The ARK Foundation in collaboration with Tetso College Dimapur, through support from the Department of Social Welfare, Government of Nagaland conducted a webinar on ‘Sensitization Workshop on Substance Abuse in Nagaland’ with the faculty members of the college on 11th September, 2020.
Opening the program, the moderator Dr. Aniruddha Babar, Assistant Professor, Department of Political Science, shared his concerns about young people getting into nicotine and tobacco use which gradually results in indulgence into harder and more severe drugs in the following years.
Dr. Hewasa Lorin, Vice Principal, Tetso College, in her opening remarks, stated that substance abuse is a sad reality which is widely prevailing in the Naga society. She said youths are our future, and that they need to be protected from this, by giving them the right guidance and advice, with an eco-balance to propel the youth to make correct choices. But striking this balance is the main challenge and therefore it has become increasingly important that the educators work together to reduce, curb, and hope to completely eradicate substance abuse, she added.
She also lamented that Nagaland has a high proportion of drug users and urged that it is important to divert their energy in healthier and productive lifestyles such as education, sports, arts, church and in other activities and fields, where they are interested in, by giving them more opportunities.
Abou Mere, NE Regional Director, Kripa Foundation, in his exhortation mentioned about the importance of preventing substance use and its disorder among young population as very crucial. According to him, the teachers have a great influence over the students and therefore should present facts about substance use and help them make informed healthy choices.
- Wango Langsym, Assistant Director, Social Welfare Department, mentioned about some of the initiatives taken up by the department along with various NGOs to spread awareness about the negative impact of substance abuse in the society. He was of the opinion that educational institutions should be a place for students to find solutions to their problems faced in their lives, and a place where future generation are groomed and prepared.
He put forth points such as the need for reputed institutions to put mechanisms in place whereby if such problems of substance abuse are reported, the institution can deal with it in a very professional manner and extend all possible help to any students, who is in need of counselling. He also called upon reputed institutions to collaborate with the department to generate awareness through difference platforms. In his final point, he shared his concern on the need for research to have a proper data on the number of drug users which will provide data for program planning. He expressed optimism that the program will beneficial to all and such continued effort of spreading awareness will reach every nook and corner of the state.
On September 12, the Foundation also conducted a webinar on ‘Awareness on Substance Abuse And Prevention’ for the students of the College.
Ketho Angami, ARK foundation, delivered on the topic ‘Substance Abuse and Prevention.’ In his presentation, he shared that addiction in the state, has resulted in loss of lives and has created a social menace in the larger society. While it has existed in Nagaland for more than 4 decades, he expressed concern that the trend of substance use is gaining popularity and increasing among the youth population. Therefore, he urged the students to be aware of the harmful effects of drugs and alcohol use and never to initiate the first use but to rather focus on their educational careers and other productive activities rather than resorting to experimenting with substance use.
Ilato, shared his life experience on his struggle with drug addiction and how his life remained unmanageable for several years. Initially starting with the use of tobacco products, Ilato shared that he began using hard drugs on an occasional basis to finally becoming dependent after which he started having numerous problems, both physically and mentally, and with a lot of character defects.
In conclusion, he urged the youngsters of today’s generation to never experiment on any substance including alcohol, as it is very easy to get into the habit but very difficult to get rid of it.