PHOTO: Graduates in group photo with sponsors
An institution, Mother of Light Liberia has graduated 19 students in drugs abuse and prevention courses.
The graduation, which was held recently (September 24, 2022(, was the 3rd cycle of the “We Connect” Training Program, conducted by Oum El Nour incorporated located in Monrovia’s oldest Congo Town suburb.
Officials of Medicines Sans Frontiers (MSF), Carter Center and Liberia Drugs Enforcement Agency (LDEA) witnessed the program, says a press release.
The Mother of Light “We Connect” training program targets adolescents, most of whom are vulnerable to adaptation through friends, parents or guardians.
The “We Connect” Training Program is sponsored by the Ministry of Health, MSF, Carter Center and World Lebanese Cultural Union.
The training program focuses on awareness on harmful substances and the means by which society/individuals can help prevent it.
The Valedictorian, Helena P. Williams said, the daily increase in the absorption of illegal drugs by young people in Liberia is becoming a national concern that all Liberians, who want to see a better future and fruitful new generation of Liberians should be bothered about.
Helena alarmed over the intrusion of different kinds of modern drugs through various entrance points, noting that the invention of cheap and dangerous local drugs are making it even more difficult to tackle challenges facing the fight against illegal drugs.
She urged everyone to join the fight against drugs abuse and prevention. “Everyone of us has a role to play in this struggle that we are faced with and we cannot depend on the government alone to do this for us because if any of our family member, friends, and well-wishers are affected by this new epidemic that is on the rise, we are going to feel hurt the most”, the Valedictorian, Helena Williams stressed.
In a special remark, Oum El Nour’s Board Chairman, Samuel Kofi Woods II called for consolidated efforts in combating drugs abuse; terming it as a “national emergency”. Woods used the occasion to launch a public appeal for the collective fight against the proliferation and tracking of drugs in the country. “All of us throughout the breadth and length of this country need to come together to address this problem”, former Public Works Minister Kofi Woods said.
Founded in 1989 in Lebanon, Oum El Nour aims to decrease the addiction rates in Lebanon and raise awareness about the various factors leading to substance abuse, by giving chance to people suffering from addiction to gain back control over their life. In Liberia, Oum El Nour is helping young people to transition from drug addiction to normal life by providing them the necessary education under the Mother of Light “We Connect” program.