Rotary Club helps Balinese people "just say no" to drugs

Rotary Club helps Balinese people "just say no" to drugs

Rita A. Widiadana, The Jakarta Post, Denpasar, Bali

Donny, a 15-year-old, is much like any other ordinary high school
student in Denpasar. He was once a star on his school basketball
team and was active in other extra-curricular activities.

Lately, this bright student has often been absent from school
or falls asleep during class. His eyes have dimmed and are
usually red. He also has lost much of his appetite. Neither his
parents nor his teachers paid much attention to these changes
until Donny was found lying unconscious near the school's rest
room.

His teacher panicked as did his peers, unable to identify his
"sickness." He was later brought to a nearby hospital and was
diagnosed as a drug addict. He has been taking a large variety of
drugs ranging from ecstasy, to shabu-shabu, crystal
methamphetamine, to heroin for the last two years.

Like other big cities in Indonesia, Denpasar is also home to a
band of young drug addicts. The cases of drug users among the
city's youth is alarming and increasing significantly.

There are no official figures on the number of drug users,
particularly among the youth in Bali. However, the fact that all
kinds of illegal psychotropic substances can easily be found in
Denpasar, Singaraja and other cities in Bali is really dismaying
to many.

To make matters worse, drug problems involve not only
teenagers from well off families in urban areas but also their
poorer and less fortunate peers in remote villages across Bali.

If you stroll along some of Denpasar's streets and go to
malls, entertainment centers, cafes, computer game centers or
public parks and even in many school yards, you may probably meet
someone offering you certain kinds of drugs that could make you
"high."

Just a few years ago, drug dealing was very underground and
limited to a few "inner circles."

Drugs were usually obtained through someone very close to the
users. Today, this illegal business dealing can take place openly
in any place through various means including on-line services via
the Internet.

More distressing too, is that Bali has been identified as an
international drug trafficking hub with destinations connecting
Southeast Asia to other places in the world.

Data from the Bali police shows an escalating number of
international drug traffickers arrested on the island in the last
five years.

The situation has become a grave concern for everybody on the
island including members of Rotary Club (RC) in Bali and Jakarta. The
Club has been conducting various social charity programs
including health and education.

Stefan Zawada, community Service Chairperson of RC of
Jimbaran, Bali, told The Jakarta Post that in addition to various
ongoing charity programs, RC in Bali and in Indonesia is now
focusing on drug prevention programs to keep youths away from the
menace of drug-related problems.

"Drug problems usually involve young people, who are our
future. If they are suffering from drugs, our future will really
be in jeopardy," Zawada said.

Between Aug. 21 and Aug. 24, 2003, four Rotary Clubs including
from Jakarta, Seminyak, Jimbaran and Bali Taman organized a
three-day training seminar for 27 teachers from 10 junior and
senior high schools in Denpasar, Kuta and Nusa Dua.

The seminar's aim was to pave the way for a joint RC
nationwide program for primary drug prevention.

"This was our initial program by inviting teachers first. We
considered it important because they are the persons who deal
with our children at schools," he said.

A lot of teachers do not have adequate knowledge and skills to
handle drug-addicted students. Many of them have never seen an
illegal drug, let alone the symptoms on users.

"How can they help their students if they are not equipped
with sufficient information and knowledge," Zawada said.

The training in Seminyak, Kuta had turned out to be an
informative gathering for these teachers.

"I had an experience with a student, who collapsed in the
street because of an overdose. From that I saw, there was a need
to find solutions towards these problem," a teacher said, sharing
his experience and adding that he felt it was his duty to change
his students' attitudes toward drugs.

Before attending the meeting, Rini, not her real name, had
always been in doubt whether she could help her ailing students.
"Now, I am very happy with this seminar because now I feel
confident when dealing with students with drug-related problems
at school," she said.

The seminar, which included counseling techniques, first aid
practice and effective communications skill broadened the
teachers' understanding about drug abuse and its dangers. They
were also introduced to former addicts and heard first-hand of
their experiences.

After their training, many participants said they hoped that
the RC will hold more seminars for students and parents. They
also said they would like the RC to provide them with money.

"We hope to extend the program to include all schools in Bali
and we are going to work very hard to realize it," he said.