UPDATE: Drug campaign aims to help less fortunate in the west
Koetaan said this year’s event would also be held in honour of Warrant Officer Hermanus ‘Spook’ van der Berg, who died suddenly last month.
The ‘Let’s talk about drugs’ campaign will launch a project in the west of Pretoria aimed at feeding 2 000 less fortunate people, said organiser Bryan Koetaan.
The second annual ‘let’s talk about drugs’ campaign would kick off on 29 June at Laerskool General Nicolaas Smit’s rugby field.
However, help is needed from the community to reach the goal of feeding all these people,
Koetaan said any donation would be appreciated.
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“We really hope this campaign will not only make a difference in the lives of substance abusers, but also to those who fight every day to get a plate of food on their tables,” he said.
“Please help us reach our goal to make this possible.”
Koetaan said this year’s event would also be held in honour of Warrant Officer Hermanus ‘Spook’ van der Berg, who died suddenly last month.
Van der Berg died after experiencing complications while on duty during protests in the west. He was rushed to hospital, but passed away shortly thereafter.
“He was one of my very close friends,” Koetaan said.
“The ‘let’s talk about drugs’ campaign of last year was also one of his first big projects with us.”
He said Van der Berg’s wife and children were also involved in the project.
Koetaan launched the campaign last year after noticing a rise in drug statistics, especially in the west of Pretoria.
The awareness campaign is being tackled in collaboration with several other organisations and community leaders in the area.
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“I have a great love for our youth and have learned that drug abuse is a serious problem,” Koetaan said.
“For this very reason, we also decided to make the campaign fun – no one just want to sit down and hear about drugs all day.”
He said drug use in the communities affected everyone and drug addicts were not always sure where help was available.
“We have decided to join organisations to help and educate them,” he said.
“We also want to inform the community about services available and also create a platform for former users to share their experiences.”
He said this campaign provided an opportunity for people to start talking about drugs.
Anyone who would like to help, could email bryanlkoetaan@gmail.com.
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