“Teach the youth well about the way they should go; even when they are old, they won’t depart from it.”
Believing in the power of youth, students from Ramjas College working with Project Bawarchi held a campaign against Drug Abuse- “Choose to Refuse” on 17th April 2017, in Sewa Kutir Complex, Mukherjee Nagar, New Delhi.
Project Bawarchi, works with rehabilitated victims of drug abuse to instil life skills in them and assist in their reintegration to the society by making them independent entrepreneurs, and has taken the initiative to bring awareness to the educated ones about the menace of Drug Abuse in the society.
The event invited panellists from different walks that work towards eradicating the menace of drug abuse. Swapnil Tewari, the CEO of Livemad and youngest social entrepreneur to be featured in the Forbes magazine was invited to help bring better ideas about reintegration of the community members back in the society;
Mr. Ravindranath, a Public Health expert who helped us know about the existing treatments and myths about it from a Medical Background was also a part of discussion ; Ms. Aparna Khanna and Ms. Mridula Seth, professors from Lady Irwin college, were a part to help us understand the psychological reform of Drug Abuse; Mr. Subhash Gautam, Superintendent, Deptt. of women and child development was also a part to help us have a view from Govt.’s part as well.
Rightly said by Frost, Drugs take you to the hell, disguised as heaven.
The community members working under project Bawarchi explained the harsh stories about the dark past and how they have been scarred for life, because of one evil substance namely, Drugs.
The discussions between the college students and pannelists were done in presence of the community members to help the youth understand the Myths related to the use, the life after drugs, the severe downfall that drugs result into etc.
Drugs don’t help us skip the issues, they only let us escape the reality that
furthermore spoils the past, the present and definitely the future.
The members of Project Bawarchi kept a panel discussion on some topics that intrigued the minds of the college youth about the details of topic. The major question that was discussed was ‘Why the first time and what follows next?’
In the event, they also discussed the treatment of Rehabilitation- The reality and the Myths associated.
The community members were involved in the discussion to hear directly from them, and to understand their life after rehab. As a conclusion, we realised this is an essentially contested concept and hence, every stakeholder holds a different view working towards the same aim.
Towards the end of the event, Mr. Shibendu rightly ended it for all saying it’s just not the time to lose hope and even if you have fallen into the mace, there’s still a second chance everyday. The first step towards coming out is when you decide, you’re done with all the uncertainty going and you’re not going to stay where you are.
We are planning to launch a full-fledged campaign from the new session while establishing the credibility of our Campaign in the due course and mobilising people from different walks who are working in this field, so that we can bring a difference in terms of Demand Reduction.
We need more youngsters indulging in such works that focus on the transformation of the society on ground level and not only on papers.
