Anti-Drug Awareness Raising Among School Children

Drug use is a worldwide phenomenon and occurs in almost every country. Armenia is not an exception. Exact details on drug use are not available, but experts say that the country has 25,000 to 30,000 drug users, 5000-7000 of which are addicted to heroin and opium. That may be lower than in some neighboring countries, but the authorities say that the number of intravenous drug users has doubled in the last years. Crimes linked to drug use have risen too.
Therefore, ART in cooperation with AAC of Armavir Diocese launched a project aiming to reduce the spread of drug addiction in Armavir Province via awareness-raising workshops among teenagers. The project is accomplished by a team of trainers, comprised from a clergy of Armavir Diocese – Fr. Mashtots Stepanyan, Psychologist – Lusine Bedjanyan, and Senior Officer of the Anti- Trafficking and Anti-Drug Department of Armavir Police Station – Armen Ayvazyan. The project consists of 3 main phases. During the first phase a series of awareness-raising workshops are conducted among schoolchildren. Second phase consists of documentary film watching and the last one includes visits of schoolchildren to the Armavir Police Station, where they can see and realize what they will do with their lives if they step on the road of drugs.
On April 27, 2012 one of such workshops on “Drug prevention” was held in Etchmiadzin High School N 5 for 19 schoolchildren, and the clergy, psychologist and police officer provided information on drugs and the harm they cause to our life. The main aim of the workshop is to teach teenagers to say NO to drugs and help them stay away from bad influence of those who can make them become the slaves of drugs.