Turning to kids ... before they turn to drugs.

For young people in supportive family and social environments, childhood and adolescence are ordinarily times of exploration, experimentation, growth and a healthy search for identity. But for those from "marginalized" environments, where emotional, physical and educational support is lacking, those times are all too often characterized by vulnerability, abuse and destructive risk-taking.

Within this already marginalized group are the exceptionally vulnerable: street children, refugee and displaced children, indigenous or minority youth, and children of conflict. Too many of these survive under the most oppressive of circumstances: abject poverty, homelessness, family disintegration, hard labour, forced relocation, violence, or worse. The common denominator for all of these children is that they are young and powerless against adult predators.

Any one or any combination of these factors can lure them to abuse illicit drugs and other psychoactive substances. In fact, in stressful environments, the use of drugs by young people often serves a treacherous purpose: to dull abiding physical and emotional pain; to keep awake during long days at work; to relieve gnawing hunger; to allow for sleep on cold ground. Yet, the false comfort of drugs also increases the exposure of these children to major health risks and introduces other equally devastating consequences, including exploitation or sexual and physical abuse.

The phenomenon of street children is not new, but it is on the increase throughout the world as a result of poverty, conflict and turbulent social change. Their total number has been conservatively estimated at between 10 million and 30 million worldwide, depending on how they are defined. Groups of homeless children have been found in large urban areas of developed as well as developing countries: Toronto, New York, Sao Paolo, Cape Town, Bangkok, Manila, Nairobi, Moscow. In fact, almost every country and every city has been affected.

Street children are at the highest risk of developing substance abuse problems and therefore deserve special attention. Different studies have found that between 25 and 90 per cent of street youth abuse substances of one kind or another. In South Africa, 9 out of 10 street children are thought to be dependent on glue - an inhalant that produces vapours with psychoactive properties. The figures - from the World Health Organization (WHO) - are daunting, even staggering, but they don't tell the real story.

Moses Ndongi is now 12, but when he was plucked off the streets of Kisumu in western Kenya at the age of eight, he was already a chronic glue sniffer and so emaciated that the adult who found him was convinced the boy had full-blown AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome). That adult, a supervisor with a Kenyan non-governmental organization (NGO) called "Overcomers Children's Home", took him back to the Home, fed, clothed and nursed him away from glue sniffing and back to health. Hidden in that skeletal frame, his rescuer found, was a bright, caring child who, rather than being sick with AIDS, had instead been slowly dying of substance abuse, hunger and neglect.

With Moses showing natural promise, the Home decided to shift some of its limited resources and send him to a government school. He flourished there, quickly rising to the top of his class. One visitor was so impressed that he made Moses a promise: if the boy kept up with his studies and stayed at the top of his class, then the visitor would buy him a bicycle - a generous deal for a boy yanked from the streets and the hunger-stilling stupor of glue. Moses kept his end of the bargain and then some, and when the visitor presented him with the bicycle, Moses volunteered to help out the Home by doing errands on the bike that on foot would have taken too much time away from the studies of the other children.

According to Chris van der Burgh of the United Nations International Drug Control Programme (UNDCP), Moses has become a guardian and "elder brother" - at the ripe age of 12 - of the newer children who have been taken into the Home's programme. The Home accepts children as young as toddlers and as old as those beginning secondary education. From the streets to role model, rather than doomed, Moses was given a brighter future and, in leading the younger children, has kept the promise of his namesake.

Starting out with a small grant to open up a carpentry shop that would take kids in and equip them with marketable skills, the Overcomers Children's Home, thanks to a second grant from Norway, built its own four-room schoolhouse on land provided by the Kenyan Government. There, they learn the "3 R's" (Reading, Writing and Arithmetic), as well as carpentry, cabinetry and dressmaking, and, using profits from selling their products, have upgraded old equipment. With a former government minister as the overall project manager and the local chief of police as a member of the management committee, the Home is offering alternatives to drugs and a safe haven to children in a crime-ridden area. Although it borders a slum, the Home and its school have so impressed some parents that they have taken their children out of the government schools and enrolled them in the Home's school. Today, the Overcomers Children's Home has contracts with local hotels to supply fish from Lake Victoria and hopes someday, once it solves its lack of transportation, to again field a trophy-winning volleyball team.

