Blessing Nduku
With drugs and substance abuse on the rise in many communities, Councillor Prosperity Munyaradzi Chikwira’s innovative approach in Mkoba offers a beacon of hope, using a combination of soccer tournaments, mentorship, and community support to tackle the pandemic.
Recently, Cllr Chikwira hosted a soccer tournament, whereby six teams competed and won different prizes.
Speaking to this reporter, Cllr Chikwira stated that this initiative aims to usher discipline in young men and women in Mkoba.
“I have seen great talents fall because of this pandemic we are having as a country, hence I created an environment where talent is identified and young people are taught discipline through soccer.”
“As they say, catch them young, that is one of our mandates, we are targeting under-17 age groups, hence it is the most affected group by drug and substance abuse, and I am certain that if we start with this group, we will be able to tackle this pandemic.”
Chikwira went on to say that the initiative is not only targeting young boys but young girls as well.
“We are not only targeting the boy child, we started with soccer tournaments, and we are going to have more tournaments that will involve the girl child also. This pandemic is affecting both genders, and to keep our youths aware of the dangers of drugs and substance abuse, we are going to have girls’ soccer and netball.”
Six local teams, including Mkoba City, All Stars, Midlands Academy, 13 Stars, Mafa, and Rise of Hope Academy, participated in this initiative.
Mafa won and went home with a full soccer kit, whilst All Stars were the second and won 2 footballs, and the rest of the teams won footballs.
The ward committee member, Mr Erick Chigondo, applauded the Councillor for this initiative to tackle drug and substance abuse in Mkoba.
“I would like to thank Mr Chikwira, our ward Councillor, for celebrating his birthday in style with drugs and substance awareness.”
“Our youths’ future is being destroyed by this pandemic, and we are hoping and praying that we will be able to fight it as a country.”
The success of Councillor Chikwira’s initiative has sparked interest from other communities, with several local authorities and organizations reaching out to learn more about the program and explore potential partnerships.
