Sainimili Magimagi 
More than 50 people gathered on the final day of the Ganesh Utsav workshop yesterday, marking the conclusion of a two-week-long traditional event focused mainly on educational empowerment.
For two weeks, the workshop hosted students for educational competitions and awareness activities, concluding last night with a panel discussion centred on drug and substance abuse.
Among the panellists were representatives from the Ministry of Health and Medical Services, Fiji Police Force, and the Substance Abuse and Advisory Council.
National Mental Health Officer Shawal Prasad commended the efforts of the facilitators in providing a platform for advocacy.
She highlighted that such an initiative is a bold step in a positive direction, a community approach required to combat social issues.
“So I encourage you all, today if you go and educate three people, so if we have 100 here and by the end of the week we will have 300 people who have been educated, and if you tell them to educate other three, it will increase to another 300 people. So this is how the information will spread”
Assistant Minister for Health Penioni Ravunawa said the way forward is to collectively work together despite backgrounds for change.
He added that with injectable drugs being a growing issue nowadays and contributing to the increase in HIV/AIDS, the government’s hope is to see the figures decrease.
General Secretary of Fiji Sevashram Sangha, Akhilesh Niranjan Prasad, said it is important for such matters to be raised on all platforms, whether traditional, educational, or religious events.
He added that the hope is to empower youth to make informed decisions.
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