"The Home started out with very little, but has built up something that is held in high esteem by everyone from local chiefs to the central Government", Mr. Van der Burgh says, adding that UNDCP's original $5,000 grant had been put to good use and "a long-term investment has paid off". The financial support was small, but the outcome so significant: children delivered from the grip of drugs, illiteracy and, in some cases, early death. Moses Ndongi is living proof that drugs and environment can be "overcome", even with limited resources.

Still, despite evidence that small investments can make important differences, there is a disturbing upward trend of drug abuse among the young around the world, matched by the increased availability and wider variety of drugs. Drug use is linked not only to economic and social factors: it also forms a part of an emerging youth culture that is spreading from the industrialized world around the globe. Equally worrisome, the age of first drug use appears to be falling, according to UNDCP. What not so long ago was 18 became 14, and now 12 is the age often given by young drag abusers as their initiation into drug use. But that doesn't mean 12 is the lowest age of first use. As Moses Ndongi knows too well, on the streets, children turn to glue and other drugs as young as five, and eight-year-olds have been discovered dealing. And the earlier they begin experimenting with drags, the more likely they are to become seriously addicted. According to UNDCP, during 1995, more young people in the age group 15 to 19 years entered treatment than in the entire three-year period from 1992 to 1994.

The big question is how best to reach young people under diverse circumstances, according to Stefano Berterame of UNDCP. For better or worse, "the traditional ways of communicating preventive messages on drug abuse - through the school system - have not been totally effective. Sometime during their second decade of life, young people begin looking for role models within their own age groups, rather than in teachers and parents". It is not always effective to rely solely on traditional intervention, and not all children are given equal opportunities. The implications for drug demand reduction strategies are pivotal.

"A priority in demand reduction activities has to be to reach vulnerable young people", says Christina Gynna Oguz, Chief of UNDCP's Demand Reduction Section. And children and young people also help one another - an important culturization and, in some cases, survival mechanism. UNDCP capitalized on this mechanism in an innovative project: sponsoring a five-day gathering of youth-based drug abuse prevention groups in Banff, Alberta, Canada.

More than 150 young people from 22 countries gathered at the Banff Centre from 14 to 18 April 1998 to share their experience and ideas on the dangers of drugs. Ranging in age from 12 to 25, they were invited by UNDCP as representatives of more than 35 prevention groups from around the world. Many focused on marginalized youth, where abuse is linked to social and economic factors that call for a comprehensive approach to demand reduction and rehabilitation. However, others focused on escalating drug abuse as part of an emerging youth culture - one facilitated by music, television, video, film and print media. "Drug abuse is also increasing even among young people who have the traditional support systems in place", according to Mr. Berterame. "What we have seen recently is an increase in abuse among students and other 'mainstream' young people. This has been very consistent across various countries and regions."

All the groups were selected for their creative approaches to drug abuse prevention. Each reflected a unique set of socioeconomic, legal and cultural circumstances in their communities of origin. The meeting was a "for youth, by youth" event, since the young people themselves are considered to offer unique expertise in the area of innovative anti-drug activities. Adults - outnumbered at the meeting three to one - were involved in an advisory capacity only. In this regard, the initiative broke new ground by allowing for an understanding of drug problems and approaches to pass through the perspective of those most affected.

Planning for the gathering relied heavily on workshops conducted by the invited youth groups in the months leading up to the event. The workshops, designed and organized by the Children's Environments Research Group of New York (CERG) of the City University of New York, provided a wealth of information about community drug problems and how the youth groups approach these problems.

Selim Iltus and Kim Sabo, environmental psychologists with CERG, see the participation of youth in the analysis of drug problems and the identification of innovative and effective solutions as an essential underpinning to future international and local efforts in the field of prevention. Youth are our best resources. They have a unique, shared perspective on drug prevention and rehabilitation", Mr. Iltus says. "The primary idea is that young people have a pretty good sense - better than outsiders - of their own peer community. And they are committed. What we do is 'participatory research'" that emphasizes the importance of genuine participation. "One benefit is that the kids become involved in the solution, empowered to question what is happening in their own communities." While he admits CERG may be a bit novel in its approach, he sees it as important to get young people to discuss the problems affecting the larger society. "The more involvement, the greater the success", he feels.

Children become the representative, critical voices within their communities, says Ms. Sabo. "Most of these programmes are grass roots, alternative approaches. Not all of the kids [at Banff] are street kids. They cover a broader range. But street kids are the hardest to organize into groups" due to the volatility of their social structure, illiteracy etc.. Mr. Iltus sees "a great potential in using whatever limited resources we have in financing many of these kind of programmes. Minimal support can be really effective, in part through a worldwide network of youth communicating with each other."

