Young people spearhead the fight against substance abuse

Lebohang Molapo, 26, one of the 500 young Ke Moja coaches spearheading the fight against drugs and substance abuse in Gauteng, didn’t know what to do with her life when she completed grade 12.

Molapo joined the Ke Moja programme in 2016.

“When I joined the programme I was lost, had given up on my dreams and was a defeated soul. A lot was going on and I had given up on life. The initial reason for me joining the programme was to escape being at home and to keep myself busy during the day,” she said.

She volunteered at Sanca Nishtara, an addiction treatment centre in Orange Farm, as the Ke Moja coach.

“I ended up loving the programme. It worked and changed me as an individual. I started having a reason to live and finding my purpose in life again. I was no longer volunteering for the sake of stipend but passion,” she said.

Molapo was recruited by the African Youth Development Fund (AYDF) in 2018 to become an area coordinator responsible for the Johannesburg region, and was last year awarded by the Gauteng department of social development, agriculture, rural development and environment for her work fighting substance abuse.

Through the Ke Moja programme, which is led by the AYDF, young people in townships are assisted to reach their full potential through non-governmental organisations.

Nhlanhla Zwane, director at the AYDF, said their organisation deals with HIV/Aids and drugs as established obstacles which hinder young people from reaching their true potential.

“Our goal is not to just stop people from using drugs but to help them reach their full potential. Our mission is to establish dynamic, transformative leaders and value-adding citizens,” he said.

The organisation partners with NGOs in communities. They train young people to become coaches, support them and help them impart knowledge in their communities.

He said they adopted the model to work with NGOs through the Ke Moja programme, funded by the Gauteng department of social development. Since they adopted this model, they work with about 26 NGOs with 47 offices in the province.

“The programme has a huge footprint and is very accessible. When we started in 2012, the target was about 79,000 children a year. Now the programme is reaching about 1.4-million people in Gauteng every year,” he said.

Zwane said Ke Moja is a prevention programme to help young people stay away from substance abuse.

He said they focus on young people to make sure they don’t start substance abuse, and those who had started are assisted through rehabs.

“We hire about 500 youth who are Ke Moja coaches. The coaches go to townships through their NGOs and target young people,” he said.

The coaches go to schools, churches and other community structures such as sports teams to train them on substance abuse prevention.

In 2020, the AYDF formed a training team and Molapo was nominated to be a trainer. Since she started the programme, she has been accredited as facilitator, first aider, coordinator and leader.

“One cannot collide with this organisation and remain the same. What's fulfilling about my job is that it enables me to expand on my God-given talents and skills. The role is always giving me an opportunity to be me and become creative in all aspects,” she said.

Molapo is completing her Bachelor of education degree from the University of South Africa. She believes the job gave her the opportunity to practice her calling and excel at it.

“Teaching and facilitation are almost the same and this job is part of my journey. It teaches leadership skills which I believe are imperative to acquire,” she said.

Mary Themba, 26, another Ke Moja coach, said joining the programme helped her to focus and be disciplined.

She said when she failed matric in 2016, she wasn’t focusing and subsequently failed again in 2017 and 2018. She passed when she rewrote in 2019.

Themba said in 2022 she started her BA community development degree at the University of South Africa.

“All I needed was self-discipline. I learnt to say 'no' and to get my priorities right since I joined the programme. People change when they see enough to be inspired, and when they learn enough they want to achieve,” she said.

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