Summary
Our first day of training, planting the seed for a long-term national strategy for alcohol and drug abuse prevention and recovery in Zambia.
A beautiful, sunny, cool spring morning to start off an intensive 4-week training. Laughter, smiles, and excitement emanate off our guests – 4 members of the My Zambia, My Responsibility (MZMR) crew: Chola, Chisoma, Delight, and Sulanji. Also with Andrew and me, is a student in the public relations track of our department, Essence Blakemore. Essence will be chiming in to write blogs, post vlogs, and give us the student perspective of our time together.
Think of this training as the stem of a plant. The seed was germinated in Zambia in March 2023 when Therissa and Andrew traveled to Zambia to meet with MZMR to understand the need for a national alcohol and drug prevention strategy. Alcohol abuse among people 15 years and above is at an all-time high in Zambia. The WHO reports 76% of men and 33% of women over 15 consume more than the recommended amount daily. Nearly 43% of children consume alcohol[1]. During their time in Zambia, this group identified the need for a glocal (global + local) multi-pronged approach rooted in social and behavioral change communication and alcohol abuse prevention and recovery. Through a fast and furious collaborative effort between many departments at Metro State and various stakeholders, the Zambia crew arrived in early May for this month-long endeavor, the stem of the plant.
During this training, it is our hope to grow the seed into a strong stem that will support many leaves and flowers. The braided stem, a combination of communication and prevention/recovery, will allow MZMR to accomplish many goals, including fundraising, policy making, training practitioners, education, social change, and more. This long-term project, which we hope lasts years, is an organism – holistic, ever-changing, and goal oriented. Changing the lives of individuals, families, and communities one leaf at a time.
Who We Are
This is truly a group effort and I’m happy to introduce our participants. Our Zambian team is: Chisoma or ‘Chizo’ for short, Chola, Delight, and Sulanji aka ‘The Rev’. We have lots of faculty from Metro State including Andrew and I, Therissa Libby, Derrick Crim, Kevin Spading, and Raj Sethruju. We have two recovery experts: Tracy Johnson and Costella Green, as well as our awesome intern, Essence. Join us for regular updates this month as we show you how social and behavioral change work with recovery and prevention to positively impact Zambians in the present and for the future.
More soon!
Ailesha
[1] https://www.rfi.fr/en/20190306-alcohol-abuse-zambia-psychiatric-problems-mental-health-centre-doctors
