The National Youth Development Agency (NYDA) will today be visiting the Hornlee community in Knysna in the Western Cape as part of an anti-drug awareness campaign and for an NYDA outreach programme. The event will be addressed by Deputy Minister for Performance, Monitoring and Evaluation, Mr. Obed Bapela and the Executive Chairperson of the NYDA, Mr. Yershen Pillay.
The aim of the event is to educate young people on the dangers of drug and alcohol abuse and also expose them to the various opportunities that they NYDA presents for youth. Too many young people become victims of drug and alcohol abuse due to various social-economic reasons such as poverty, unemployment and lack of opportunities which result in a sense of hopelessness making young people easy victims to drug pedlars. Creating awareness around the dangers of drug and alcohol abuse ensures that young people become agents of change armed with the knowledge. Exposing youth to the opportunities and choices out there can provide a means of preventing alcohol and drug abuse.
According to the NYDA Executive Chairperson Yershen Pillay, “During Youth Month 2013, the NYDA committed that our drug and alcohol awareness campaigns will extend far beyond just youth month and we have delivered on that promise. We are continuously using all platforms available to us to create awareness around the plague of substance abuse amongst our youth. Young people explore drugs and alcohol as an escape from their daily lives of poverty, unemployment and hopelessness. This needs to be rectified. Our youth need to be more involved in service, sport and recreation for instance in order to become healthy, valued, contributing members of society. As the NYDA we have various programmes, products and services aimed at empowering youth with skills, education and supporting young entrepreneurs. We will be taking these products and services to the youth of Hornlee in the Western Cape to ensure that the NYDA makes a deliberate effort to reach out to rural youth.
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