20 Peer Educators Trained in Alcohol & Drug Abuse Prevention

The Consolidated Youth for Peace & Development (COYPED) has trained 20 peer educators from five communities in Montserrado County to serve as drug prevention ambassadors in their various communities.

Speaking at the starting of a three days intensive capacity building workshop held from April 27- 29, 2017 in Monrovia, COYPED executive director James Koryor reemphasized his organization commitment to the full implementation of the Peer Education Program for Alcohol & Drug Prevention among Young People in Liberia Project that is supported by the UNODC, ECOWAS and fully funded by the European Union.

The COYPED boss furthered that the workshop is part of the project activities to build and strengthen the capacity of young people who will serve as peer educators in preventing substance abuse in their communities.

Mr. Koryor also stated that the training was facilitated by individuals who are well knowledgeable about the subject matter including Mr. Robert Kutu-Akoi, Chief of Prevention, Liberia Drug Enforcement Agency, Mr. Stephen B. Lavalah, Executive Director, Youth Exploring Solutions, Mr. William Thompson, III, National Project Officer, UNODC-Liberia and Apostle Weah Wilson, Executive Director, Teen-Challenge Liberia.

The Anti-Drug Advocate furthered stated that the project is a peer education engagement to prevent substance use among young people in Liberia. The primary goal of the project is to equip young people able to develop, adopt and sustain healthy attitudes and behaviours towards a drug free Liberia targeting Montserrado, Bong, Nimba and Grand Bassa Counties. Twenty peer educators will be trained within each of the following counties: Bong, Nimba and Grand Bassa respectively, while forty peer educators will be trained within Montserrado due to size of its population.

Mr. Koryor also stated that the project also target youth and adolescent involved with harmful substance used and will also encourage and involve families and communities in the development and implementation of community based prevention strategies in the Project selected counties to ensure that the project is sustained.