Jakarta, September 8, 2014 – YCAB Foundation and the United States Department of State are holding a kick off event to mark the start of the Indonesia Without Drugs: Reduce Drug Demand, Increase Life Likelihood program today in PBNU Building, Central Jakarta.
Through this program, YCAB Foundation aims to increase awareness of the dangers of drug abuse with the intention to reduce drug demand nationally in Indonesia. This program focuses on youths in the age of 13 to 18, who are vulnerable to the influence of drug abuse, especially students in Junior and Senior High Schools in Jakarta, Batam, and Surabaya. The program will reach more than 30,000 students in over 18 months.
This program starts by training members of the community and teachers as facilitators during in-depth Training of Trainer (TOT) sessions. They will then educate and train students, who will become peer educators to train their peers in school. This knowledge then will be passed on to their families and the people in their community through training and projects that they have to introduce in their schools.
Through this program, YCAB Foundation aims to not only make the students aware of the issues related to drug abuse, but also to care and make a change. This way, we are equipping the youths with life skills that will improve the lifestyle at their schools, and create a lasting impact.
To ensure the success of this program, YCAB Foundation collaborates with BNN (Badan Narkotika Nasional – National Narcotics Board) to ensure the highest quality materials are delivered during the training and discussion sessions. In addition, YCAB will work with IPNU (Ikatan Pemuda Nahdlatul Ulama), who is very influential and has a vast network; this will help in spreading this awareness to communities all over the country. IPNU coordinator, Khairul Anam says, “We want to inspire youths to be able to take action and make a move toward building a better Indonesia, without drugs.”
Last but not least, sessions are conducted by partnering with schools as they are the institutions that can expand and sustain the program such that the program will continue even beyond this program for all the students in the schools.
US Department of State: Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL), Terry Mobley says: “Drug use is a global problem and a solution requires the partnership of governments, non-governmental organizations, the private sector, and local schools and communities.”
Founder/CEO of YCAB Foundation Veronica Colondam says: “We are very grateful for this partnership with the US Department of State in promoting healthy lifestyle amongst youth. By reaching out to youth in school, we are hoping to equip them to make a better decision about drugs. Through this program, we hope to raise a generation of youth with brighter future.”