In Tajikistan, Khujand City, Villa Maraini, the IFRC Reference Centre for drugs, has been held the 3rd training course financed by the UNDEF on the “Youth Engagement in the field of substance abuse”.
The 30 participants showed a big motivation and engagement made a final declaration to share with their national leaders. The NSs involved come from the Red Crescent of Tajikistan, Afghanistan, Iran and Turkey. In the meeting have been invited also local NGOs representative from Tajikistan and Turkey. The official languages used are: the English, Russian and Fharsi. 5 days of lessons, workshops, working groups, peer education, witnesses of former drug users enriched the experience of this young volunteers. Massimo Barra, the Villa Maraini founder declares: “it’s always a great success to work with youth. This new generation shows us that despite the general stigma and lack of courage to work for the drug users in their NSs, they have no problem to face this big challenge and to consider drug addicts as sick person which need all our support, according with the Strategy 2020. I’m sure that these trainings will enable them to be active actor in this field when they come back home, as it happened in Kenya and Kyrgizstan”. Beyond the basic knowledge shared during these days about how to deal with drug users or how to organize an harm and risk reduction activity and campaign, the training focused on the issue of the access of the hard to reach population to the health services, directly involving the participants to the discussion, during the working groups where they made advocacy practical exercises. “If the priority of the Movement are the most vulnerable people, who are more vulnerable than drug users?” added Massimo Barra. Next year the 3 youth declarations signed by the youth representative of around 30 NSs will be unified in one final declaration and delivered to the leaders of each NS and public opinion to step forward to support the youth to the dissemination and action in the field of the humanitarian drug policies.