Mexico State Teachers Empowered with Tools to Teach the Truth About Drugs
The Truth About Drugs curriculum is taught to 3,000 teachers across Mexico State, who put it to immediate use to give their students the tools to live drug free.
Mexico State, one of the nation’s 32 states, is its most populous. The state, as well as the country, has fallen victim to drug cartels and their attendant crime. More than 200,000 people have been killed or have disappeared since Mexico’s government declared war on organized crime in 2006.
Caught in the crossfire are the children. As the UN’s Special Rapporteur on indigenous rights puts it, “In areas affected by organized crime and the production and trafficking of drugs, the only choice left to young people is to join these groups or be tortured, be disappeared or be killed.”
Education is the key to stem the tide of violence and drugs that is engulfing the youth of this nation. Knowing this, President of Drug-Free World Mexico Salomon Dabbah and his wife Lucy went to work to resolve reaching all youth, starting with Mexico State. In March 2017, they met with the Mexico State Education Department, enlightening them on the Truth About Drugs.
The education officials saw the value of the materials and launched a strategy to deliver the Truth About Drugs in all secondary schools of the state.
The education officials saw the value of the materials and launched a strategy to deliver the Truth About Drugs in all secondary schools of the state.
By September 2017, 3,000 teachers had been trained to deliver these materials and had immediately returned to their schools to start teaching their more than 500,000 students. They also trained school principals, supervisors and department of education officials, so that they, in turn, could train yet more teachers.
The response from teachers was enthusiastic, including, “The most effective weapon against drugs is education. Thank you for your enormous work!”
Students had their own realizations, such as one student who observed: “Even when problems are hard, you have to solve them and not use drugs which you think might help but it only makes it worse.” Another student summed up the heart of the matter with this: “There is no case for getting high. When you want to leave drugs, it will be too late! Open your eyes and don’t do it. Enjoy your life to the fullest.”
FACTS
FOR A DRUG-FREE WORLD
We reach people across the globe with the message to live drug free. Here are the stats.
191
COUNTRIES & TERRITORIES
where the Drug-Free World materials are used
15
MILLION
The Truth About Drugs booklets distributed this year
8,360
EVENTS
held educating public on the truth about drugs internationally this year
SAVE THE LIVES OF YOUTH
Support the Foundation for a Drug-Free World and help protect young lives from the destructive effects of drugs. Your contributions enable us to make our educational materials available free of charge to schools, youth organizations and other groups and individuals. Your support helps empower people with the facts they need to live healthy, drug-free lives.
