English
Kinyarwanda
Youth from the Pentecostal Church of Rwanda (ADEPR) in Gakenke District, on August 08, vowed to join the fight drug abuse and human trafficking.
They made the commitment during the church’s family week, where over 300 youth from the ADEPR Gakenke spent a day-long in the sensitization campaign that was overseen by Rwanda National Police.
The exercise which started with a Walk, culminated with a meeting where Police officers addressed the youth on effects of unwanted pregnancies, drug abuse and human trafficking.
In his address to the youth, the District Community Liaison Officer, Inspector of Police (IP) Mark Rugero said that, majority of those involved in drug abuse are the youth, which is an indicator that, if the vice is not fought against, it will be a threat to future generations.
He added that, drug abuse leads to, among others, unwanted pregnancies, drunkenness, assault, school drop-outs and also urged them to be part of anti-crime initiatives such as neighborhood watch, provide timely info about anything that might affect the security of their community.
“Although we are seeing a tremendous decrease in drug dealing, but our target is to have a society that is free of illicit drugs and the general public’s role in this campaign is paramount to report those individuals that still involve in it,” he noted.
IP Rugero further spoke at length about human trafficking urging the youth to not listen to anyone who promises them decent jobs abroad under the guise of trafficking them for personal ends.
“Normally, a trafficker will tell you not to tell anyone about the deal, take away all your identifications and the next thing is you will be subjected to forced labour or sexual exploitation,” he said.
During the event, Daniel Hategekimana, a former drug addict turned a pastor, told the youth about effects of drug abuse and how they ruined his life from an early age to his adulthood until he quit.
The deputy head of ADEPR in the Northern region, Ephram Karuranga, thanked Rwanda National Police for the lectures to the youth saying that the message helps in parenting and youth mature into good citizens.
