Ke Moja Awards honour those who fight drug abuse
The award ceremony, which took place at Birchwood Hotel and OR Tambo Conference Centre recently, honoured the youth and organisations that have spearheaded the fight against drugs and substance abuse in the province.
Tsohang Youth Project from Katlehong kept the Ekurhuleni flag flying high when they won more than two awards at the seventh annual Ke Moja Awards hosted by Department of Social Development.
The awards are named after the national drug prevention programme ‘Ke Moja’, meaning ‘I am fine without drugs’.
Sanca Eastern Gauteng, situated in Boksburg, didn’t bag any awards, but they are hopeful that next year they will proudly represent Boksburg.
Substance abuse by primary and secondary school learners is a major public health issue, and in an attempt to curb this problem, the South African government introduced the Ke Moja substance abuse prevention programme in 2003.
The programme was rolled out to schools in all five regions of the Gauteng.
The awards were presented to outstanding regional Ke Moja coaches who helped the department to implement the anti-drug and substance abuse programme in schools.
Speaking to attendees during the awards ceremony, MEC for social development in Gauteng, Thuliswa Nkabinde-Khawe, said: “To honour you with awards only is not enough because the work that you are doing is valuable and inspirational.
“Our task of combating substance abuse among the youth should continue in order to save lives. During the 2018/19 financial year, the Gauteng government reached about 768 250 beneficiaries through our Ke Moja drug prevention programme and we have exceeded our annual target by far.
“However, we acknowledge that the prevalence of substance abuse among the youth is alarming. The sad reality is that drugs that are easily accessible to the youth.”
Nkabinde-Khawe said the department is committed to acting against the scourge of alcohol, tobacco and other drug abuse in Gauteng.
The Tsohang Youth Project won three awards in different categories.
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