Zimbabwe’s Silent Epidemic: The Drug Crisis Raging in Rural Communities

Nathan Guma

DRIVING from Mutoko Town Center in Mashonaland East Province to Danda Village, one has to deal with the rugged Nyamuzuwe – Chindenga road, which meanders North into sparsely populated villages.

The dirt road passes through some landmarks, notably Katsukunye and Chidenga Schools up to Kagande Shopping Center, with nothing else to see but roadside houses and swathes of brown farmland.

A one and half hour drive down the road leads to Danda Secondary School, some 54 kilometers from the town center.

Despite Danda Village being located far away from the busy Mutoko Center, drug abuse has still found its way there, raising alarm that the scourge, which has decimated urban centers across the country, will also be lethal in rural areas.

The fight on drugs has been difficult, with a policy document by governance institute Accountability Lab Zimbabwe (AL Zimbabwe) showing that the country is ill-equipped to deal with the ballooning problem. Zimbabwe has a narrow drug-addict to mental health practitioner ratio.

While rehabilitation centres could ordinarily play a key role in reducing the impact of the drug scourge, their monthly charges are beyond the reach of many, amid a crippling socio-economic crisis.

For instance, private rehabilitation centres charge fees ranging from US$500 to US$1 700 per month, which many families cannot afford.

While other drugs such as Crystal Meth are virtually unknown to young people in Danda, the most abused drug has been marijuana.

Findings from a survey in the Danda Village have also shown that children of school-going age have been abusing drugs due to peer pressure, while their peers who are out of school have been doing so to enhance energy when carrying out strenuous work.

The problem has been worsened by the popularity of marijuana, as it is grown by several villagers in home vegetable gardens.

“I think the issue is getting worse. People in this area grow marijuana, so it is difficult for the children not to fall victim,” says Memory Foya from Mungororo Village at an awareness campaign organised by the Disaster and Environmental Trust (DEMT) and the Ministry of Youth.

“My wish is for all the children to have a brighter future, and never use drugs. Some of the young people and students have become wayward. I think uprooting the drug problem starts with teaching people from our villages to desist from growing marijuana. I think this will help our young people so that they can have a brighter future.”

Another parent, Mernard Muone, of Muone Village said that the drug problem has been worsened by blighting poverty, which has left young people without limied options.

“The scourge is steadily increasing. I think the main issue is peer pressure. I think this is also worsened by lack of education on the effects of taking drugs which includes lack of self-control, robbery and early pregnancies,” Muone told The NewsHawks.  

“In school, while drugs have been viewed as a stimulant, this has been reducing performance in school. So, I think if we could get as many community workers as possible who can help teach our youths on the dangers of taking drugs.

“Another thing, young people are facing challenges at home, which has seen them having drugs as the nearest alternative.”

A village elder, Stephen Kandoda says that the drug problem has  been worsened by the advent of technology, which has exposed young people to western behaviour dominant in the media. This includes drug abuse.

Kandoda says education has been an important pillar in helping reduce effects of the scourge.

“From my observation, I think technology is worsening the situation. Everyone has a phone and our young people and children are consuming and inheriting such harmful traits. So, there is a need to ensure that young people know the correct use of cellphones,” Kandoda told The NewsHawks.

“That is where they are getting some of the wild hairstyles and other cultures which they end up copying.

“I think education is an important factor in helping end the scourge. When young people have lots of work to do, they are unlikely to indulge in such things. Drugs will always destroy good traits. There are myths that young people will become hyper-active after taking drugs. However, this even worsens concentration and makes the situation even worse.”

Winston Danda, a village head of Janhi, a nearby village says drug abuse is likely to derail the development of his and other villages if left unabated.  

“In my village, when we look at young people, there is a small number of drug users. However, despite their number, they are likely to be heavily affected. Sometimes, it is really difficult to restrain the young people, because whatever they will be doing is becoming a really big challenge,” he said.  

“We think this is affecting their lives. They are becoming more disobedient. We have been robbed of a few bright stars that we are looking up to. There are some that we expect to develop our village in future, but they are slowly getting lost.”

How education is helping reduce drug abuse

The headmaster for Danda Secondary School, Kadya Kauruka says that while the drug problem has been on the rise in the area, education has been instrumental in helping reduce the scourge.

Danda, one of the few schools in the area, has been providing guidance and counselling to young people, which is helping them get a balanced view of the outside world, while assisting with counselling to young people facing problems.   

“The major problem we are facing in our area is drug abuse. The commonly used drug in the area is marijuana. At times, you would find that several young people are indulging in abuse of this drug as it can be found anywhere in the area,” he says.

“When they abuse these drugs, you can easily see through their actions that they are ravaged by drugs. In school, you can easily see it through bullying and conduct with teachers. So, as a school, we are trying to mitigate these through gatherings with guidance and counselling teachers, as we try to educate young people on the dangers of using drugs.”

Kauruka says civic society has been assisting to reduce effects of drugs and resultant anti-social activities.

“The girl child is also affected. When they are under the influence of drugs, this leads to early marriages. The most affected were Form Ones and Form Threes. We have children who are being assisted by Camfed. Of those, we had two that got early pregnancies. Fortunately, Camfed keeps assisting until a child finishes school,” he says.

“Camfed came with several government departments on the dangers of using drugs. We had good turnout, showing that they are helping as many people as possible.

“We think cases are decreasing. We think that the mitigation measures are working in reducing new cases. I think this is because parents and other community members are now aware of the dangers that come with abuse.”

Lack of resources undermining drug fight

While village health workers have been instrumental in ending drug abuse, they have been largely hamstrung and poorly resourced.

Sekai Chigayo says that the fight against drug abuse is likely to be undermined by lack of transport facilities, which has seen health workers like her walk over long to provide drug awareness education.

“I work in nine villages, Chinanga, Karimbika, Maone, Bhuruwayo, Janhi, Mushamba, Nyakasvipa and Danda,” she says.

“We face several challenges. As a village health worker, it means I will have to walk very long distances. It would have been great if we would get some resources so that we can work effectively. Be it a bicycle or anything. These long distances then make it difficult to get to areas that will be in need of aid.”

She believes that the main reason for the rise in drug abuse in the rural areas has been peer pressure from school and lack of education by parents.  

“As village health workers, the issue is still there as young people are giving in to peer pressure. But, as health workers, we are going forth, teaching parents the dangers of drug abuse so that they can share with their children,” Chigayo says.

“We are also meeting up with children and young people themselves, teaching them the dangers of drugs. These are some of the things we will be teaching them. We feel like this helps reduce the scourge.”