{A group of 50 Commercial cyclists operating in Runda Sector of Kamonyi District have taken it upon themselves to lead the fight against drug abuse in their neighborhood by using former addicts to educate youth about the dangers of drugs.}
Of the 50 cyclists from Twizerane Cooperative 20 are former drug addicts who have since earned a reasonably lifestyle ever since the quit abusing drugs and joined the cooperative.
During a meeting held on February 04 in Runda Sector and presided over by the District Police Commander (DPC) Superintendent of Police (SP) Donath Kinani, former addicts spoke out about their life as drug abuses and how their lives changed after they quit drugs and integrated in the cooperative.
The former addicts narrated their life stories after SP Kinani gave a length lecture on effects of drugs and urged cyclists to take more concrete measures in fighting drug abuse.
“There are cases of deaths, illnesses and disabilities that stem from illicit drug use. People who live with substance dependence have a higher risk of all bad outcomes including unintentional injuries, accidents, risk of domestic violence, medical problems, and death. The impact of drug abuse and dependence can be far-reaching, affecting almost every organ in the human body,” said the DPC.
He went on to add that, “drug abuse has some behavioral related problem like the addict becoming, paranoid, being aggressive, having impaired judgment and can easily lose self-control. A person with these problems can not fit in the society.”
SP Kinani told the cyclists that normally, drug addicts compose the biggest number of criminal who end up in jail.
“Any drug addict who commits a crime risk being arrested and will eventually end up with a criminal Record. Remember, many employers will turn you down because you have a criminal record. Employers do not want criminals around, this is avoidable,” said the DPC.
Following his remarks, two of the former addicts narrated how their lives changed after quitting drugs.
“I started smoking cannabis when I was 17 years old, that time I was a street child but even I joined a foster family, I could steal money to buy the drugs. This went on until when I was 26 and I decided to quit,” said Ramadhan Nizeyimana who is now 28 years old.
Nizeyimana has been a member of the cooperative for one year and he had since built himself a house and bought a piece of land.
Another former addict, Jean de Dieu Uwihoreye said, “When I quit drugs, I had nothing, I had to join the cooperative which helped me buy a bicycle and a cow.”
Uwihoreye started smoking cannabis when he was 15 years and managed to quit when he was 24.
The two are part of the 20 former addicts that use their life stories to educate youth against drugs.
According to the head of Twizerane Cooperative, Daniel Hategekimana, members chose to use former addicts in educating you since they are a living example of how a life can change for anyone who decides to quit drugs.
“We attribute our success to Rwanda National Police for its continued efforts in educating the public against crimes like drug abuse and we pledge to work more closely to reach out to more people,” he said.
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