DRUG ABUSE

Drug abuse is a growing problem in Ugandan society. Because it is known to be illegal, the full extent of the problem is not really known but children, both in and out of school, are being tempted to experiment with drugs, at the very age when they are prone to adventure. It is therefore very important to bring these issues into the open and prepare the youth to confront such temptations.

Figure

ACTIVITY

ARAALI’S CHOICE

Objectives

By the end of this session, students should be able to:

1. Explain the 3C’s method to good decision making.
2. Make good decisions concerning drugs.

Time: 40 minutes

Materials

Chart, pen, pencil, markers, exercise books.

Procedure

1. Write the three C’s to Good Decision Making on a large sheet of paper or the chalkboard and tell students to copy them down.

2. Give the case study of Araali’s Choice to the students and ask them to fill in the 3 Cs with reference to Araali and make a decision for him.

ARAALI’S CHOICE

Araali is a student at Kawaalya Secondary School. He is a very good footballer and is very popular in his class. Then his rival for popularity introduces marijuana into the class and convinces several of Araali’s best friends to start smoking it. It becomes the fashion in the class and those who have started smoking it laugh at the others for being so childish. Araali’s girlfriend has even smoked it twice and is putting strong pressure on Araali to give it a try. What should Araali do?

3. After each student has filled in the 3 Cs and made their decision for Araali, divide the class into groups to discuss their answers.

4. Groups report back to plenary for final discussion.

5. Conclude the activity with the discussion points below:

(i) What do you think of this model? Do you think it can help people make decisions?

(ii) How can you explore all the possible consequences of a choice before making a decision?

(iii) Which are more likely to help you make a good decision, your feelings or your thoughts?

(iv) How do you prioritise your choices?

(v) In what situations do you think this model might be useful to you? Why?

Learning Points

· Three C’s To Good Decision Making.

(i)	Challenge (or decision) you are facing.......................		Figure
(ii)	Choices you have.....................................................		Figure
	Choice 1..................................................................
	Choice 2..................................................................
	Choice 3............................................................................
(iii)	Consequence(s) of each choice		Figure
	Positive	Negative
	................................................	..........................
	................................................	..........................
	................................................	..........................
(iv)	Your decision is........................................................

Hints

· Give enough time to all the students to come up with their choices and consequences. Do not hurry them otherwise the discussion will not take place properly.

· Other situations may concern whether to remain in school, love relationships, smoking etc. as well as issues of drug use and abuse.

Extension Activity

1. Ask students to produce similar scenarios where young people are faced by different choices. These can be used by the lecturer in later classes.