Abstract
Internationally and locally, substance abuse by primary and secondary school learners is a major public health issue. In an attempt to curb this problem, the South African government introduced the “Ke Moja I’m fine without drugs” substance abuse prevention programme. The “Ke Moja” programme was launched in 2003 and was rolled out to schools in all the five regions of South Africa’s Gauteng Province. This paper analyses documents which guided the implementation of the “Ke Moja I’m fine without drugs” programme as well as the National Drug Master Plan. Thematic content analysis was also used to analyse an in-depth interview with the director of Africa Youth Development Fund (AYDF) organization which administers the “Ke Moja” programme in order to establish how the programme was implemented within the Gauteng schools. Although the study established that there was a lack of consistency in terms of the implementation of the programme across schools within the five regions in Gauteng Province, the “Ke Moja” programme was found to be well received by learners and out of school youth.
Highlights
Substance abuse among youth is a global issue (Burnett & Hollander, 2016; Burke, 2009; Sussman, Skara & Ames, 2008; Hawkins, Catalano & Miller, 1992) [1]
Thematic content analysis was used to analyse an in-depth interview with the director of Africa Youth Development Fund (AYDF) organization which administers the “Ke Moja” programme in order to establish how the programme was implemented within the Gauteng schools
“Ke Moja” Programme Reaching Youth beyond the Classroom. It was highlighted in the 2012-2013 Annual Report from the Gauteng Department of Social Development (GDSD) that in order to curb high figures of substance abuse, the “Ke Moja” programme was rolled out to approximately 967 platforms; of which, 469 were schools reached within the Gauteng Province, and 478 out-of-school platforms which included churches and youth clubs among others (AYDF-3rd Annual General Meeting, 2014-2015) [23]
Summary
Substance abuse among youth is a global issue (Burnett & Hollander, 2016; Burke, 2009; Sussman, Skara & Ames, 2008; Hawkins, Catalano & Miller, 1992) [1]. It is believed that adolescents’ drug and alcohol abuse can be attributed to a number of factors emanating from the family, school, community, society and individuals In respond to this issue, targeting mainly primary and secondary school learners, the South African government through the Department of Social Development launched the “Ke Moja, I’m fine without drugs” programme as a preventative measure to substance abuse within South African schools. This programme was launched in 2003 and was rolled out to all schools in South Africa. The paper concludes by outlining recommendations for strengthening the programme in order to prevent substance abuse among school going children and adolescents
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