IPP Executive Chairman Dr Reginald Mengi (R) in
talks in his office in Dar es Salaam yesterday with Lions Club
delegation led by Joseph Kiwanuka (L), District Governor for Uganda and
Tanzania. (Photo: Selemani Mpochi)
Young drug addicts usually become
physically and psychologically debilitated, he said, adding that if
immediate interventions are not put in place to rescue them most would
permanently be incapacitated.
Dr Mengi made the call to Lions Club
International delegates who paid a courtesy call on him at his office in
Dar es Salaam. They were led by the club’s District Governor for Uganda
and Tanzania, Joseph Kiwanuka.
“If I may review, Lions Club activities
are related to health issues such as eyesight, heart problems and
diabetes. Lions need to incorporate fighting drug abuse as another area
of concentration in a move to rescue the youth,” he said.
He was however optimistic that when
advocacy campaigns are strongly put in place in different communities,
the country would be drawn out of the drug trap that has been pulling
back economic progress.
He said the young generation would be
technically ruined if efforts are not made to enable people to stop
accommodating drugs in their communities.
Dr Mengi censured drug dealers for
partnering with strong and powerful people in destroying the younger
generation, saying: “What is stunning is that many people don’t see the
problem with
drug use. …The courage to deal with drug dealers is a big challenge and parents continue to be helpless.”
Responding to the remarks, Kiwanuka said
the club has already introduced programmes at primary and secondary
school levels in Uganda meant to address the menace.
He however noted that, despite the
initiatives put in place by Lions Club International, more efforts aimed
at raising public awareness on the matter were needed.
“We shall review the programmes,
especially for Tanzania, to see how awareness campaigns will be
implemented from the grass-roots level, in primary and secondary
schools, so as to educate the students on the side effects of using
drugs,” he said.
Kiwanuka further noted that regular
programmes of the nature in schools call for a lot of financial support
and that the club would consider how to go about it.
The IPP Executive Chairman also called
upon all those who are economically blessed to be humble and get the
courage of helping needy members of society.
He explained that he was helping those
socially, economically and otherwise disadvantaged owing to his own
feeling of being personally obliged to do so.
Dr Mengi assured the delegation that he
would play an effective role in disseminating information on drug abuse,
adding: “We should all get humanity to extend a helping hand.”
The Lions Club governor is in Tanzania for
a ten-day visit, during which he is expected to inspect projects being
implemented by the club before he winds up business in Arusha next week.
Accompanying him were his wife Judith
Kiwanuka, LCI first vice governor William Ndesanjo and upcoming district
governor Salim Sulemanj as well as club member Shiraz Rashid.
Lions Clubs International is a secular
service organisation bringing together over 45,500 clubs and 1,368,683
members in 205 countries. It was founded by Melvin Jones in 1917 and is
headquartered in Oak Brook, Illinois, in the US.
The organisation is principally there to help meet the needs of communities on a local and global scale.
SOURCE:
THE GUARDIAN
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