Kelera Ditaiki 
Waqainabete says a church should offer more than a place of worship. [PHOTO:KELERA DITAIKI]
Churches are being urged to do more than preach against drug abuse, with calls to turn their facilities into safe spaces offering testing, counselling and support for young people.
Methodist Church Youth Member Alisi Waqainabete says churches must rethink how they respond to the drug crisis. She says regular church meetings should produce practical solutions to help vulnerable youths.
Waqainabete believes youth welfare must become a priority in church leadership discussions.
She believes youth welfare must become a priority in church leadership discussions.
“First one is that it too has got to do with the emotional health of young people. Some kids, some young people are born with trauma.
And that’s not a surprise because of the high domestic violence that we have in Fiji. So when we talk about drugs, we talk about the root cause of the problem. So these young people that need trauma counselling, need support because of dysfunctional families.”
Waqainabete says a church should offer more than a place of worship, particularly for young people who need support.
Archbishop Peter Loy Chong says the response must also address the social and economic problems driving young people into drugs.
The three-day workshop brought together faith communities to review their response to drugs over the past eight months.
