‘Listen First’ reached Nigeria thanks to NGO Drug-S (Drug-Solutions), which organized interactive training sessions around the ‘Science of Skills, Super Skills’ celebrating World Drug Day on June 27th. The event was held at the Great Wisdom Nursery and Primary School in Asaba, Delta State. A team of young pharmacists educated the children on the different super skills such as empathy, compassion, gratitude, and motivation, using the videos and science sheets in interactive sessions, including a quiz competition. The winning children were also interviewed about their experiences.
“The children were excited and had fun learning. The video screening when they got to see the superheroes, featuring Sensitive Smellup, Helpful Handy, Loyal Lookup, and Likable Listenup, was the highlight of the event,” according to Olayemi Amusile, founder of Drug-S.
Drug-S is a youth-led initiative focused on providing evidence-based drug prevention strategies for children, adolescents, families, and the community. They also refer persons with substance use disorder to rehabilitation centers for treatment. For this event, they partnered with other young leaders from the Federal Medical Centre, Asaba Delta.
The initiative was part of a series of events to be carried out this year, as they hope to diversify their drug abuse prevention interventions to include students, parents, young athletes, and schoolteachers in their efforts.
The Head Mistress – Mrs. Stella Obiekwu - was happy with the outcome. “The Listen First session was timely and key to building resilient children who are self-aware and socially aware,” she said. As a result, the school requested to continue the partnership and learning with the ‘Listen First’ resources.
UNODC congratulates Drug-S for bringing ‘Listen First’ to the Nigerian community, and we look forward to future activities!
To learn more, read this interview with Olayemi Amusile, founder of Drug-S.
Made possible with the generous support of France.