‘LIFE REFORM’, a new Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) geared at tackling the abuse of drugs in Guyana, was launched on Tuesday at the National Racquet Centre, Woolford Avenue, Georgetown.

The short programme saw the attendance of parents, teachers, students, and members of the media, who were briefed on what the organisation sets out to do. With ‘Making strides to save lives’ as their motto, the NGO is seeking to provide citizens with the necessary information needed to prevent drug addiction. Chairman of the Organisation, Philip Drayton, said that society has the right to fact-based information that may enable it to make informed decisions.

“We have the statistics that show 70 per cent of the youths here in Guyana, literally believe it is cool to drink and smoke… 80 per cent of society does not understand the dangers of addiction. It is with these statistics, that a few individuals dawned upon an awareness that most persons must have basic life-coping and refusal skills, to actually conduct life in a more cognitive way. This was when ‘Life Reform – Making Strides to Save Lives’, was created. Knowing that, it will take commitment, compassion, honesty, open-mindedness, willingness, and bring about this huge transformation that is urgently needed throughout Guyana,” Drayton expressed.

He told the attendees that anything that alters the mood and the mind is considered a drug. “And illicit drug use is undercutting traditional values, threatening the existence of stable families, communities, educational institutions and work organisations throughout Guyana. We believe that people have the right to be protected from the harm created by drug use…” he said.

And this can be tackled through education, Drayton further noted. “Education on the huge impact that these substances have on individuals, and society as a whole, should be implemented. So our members began to work towards a drug-free Guyana, engaging our certified and drug treatment specialists, social workers, counsellors, psychologists and psychiatrists, who will assist the general public, and persons suffering from substance misuse,” he said.

To kick-start their intervention process, the NGO also launched the Secondary School Drug Education and Prevention Programme (SSDEPP), which is slated to commence in June. Giving details on the programme, Drayton explained that the programme will be reeled out in all the schools across Guyana, with a systematic approach. “We will start tackling from the PTA aspect of it. First [we will start by] engaging the parents and teachers to equip them with the tools necessary to pin-point manipulative behavioural patterns or addictive personalities when they arise in students. Then we will target the student body, particularly the prefects, because they are the police within the school. This will enable us to detect the students who are already using drugs, and target those first, then we will address the entire student body,” he explained. Because they want to engage the students in an age-appropriate way, the first and second form students will be dealt with separately from the third and fourth formers, and the fifth and sixth formers will be in a bracket by themselves as well.

“It’s a systematic approach and it will work. And intervention, how long it will take, will depend on the amount of freedom we have in a particular institution. But we will see how best we can do a collaboration and fit into the timetable in the schools,” Drayton said.
Also on the executive body are Kirk Jardine, popularly known as ‘Chow Pow’; Trevor Hohenkirk and Kaspar Carter, who shared stories about their recovery from drug addiction.

There are other members of the body, all committed to ensuring that the mandate of the NGO is successfully fulfilled.