The students of Centre for Studies in Journalism & Mass Communication (CSJCM), Dibrugarh University joined forces to kickstart an awareness initiative on ‘Drug Abuse amongst Youth’ today. The four-day long observance till February 21 will bring together curious young minds to ask questions about drugs, encourage rehabilitation and not shy away from any help that is at their ready disposal.
As part of this four-day initiative, the students organised a street play that ran across three time slots in three different locations starting from Boiragimoth to Amolapatty concluding at the Dibrugarh University campus. Alongside the play, a social media campaign titled CanIHelpMe ran in tandem to raise awareness on the importance of humanizing conversations about drug abuse and its victims, self-help and encouraging rehabilitation in case of severity.
While drugs can put a young person’s health and life in jeopardy, many are not aware of the risks. Even for those who are willing to seek help, face constraints from their family or friend circles. This campaign is primarily targeted to accelerate and support the ones looking for ways to help themselves or someone in need. A college-going boy from the crowd said, “I have seen people in my street fall into this habit. The cases are only increasing and getting worse. I want to come forward and help my friends and spread awareness about how abandoning an abuse victim does not help but instead we must encourage more conversations about it. Another spectator said, “Though steps are being taken, we must do more and it can start from home. We must not shy away and encourage families and friends to speak up on it since there is not enough education around it. This is a much-needed initiative that can help
eradicate further cases of drug abuse.”
One of the students from the organising team said, “Drug abuse is a serious concern not only for the individual or their family alone but at a societal and generational level whose impacts leave imprints behind that are unimaginable. There are so many myths about drug abuse and rehabilitation in our culture. We need the youth to get honest answers and support so they can make informed decisions for themselves and in turn, for society. Steps taken by key stakeholders to bring down drug abuse in Dibrugarh and state-wide are appreciated but we have a long way to go. Our willingness to support and listen without judgement is the start which is what this four-day campaign is about.”
As part of their assignment, the students from the esteemed university specializing in Public Relations, have been using their subject of study of communications to bring about positive change for social causes within Dibrugarh town.
This all-day street play across three locations offered an open space for respectful conversations around drug abuse and the taboo around seeking rehabilitation and aims to occupy a significant place in the public consciousness for the future.