English
Kinyarwanda
It is widely said that sport is one of the most unifying tool for peace in the world.
Regardless of age, gender or beliefs, sport is enjoyed by all; its reach is unrivalled. To grassroots leaders and residents of Cyarwa Cell in Tumba, Huye District, sports and football in particular will bring them on the same table with similar understanding and approach in the fight against illicit drugs.
On Sunday, the committee of Cyarwa played a friendly football match with a team drawn out of all villages in the Cell. The match was organized to bring all grassroots leaders and residents in Cyarwa to discuss ways and means of working together to strengthen the concept of community policing especially in identifying and reporting drug dealers in their midst to Police.
It was also in line with preventing the young people from indulging in drug related crimes—either abuse or trade.
Present was also the acting mayor of Huye, Veneranda Uwamariya and the Commander of Ngoma Police Station, Chief Inspector of Police (CIP) Dominique Nkurunziza.
The mayor commended the partnership between residents and local leaders of Cyarwa in matters related to security and development.
She said that what the country has attained in the last 24 years are attributed to security, and urged them to also utilize the safety and security they continue to strive for to engage in family and community development activities.
“Illicit drugs drive users into other criminal activities; people under the influence of drugs assault others, couples start fighting and the end result we see families breaking and children leaving their homes going on streets and breeding them into thieves and also drug dealers,” mayor Uwamariya said.
She urged them to be driven by team spirit in national social welfare and community policing programmes like Umuganda, Irondo, and Umugoroba w’ababyeyi among others
CIP Nkurunziza, on his part, also thanked the spirit of togetherness in Cyarwa in addressing community challenges.
He observed that narcotic drugs are a serious security issue affecting mainly youth development, fueling domestic and gender based violence and child abuse.
“This is an issue that requires serious response; success against it starts with individual commitment to report a neighbor or anyone you suspect to be engaged in this poisonous and criminal business. We have to save our children, brother and sisters together who end up becoming victims of these drugs,” he said, calling for timely information sharing.
Between 2010 and 2015, the Neuro-psychiatric Hospital of Ndera received 1432 patients with mental illness caused by use of drugs, according to statistics from Rwanda Biomedical Centre (RBC).
Illness such as heart, liver, kidney and mental problems are also linked to narcotic drugs.
The number increased to 2804 in 2016 but recorded a slight decrease to 1960 last year. Huye Isange Rehabilitation Centre received 209 cases, last year.