The collective experience and insight of the young people gathering in Banff was captured in proposals, "The Vision From Banff, that will go to government representatives attending the United Nations General Assembly Special Session on the World Drug Problem from 8 to 10 June 1998. The proposals ask that youth be heard: "We cannot solve our problems alone, but no one can solve them for us." They call for the Assembly to make a commitment to the future by assigning youth programmes a high priority by spending on those programmes and making "an investment in the future".

UNDCP hopes to get from Banff an assessment of the variety of youth programmes that are out there and to see what works and what does not. Techniques and ideas flowing from the meeting will be put into a handbook of prevention strategies for distribution to similar programmes around the world.

"The groups in the Banff meeting will also form part of a global youth network that we are starting to build" as a resource for drug abuse prevention and demand reduction, says Ms. Gynna Oguz. The Youth Drug Abuse Prevention Network will be maintained by UNDCP and developed further with the aim of getting timely information on new trends and patterns directly from young people and of involving them in designing, implementing and evaluating innovative prevention approaches.

"All these programmes revolve around the same lack of self-esteem and finding a way to raise the level of self-esteem", Ms. Gynna Oguz says. They all share a similar philosophy, though they may have unique methodologies. She stresses that "when it comes to reality and trying to prevent drug abuse, you can't talk just about illicit drags. You need also to create another attitude towards the use and abuse of substances." That means considering such issues as alcohol, reproductive health, family, social values and a whole slew of related issues, and it means targeting young people by mobilizing local communities. So, UNDCP's approach has been to try to explore new, effective methods to reach out to young people through their peers and in other innovative ways. In that regard, the meeting "was a tremendous success", says Ms. Gynna Oguz. "It was exceptional to see the respect these young people paid each other and how much they had to teach each other and us."

Pino Arlacchi, the Executive Director of UNDCP, told the groups as they were preparing to return home: "You put your passions into your messages and it comes across loud and clear: art, music and sport are better than drags; the power of positive thinking can help overcome drug addictions; education, awareness, counselling and the building-up of self-esteem are essential to a healthy environment; and providing role models who are successful, creative and don't use drugs is a key to success. ... We need to continue to learn from you even after this conference is over."

It can no longer be argued, as it once was, that drug abuse is a problem of marginalized youth primarily in the western industrialized world. Drug abuse does continue as a false means of emotional and physical survival for marginalized young people who are in contact with street life and crime, but it is now also emerging as a part of a youth subculture that is quickly spreading around the globe a benign image of drugs, according to the Report of the International Narcotics Control Board for 1997. Drugs such as methamphetamine,"ecstasy" and other amphetamine-type stimulants - drugs closely associated with the "rave" or dance scene - are growing in popularity in western and eastern Europe, North and South America, South East Asia, Africa and elsewhere.

There is in some respects a cultural gap between the drag-taking youth and the national and international policy makers in attitudes toward the social acceptability of drug abuse and in perceptions of the health risks and other harmful effects of substance abuse. As a result, some prevention measures and demand reduction responses do not always reach all young people, according to UNDCP. This is the reason behind Banff and the proposal to establish a worldwide network of grass roots resource youth programmes: to create a forum for gathering reliable and up-to-date information on drug-using behaviour, to monitor drug-taking trends and patterns and to develop and test new approaches to drug prevention. Perhaps in recognition of this, the draft political declaration that is to be adopted by the General Assembly Special Session on drugs decides "to give particular attention to demand reduction, notably by investing in and working with youth through formal and informal education information activities and other preventive measures...".

A priority in demand reduction programmes has to be to turn to youth before they turn to drags. It is important to establish links between policy makers and the people taking drugs or at risk of taking them. Involving youth at risk in the analysis of the problem and the identification of solutions is one of the best ways to understand and respond to their specific needs. Even more important worldwide concerted action and support is needed. That is what the groups in Banff hope to get out of the Special Session this June.

Civic Ambassadors

Eight Japanese children on 26 March 1998 donated 50 million yen - or about $400,000 - to UNDCP. The young CIVIC ambassadors - all students aged 16 or 17 - were selected to donate the money on behalf of the Tokyo Drug Abuse Prevention Centre because they played leading roles in its 1997 fundraising drive.

The Centre's contribution will go into a special fund to support the drug abuse prevention work of grass-roots non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in developing countries. Since 1994, the Centre has donated $2.4 million to UNDCP, enabling it to provide grants to more than 150 NGOs.

