SANCA
turns 60 years old
The South Africa National Council on
Alcoholism and Drug Dependence is the largest non-profit organisation in South
Africa fighting the war on drugs in collaboration with individuals, families, communities
and government departments. Looking back
on the rich history of the organisation, we find an organisation that has grown
to 29 treatment centres with 60 service points in the most marginalised and poorest
communities in our country. Services have
transformed over the years and
have stayed abreast of the latest therapeutic and preventative measures to deal
with substance abuse more effectively. In the last 25 years we have come a long
way to understand addiction as a brain disease and that treatment methodologies
needed to be adapted to ensure a holistic and professional service to our
clients. Everyday the brave and courageous social workers, community workers
and volunteers are working to break down the negative perceptions, myths and
stigma surrounding substance abuse and addiction in the communities. Services
include more than direct assistance, but gives hope
and support to substance users and addicts to enable them to return to their
families and communities and reclaim the life they were meant to lead.
The drug problem in our country is
estimated to affect over 2 million people according to the Central Drug
Authority (CDA) and growing every year. If you ask anyone, if they know someone
with another disease like cancer or hypertension or heart disease, it
might be minimal, but everyone knows or know of an addict. New drugs like nyaope,
cat and TIK have destroyed people, their families and even whole communities.
We daily hear the extremely sad stories of mothers being scared of their own
children and living in fear for their lives. The impact of substance abuse is severe and
affects all levels of our society. Nobody escapes the harms of substance abuse
and addiction in our country. Drugs don’t ask who you are, where you come from,
what colour you are, and what do you do. They affect everyone, destroy and
create chaos. If you have been a victim
of crime, the perpetrator was likely under the influence of a substance. It is
estimated that between 50% and 80% of crimes were committed whilst under the
influence of a drug as confirmed by the Three Metro Study (MRC) and the latest
Crime statistics released by the SAPS in 2015.
Substance abuse has spilled over into our
workplaces. The corporate sector is estimated to lose Billions of Rand due to
absenteeism, workplace accidents, poor productivity, disciplinary and other
labour costs. The involvement of businesses is therefore crucial to financially
support prevention campaigns in communities surrounding the areas of operations
as future employees are recruited from these areas.
Your help is needed to ensure that SANCA
stays part of our country’s solution to the substance abuse epidemic. In an age
where addiction is increasing, it is with alarm and despair that we look at the
lack of sustainability of some of the SANCA centres that are facing closure due
to insufficient funding for those clients that need it the most, the unemployed
non-paying clients. We want to urge you to get involved with SANCA and invest
in the future of our youth. You can get involved in a number of ways:
- Sign a monthly debit order towards our adopt-a-patient campaign by investing in a person’s treatment and giving them a second chance at life;
- Make a financial contribution towards the emergency rescue fund to sustain SANCA centres across the country;
- Get involved as a company through either CSI funding towards the their creative preventative programmes they can offer for ECD centres, crèches, primary schools, high schools, out-of-school youth training programmes and many more OR assisting in kind to uplift the facilities as part of team building for your staff OR make use of their services that can reduce the costs of substance abuse in your workplace (workplace policies, professional and discrete drug screenings, HWSETA accredited soft skills training workshops to deal with substance abuse in the workplace and a toll free number to assist you with referrals to treatment centres) ;
- Volunteer your time and effort during our awareness campaigns by placing your name on our volunteer list for the Easter campaign, Mandela Day, International Drug Awareness Week in June and other campaigns;
- Volunteer your knowledge by getting involved with the managing boards of the SANCA centres and be part of their fundraising initiatives.
Payments can be made to SANCA
National, ABSA, Auckland Park, and Branch Code: 632005, Account no: 1130220483.
Please add word donation and your name as the reference. Any donation is
welcome and they would like to thank you in person, please send proof of
payment with your name and contact details via email at sancanational@telkomsa.net or fax
to 011 892-3829.
You can contact them on their toll
free number 086 147 2622 or on their landline 011 892-3829.
#SANCAturns60 #HelpSANCA
