04/09/2026
๐ฟ๐ผSUBSTANCE AND DRUG ABUSE ๐ฟ๐ผ
Substance and drug abuse works like a cancer, it doesn't care whether you are educated or uneducated, employed or unemployed, rich or poor.
I still remember my first day of attachment at Ingutsheni Central Hospital . When I arrived in Khumalo ward, I had the opportunity to interact with victims of drug abuse. I felt their pain as if they were my own siblings.
I approached one young man whose English was more fluent than mine. I asked him what had led him to start taking co***ne. What he told me touched my heart. He had tragically lost both parents in a road traffic accident on their way to his university graduation. The grief consumed him, and he later turned to drugs as a way of coping.
I then asked him who had been supplying him. He fell silent, stuporous. After a long minute, he simply said, "Leave that question. You are still young, and I see a bright future ahead of you."
His answer left me with more questions than answers.
Today, ten years later, as I type this on my phone, the same problem still exists.
As a concerned, patriotic youth, I write to you behind a pen name, but with a burning heart to make a difference. I believe there are two things we must focus on in this fight:
1. Fix the broken pipe, not the tributaries.
It does little good to keep diverting the sewage without repairing the source. We must go after the suppliers โ big and small alike.
2. Build step-down facilities.
Rehabilitation and hospitalization alone are like filling a broken bucket with water. Once patients return to the same environment that shaped their addiction, the cycle repeats. We need step-down facilities that support gradual, lasting reintegration into society โ alongside stronger funding and support for our law enforcement agents.
I want to thank Amai veNyika yedu, Dr Auxillia Mnangagwa , for the love and care shown to victims of drug abuse. This is exactly the kind of step-down support we need more of. I would also like to thank everyone who is working day and night fighting drug abuse ,the only person who will reward you its God .Money is not enough to thank you.
Drug abuse is a burden on the nation. Let us work together to fight it.
Zanu PF Bulawayo Information Department