By Abubakarr Harding
200 children/pupils from 20 schools in Freetown benefitted from a workshop and training on Underage Drinking Prevention with the theme: “Below 18? Zero Tolerance Against Alcohol”, conducted by the Students Against Violence Everywhere (SAVE) Promise Club Sierra Leone in collaboration with the Sierra Leone Brewery Limited on the 7th October 2022.
The program which attracted pupils/students, teachers, parents, law enforcement officers and policymakers aimed at helping children to understand the effects, impacts and consequences of drinking alcohol at an early age.
The National Director of SAVE SL stated that the purchase and public possession of alcoholic beverages by anyone under the age of 18 is illegal. He said that Alcohol alters an individual’s vision, reaction times, perception of distance, and judgment of their abilities. For adolescents, whose brains are still developing in critical ways, using alcohol make them more vulnerable to learning and memory impairments.
“The use of alcohol is frequently coupled with risky and potentially destructive behaviors, such as physical and emotional violence, rude or thoughtless remarks or actions, sexual mistakes or misjudgments, sexual assaults, and suicide acts and attempts. SAVE Sierra Leone believes that young people can have fun, enjoy life, and nurture positive personal relationships without the distraction and distortion of alcohol,” he stated.
He ended up stating that they seek to demonstrate positive and attractive alternatives to alcohol and other drug-infused activities for teenagers as their organization recognizes that the pressures on young people to drink, use illicit drugs and engage in other unhealthy behaviors are strong.
“We seek not to punish or alienate those students who make unfortunate choices but rather aim to inform, educate, engage, support and empower young people to make positive decisions in their lives,” he concluded.
According to the Corporate Affairs Manager of Sierra Leone Brewery Limited, Foday Daboh, he stated that there are laws in the country that prohibits children from accessing and drinking alcohol. He also said that children should not follow their colleagues or parents in drinking alcohol because they are below the age of consent.
“As a responsible company, we want the children to be healthy and successful so that when they are above the age of 18, educated and financially stable, they can choose to drink alcohol or not,” he stated.
He also said that they will continue to support SAVE Promise Club to propagate the message of Underage Drinking and that their non-alcoholic drink, Maltina, is rich in vitamins and that the can is good for children and non-alcoholic drinkers.
Mohamed Saidu, a Parent and PTA Chairman of Caleb Academy School stated that other companies are producing alcoholic drinks that contain large volume of alcohol for cheaper prices. They are making their products accessible to everyone with no responsibility to educate the children or youths about responsible consumption.
“Government needs to look into companies that are producing high percentage of alcohol at a cheaper price that children and youths can afford. They are destroying the future of this nation,” he expressed his view.
Other speakers included the Principal of the Government Municipal Junior Secondary School, Mohamed Bangura, the Deputy Director of Education Information Management, John K. Ansumana, the Local Police Partnership Board Regional Chairman, Melbourne Green, SL Police Regional Coordinator for Freetown East, Emmanual S. Dumbuya, SLRSA Director of Research & Development, Ambrose Tucker, SL Police Rep. Sgt. Dumbuya, SLCS rep, CSP David Dauda Kamara and representatives from the Pharmacy Board of Sierra Leone, Joseph Sesay (Pharm) and Mariama S. Jalloh (Pharm).