Fact: The United States initiated a national drug control strategy in 1997 that includes a ten-year programme of action covering all aspects - prevention, education, treatment, research and law enforcement - of the drug problem.

Fact:

Cambodia, China, Lao People's Democratic Republic, Myanmar, Thailand and Viet Nam have increased their cooperative drug control efforts, including intelligence exchange, training of professionals and demand reduction.

RELATED ARTICLE: Some Banff Groups

Reaching out to young people who are at risk of abusing drugs can be difficult, so it helps to do it in partnership. The United Nations International Drug Control Programme (UNDCP), with the Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse (CCSA), the Alberta Alcohol and Drug Abuse Commission (AADAC) and the Canadian Government, came together to ask a variety of groups to meet in Banff, Alberta, Canada, from 14 to 18 April 1998, and share their unusual approaches to prevention. Major support also came from the Governments of Italy, Norway; Sweden and the United Kingdom. AADAC Peer Support was also one of the participants. A "for youth, by youth" school and community-based programme, it trains young people to reach out and support their peers who face a wide variety of hurdles, including drug abuse.

Another participant in the event was Academia de Futbol "Tahuichi Aguilera", in Santa Cruz, Bolivia, which also serves as a Goodwill Ambassador for UNDCP. For more than 20 years, this group has used soccer and education as an alternative to drug abuse, alcoholism and delinquency. Organizers estimate that 150,000 children have benefited from the programme by avoiding high-risk behaviour and developing a sense of identity and self-esteem.

A programme from New Zealand targets Maori young people. The Whakapakari Youth Programme is an indigenous Maori initiative that offers a wilderness experience where reliance on "whaanau", or extended family, replaces their dependence on drug and solvent abuse. Its objective is to foster serf-esteem, trust, hope and an understanding of traditional Maori culture.

Spazio Giovani e Prevenzione, of Parma, Italy, is a peer education programme that targets males and females ages 15 to 25, focusing on amphetamine-type stimulants (ATS) that are used in clubs and discos. Through the public school system, it recruits both group leaders and teachers for training. The result is a network of teachers and young people working together to eliminate the use of ATS, alcohol and other drags.

STEP (Society for Theatre in Education Programme) has worked with youth in the slums and underdeveloped neighbourhoods of New Delhi, India, since 1993. Run by young people of the community, it uses street theatre to promote drug-free living and to create a favourable atmosphere for discussion of drug-related problems.

Street-Wise South Africa focuses on reuniting street children with their families. It uses outreach, drop-in centres and shelters to reach young people, offering them humanitarian aid, educational opportunities and after-care. Drug-related activities include prevention and education, training and research. The group also provides primary health care related to STDs, HIV/AIDS, nutrition and sexual abuse.

The Moscow-based organization "Teens Teaching Teens" has used peer intervention to reach children 12 to 17 years old in schools and on the street since 1991. Teen volunteers, organized in groups of five, talk to several gatherings of their peers every week about prevention of drug and alcohol abuse, and HIV/AIDS. Innovative aspects of the programme include summer camps and role play among peers, and the use of special performances, videos and computer graphics to illustrate prevention themes.

The Youth Development Programme in Thailand was hunched by the Duang Prateep Foundation in 1987 to encourage young people in Bangkok's Klong Toey slum to become active community members and anti-drag role models. Activities include sports events, parades, youth camps, seminars, discussion groups, door-to-door campaigns and peer group intervention.

Source: CCSA and UNDCP

RELATED ARTICLE: "Karate Kid"

It isn't easy to get children and adolescents already way of adults to talk about their experiences, reveal what they think and ask for information or advice. So, UNDCP, together with UNAIDS, the United Nations Children's Fund and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, is promoting the innovative use of media with a prevention message, as one means of reaching out to street children.

Goldtooth, a cartoon produced by the Canadian non-governmental organization Street Kid International (S.K.I.), is a cross-cultural, action-adventure film on substance abuse prevention. Karate Kid, also by S.K.I., deals with health issues such as HIV/AIDS - a primary concern of UNAIDS and often associated with the culture of street children.

Dubbed into numerous languages and in use in many countries, the two cartoons are tools to help youth workers use their knowledge about young people and drugs, in order to help young people reflect on what they themselves know, and to work together with youth to help them to take better care of themselves. And because the children identify with the stories, the cartoons help win their trust and earn their respect.