And how we overcome them by understanding what our children are really seeking.

AUTHORS: Ciara Louw and members of the McGregor Wisdom School

It’s dark and the only light is a candle flickering. There is a low murmuring as the preparations are devotedly observed, the paper rolled, the pipe filled, the foil folded. The leader goes first. A sudden flair, the ensuing reverence, an offering passed from person to person. Drawing them into the circle. Shoulder to shoulder. Bound by shared experience, mutual risk and solidarity. An inhalation, a sigh. Warm relief and the grubby surrounds fade, troubles blur, as today ceases to matter and they enter into the promise and fantasy of alternate states.

There is a lot more going on here than merely “getting high.” Yes, many children lured into Drug Culture come from impoverished backgrounds with little engagement or excitement and the simple recreational aspect is a pull, however, even the need for recreation has dimensions to it. The need for play and expression. The seeking, the planning, the connecting with the others, meeting at the appointed place at the appointed time. Thrill. Rebellion. Status.

Most significantly, they find a sense of belonging and acceptance into a culture that has the layers, depth and fulfilment potential of any successful culture. At the McGregor Wisdom School, we have come together as a group of Clinical Psychologists, Spiritual Councillors, Therapists and Educators to unpack what our children are lacking/wanting/needing so that we can start to identify interventions that could fill that sense of lack and serve as a counter-pull to Drug Culture.

First is Belonging. Pre-teens and teens crave social contact and peer approval. They have a deep need for acceptance into a circle of companionship. For acceptance and social status. This becomes part of shaping individual and social identity. Integrated into who they are and how they project to the world. It encompasses and includes nicknames, badges/icons, dress, speech, mannerisms. Within this is Mentorship. Someone ahead on the road for them to look up to and seek advise from, to follow and emulate.

Next is Purpose, which provides direction and meaning. To be part of a bigger movement or goal. A sense of progress and development. This has both a communal and a journeying aspect. Things cannot stand still, there must be a sense of accrued proficiency of a desired skill and recognition thereof. A mix of talent and perseverance. Being placed within the system with a positive trajectory.

Following on is Practise. The “what we are doing.” This involves the run-up, planning and preparing. As well as the memories, shared experience and accomplishment afterwards. Often aspects are ritualistic and repetitive for reiteration and integration into daily life; as well as practical and experiential.

Hope, the promise that new and exciting things could happen. Imagination, visualisation, projection and escapism. A feeling of optimism. Of horizons expanding and that things will change. Looking to the future with a sense of faith.

This lens helps us observe some of the essential psycho-spiritual needs of youth.

If we can understand and agree that young people are looking for much more than a simple “high”, or to be “kept busy and out of mischief”; then we can start to see the antidote. We see that the answer appears to be to provide alternate cultures that offer the same daily reprieve and life-giving social bonds, the same layers of meaning and depth of engagement as the Drug Culture.

We have dubbed this Positive Alternative Cultures PACs for youths. These cultures may initially appear frivolous and inconsequential; and many are recreation-based; but they come to have profound meaning and fulfil vital functions for the youngsters involved in them. Some of the most successful we have seen are sports cultures, arts cultures, and play cultures.

An important consideration is that drugs are physiologically addictive and, thus, this approach is more inclined to work for children before they come across drugs – so that when they have a brush with the very seductive Drug Culture, they are not so vulnerable to its temptations.

We have observed several such cultures unfolding at the McGregor Wisdom School, where the formerly disadvantaged community in the rural town of McGregor faces many of the challenges of disenfranchisement and poverty. And, sadly more and more youths turn to drugs and crime. Yet, amidst the darkness several small lights are burning. Young people are being drawn into healthy cultures formed around ballet, circus performance, poetry, rap, movement and music. Then their lives and minds are full of:

  • Belonging
  • Purpose
  • Practise
  • Hope

The “cool” factor of these initiatives cannot be undervalued. There is an element of rebellion and a need for independence in youth. As such, cultures offered by schools and churches are often seen as part of conformity and not as magnetic. Popular cultures appeal to young people by slotting into their lives and social structures. We would like to propose that these cultures can be interlinking and do not need to be unending. By their nature, many non-profit interventions are limited to a period of a few years. But in that time, a culture can form that lives on in youth behaviour beyond the organisation.

In the words of Jane Goodall: “Hope is often misunderstood. People tend to think that it is simply passive wishful thinking: I hope something will happen but I’m not going to do anything about it. This is indeed the opposite of real hope, which requires action and engagement.” 

We would like to propose that, so long as the popular, positive alternate cultures provide the multi-dimensional psycho-spiritual needs of children that they are a very worthwhile an intervention in the so-called “war on drugs.” Positive  Alternative Cultures/PACs could be one of our best defences because they are subtle, fun, attractive to youth, while filling their lives so they don’t have a gap for Drug Culture to lure them in.

We will begin exploring a recognisable set of principles and a way of measuring them. Once these are established, PACs in McGregor can readily be identified some form of formal accreditation/recognition awarded to initiatives that fulfil these requirements that then gives them an additional layer of credibility, support, access to sources of funding, and capacity building, whilst simultaneously elevating and qualifying their work, so that they command the respect they deserve. If this pilot project is successful in McGregor – we would make it available for adoption in other areas.

We begin with a brief checklist: A PAC must be positive, create belonging, give purpose, encourage regular practise, and inspire hope for youth.

We invite comment, suggestions and dialogue on this subject.

*We would like to credit those who have contributed to the conversation, as well as the countless unnameable authors that have positively informed our thinking.