified drug use as a particularly destructive force in society. “It cannot always be finance,” he said, “but in this particular case the foundation believes that drug use is a problem… We believe the little we can do is to create awareness about the impact of drugs and how it is destroying lives.”

Licensed counsellor and foundation member, Mrs. Benedicta Adingelah, elaborated on the choice of theme, citing the visible devastation of drug abuse in local communities. “Seeing young people dropping out of school and how the substance abuse is destroying their lives is the reason why the foundation chose the theme,” she said.

She described the event, now in its third edition, as being divinely guided. “Though we had other plans, through the leading of God we were directed on what to do,” she shared, expressing faith that future initiatives would be even greater.

Reaching the Unreachable and Ensuring Follow-up

Demonstrating a commitment to inclusive outreach, Mrs. Adingelah revealed that the foundation had already begun engagements with schools in Damang and its environs. Crucially, they also targeted out-of-school youth.

“I personally went to the ghettos to invite them to be part of the programme and some honoured my invitation,” she said, ensuring no one was left out. To cement the expo’s messages, she announced that foundation volunteers would conduct follow-up visits to both schools and these communities when schools resume. She concluded with a prayer that the seeds planted by the Holy Spirit in the attendees’ hearts and minds would take root and flourish.

Youth Hail Expo for Life-Changing InsightsThe impact of the event was immediately evident in the feedback from participating youth, who expressed profound satisfaction and joy with the knowledge gained.

One young man shared a transformative revelation: “I didn’t know what addiction was and never knew what I was doing could lead to addiction till I came to gain that knowledge.” So impressed was he that he called on the organizers to personally engage him and his peers as ambassadors to help spread the message further.

Another young lady was visibly elated, unable to hide her joy. She highlighted the expo’s success and the significant positive impact the acquired knowledge is expected to have on her life and future decisions.

The Purposeful Youth Expo has thus been hailed as a significant step towards reconciliation and restoration for many young people in Damang, offering them the tools and hope for a more purposeful life, free from the chains of addiction.

Source: Nana Esi Brew Monney

DISCLAIMER: The Views, Comments, Opinions, Contributions and Statements made by Readers and Contributors on this platform do not necessarily represent the views or policy of Space FM.