Saying no to drugs
The schools that did the best received trophies. There were also certificates awarded to all participants who made the event a success.
The Vosloorus SAPS and the Community Policing Forum (CPF) held a drug awareness campaign on August 24.
Schools that participated in the event were Vosloorus Comprehensive School, Erasmus Monareng School, Lethulwazi Combined School, Ilinge Secondary School, Masithwalisane Secondary School, PT Xulu Secondary School and Tuto Lesedi Secondary School.
Each school participated in the three categories of public speaking, poetry and drama.
During their presentations, learners indicated how dangerous drugs are and how they can make a person lose self-control.
One of the learners by the name of Khethiwe Selemelo of Masithwalisane Secondary School said during her speech that people can lose their life to drugs.
“We have lost great musicians like Brenda Fassie (South Africa) and Whitney Houston (USA) to drug overdoses,” said Selemelo.
Sakhile Giqwa of Ilinge Secondary School, who played the role of a schoolteacher in the drama, said no one has self control when they are under the influence of drugs. “Some people end up in jail because of rape-related cases and they always regret it once it is too late.”
Stating the reason why they chose learners to be centre of the whole campaign, Captain Piet Rossouw, communication officer of Vosloorus SAPS, stated that there is no one who would have done it better than learners. “Learners understand the situation better that anyone. It happens in their community. It also happens in their lives. Some of their brothers and sisters are addicted to drugs so they are best to be the centre of the campaign,” said Rossouw.
The schools that did the best received trophies. There were also certificates awarded to all participants who made the event a success.
The trophies were awarded to the following schools:
Vosloorus Comprehensive School: first place in all categories.
Masithwalisane Secondary School (Khethiwe Selemelo): public speaking.
Ilinge Secondary School (Mathapelo Kgasago): best poetry.
Masithwalisane Secondary School: second place in all categories.
“Our learners knew what they were talking about. This is something they have experienced. It is happening in their own community and to their loved ones,” said Nothando Jongizulu, educator at Vosloorus Comprehensive School.
Another educator from Vosloorus Comprehensive School, Khululiwe Shongwe, said, “This is because of the hard work put in by teachers working together and I am glad that it paid off. I would like to thank our learners for being such good listeners. We are very blessed to have learners like that. Thanks to the support we received from the school management team.”
