Candice de Jongh, a local dairy farmer planted a seed in Friemersheim, she has created a footprint of awareness around the issue of substance abuse in the area. It took a need and a chance meeting with Freddie Trout, founder and principal driver of the organisation People Against Substance Abuse (PASA) to initiate this wonderful process currently in the early stages of development.
The aim and objective of PASA together with the Living Lives of Purpose project, is to have sustainable programmes for the prevention of dependence forming substances, this is achieved through education. It seems children need to be taught the skills to deal with a changing society, broken or dysfunctional family relationships, absent father figures and help the young generation to focus on their future or potential.
Thanks to funding from Lancewood, and the assistance of the Headmaster of the Friemersheim Primary School, Mr James Steelman, Freddiehas been able to start his programat the school in 2017 offering his 3 day course “BOUND” to the grade 6’s and 7’s. This yearhe is runninga follow-up course with the grade 7’s and isintroducing the course materialto the grade 6 class who in turn get a follow-up next year. “We want to help them develop their natural leadership skills through ongoing follow-up meetings and relationship building” says Freddie. With suitable funding in place PASA hopes to set up a sustainable presence in the form of an office at the school,aligned to address the community’s needs. Follow-up and refresher sessions will be held quarterly. A one day condensed course is also presented to parents shifting the course emphasis appropriately to assist them in coping with substance abuse in the home and community at large.
Freddie with a first-hand understanding of the effects of substance abuse invested in “BOUND” in 2010,hereceived training to facilitate this life skills programme in schools. The package consists of film, text and DVD material, used to impact young people’s lives. The program is endorsed by the National Qualifications Authority and by the Provincial Drug Forum and is being run at a number of schools throughout the Garden Route.BOUND is a comprehensive, informative, exciting multimedia package written so a teenager can identify with the material and get involved in the program. The training programshiftsthe individual’s thinking towards their future, it shows them that with the right attitude they can have a productive life and impact the lives of their peers through leading by example.
