Mandela University hosts transformative two-day training
The non-credit bearing SLP brought together more than 70 participants, including representatives from local NGOs, the Metro’s Local Drug Action Committee, school governing bodies, student leaders, parents, grandparents (gogos), individuals living with addiction, and faith-based organisations from across the Nelson Mandela Bay Metro.
Mandela University were represented by the Hubs of Convergence (HoC) and the Department of Social Development Professions in the Faculty of Health Sciences.
The ongoing initiative forms part of a broader national partnership supported by the University’s Engagement and Transformation Portfolio’s (ETP) NRF Grant.
The training is designed to alert communities about destigmatising addiction and locating the person instead of foregrounding the addiction. It demonstrates a humanising carefronting approach to prevention, early intervention, secondary care, aftercare and the prevention of relapse.
The participants engaged with multisystemic drivers, developmental pathways and consequences of addiction, and co-developed contextually relevant plans.
Facilitators Rev. Jacobus Nomdoe (THRV) and Professor Veonna Goliath, from Social Development Professions guided conversations and experiential exercises about self-understanding, early indicators of different levels of substance use (and other behavioural addictions), modes of social/peer influence, co-dependency, and models of prevention.
Through storytelling and participatory engagement sessions, participants reflected on their experiences, laying the groundwork for collective healing; (from historical and intergenerational traumas) and the potential for reclaiming of hope and a new narrative.
On the second day the focus shifted to practice with participants developing their capacity to respond with empathy and compassion through role-plays and scenario-based learning.
Testimonies from two youth leaders from THRV in Cape Town offered raw, hopeful accounts of personal transformation, highlighting the importance of family and peer support and purpose in recovery.
One of the youth leaders, was a Mandela University student and is in the THRV recovery programme, doing exceptionally well and hoping to return to support the University’s work around substance abuse on our campuses and in our communities.
Community coices, shared vision
Throughout the workshop, participants voiced both their concerns and their dreams. They named youth unemployment, family breakdown, and glamorised normalised drug culture, as well as well-intentioned harm reduction parental strategies that stimulate harmful drug use as key challenges.
They also called for positive alternatives, after-school programmes, mental health support (including a responsive public safety and healthcare system to assist with the detoxification of persons presenting with drug-induced psychosis), safe spaces for creativity, mentorship, and leadership.
“We don’t just want to be told to ‘say no.’ We want to be equipped to say yes to something better,” said one youth participant.
Moving forward together
The Metro leg of the training represented a significant step towards a more compassionate and community-driven response to substance abuse, not only within Nelson Mandela Bay but as a model for broader regional implementation. It reaffirmed the power of collaboration between universities, communities, and civic organisations.
Importantly, the programme led to the formation of a multi-stakeholder working group tasked with drafting a proposal to:
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extend this work into Kariega,
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support an NGO working with imprisoned individuals,
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develop trauma-informed school-based prevention programmes, and
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contribute to the establishment of the Home of Hope initiative in New Brighton.
This forward-looking agenda reflects a growing momentum for sustainable, community-led action grounded in care, restoration, and shared responsibility.