GEOGRAPHY FIELD PROJECT

WUSAKILE SECONDARY SCHOOL

THE CAUSES AND EFFECTS OF DRUG ABUSE
AMONG SCHOOL GOING CHILDREN IN
WUSAKILE TOWNSHIP

NAME: PHILIP SIMFUKWE

EXAM NUMBER: 190501670272

CODE: 5351

YEAR: 2024

CLASS: 12T1
CONTENTS
Title………………………………………………………………………..1

Preface…………………………………………………………………...2

Acknowledgement………………………………………………….3

Aims……………………………………………………………………….4

Objectives……………………………………………………………….4

Methods of data collection……………………………………..5

Data presentation……………………………………………………6

Data interpretation………………………………………………….8

Limitations…………………………………………………………..…14

Conclusion……………………………………………………………..15

Recommendations…………………………………………………15
TITLE

THE CAUSES AND EFFECTS OF DRUG ABUSE

AMONG SCHOOL GOING CHILDREN IN
WUSAKILE TOWNSHIP

Page 1
PREFACE
Wusakile is a sprawling township found in the heart of Kitwe. It is estimated to
have an elevation of 1,225 meters and covers the southern part of the district. In
the recent past the developing township has faced a lot of challenge some of
these challenges include; having a rapidly increasing population, having poor
drainage systems which causes seasonal outbreak of diarrhea in the rainy season,
closing of the mines and the famous Black Mountain leaving many people jobless.
As a result there has been a dramatic in the number of theft and vandalism cases.
Some people due to frustration result to substance abuse which is why this case
study has been undertake in the mine area.

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
My special gratitude goes to my Geography Teacher Mrs. Hang’andu. EM for she
greatly contributed to my project, I would also like to thank the Mugala’s for
assistance rendered onto me. I thank all of my family and friends who were
helping me throughout the journey making my project a success.

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AIM
 To investigate the main causes and effects of drug abuse among school
going children in Wusakile township.
 To find solutions to the effects and causes of drug abuse in Wusakile
township.
 To ascertain the dangers of drug abuse.

OBJECTIVES
 To identify the effects of drug abuse in Wusakile township among school
going children.
 To disclose the main factors that causes of drug abuse.
 To know the recommendations I can make to the people in authority
(government officials).
 To find out what leads to the drug abuse among school going children in
Wusakile township.
 To understand the reasons behind drug abuse among school going children
in Wusakile township.

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METHODS OF DATA COLLECTION
Primary data
This method mainly focuses on observations made. The observations involved
systematically recording and analyzing behaviors, events or phenomena in their
natural settings. This method also stretches itself further and looks at case
studies. Case-studies involved in-depth analysis of a single individual, group or
event. They provide rich descriptive information and were useful for exploring
rare cases.

Literature review
In this method references were made from books, magazines, journals,
newspapers etc. Information from these sources were quoted by the title of the
book, magazine etc.

Interviews
In this method questions were asked to the random residents of Wusakile
township on what they think are the main causes of drug abuse among school
going children and the undesired consequences that comes with it. The main form
of interviews that were used are unstructured interviews which are more like a
free flow conversation characterized by unplanned questions .This was one of the
essential means which helped me to collect deep information on the issue at
hand.

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DATA PRESENTATION
In various schools, there has been one or more reported cases of drug abuse
amongst the pupils and Wusakile Secondary School is one of them. It could be
because most of its pupils comes from within Wusakile township which is on the
trace map as one the area with a very high case record of drug abuse.

CAUSES OF DRUG ABUSE IN WUSAKILE TOWNSHIP

AMUSEMENT AND CURIOSITY

PEER PRESURE

TO FEEL GROWN UP

LACK OF PARENTAL SUPERVISION

POVERTY

AVAILABILITY OF DRUGS IN THE

LOCALITY

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The effects of drug abuse in general are numerous. The research undertaken has
revealed many effects of drug abuse both long term and short term effects
especially on the youths in the area.

EFFECTS OF DRUG ABUSE IN WUSAKILE TOWNSHIP

400

350

300

250

200

150

100
EFFECTS OF DRUG ABUSE IN
50 WUSAKILE TOWNSHIP

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DATA INTERPRETATION
CAUSES OF DRUG ABUSE IN WUSAKILE AMONG SCHOOL
GOING CHILDREN
1. Lack of parental supervision
Parents for sure play a vital role in someone’s life especially at childhood and at
adolescent stage at which when not handled carefully can permanently change
their lives. Most parents are strict on their children not because they hate them
but they want them not to involve themselves in wrong vices such as drug abuse.
If a child lacks parental supervision he/she is likely to be involved in vices such as
theft, drug abuse etc.

2. Amusement and curiosity

Due to idleness some people resort to drug abuse so that they can have a delight
feeling of being entertained. Many youths find themselves in a state of wanting to
know and learn how it feels to do something and as a result they now start to do
things like abuse drugs

3. Peer pressure
Bad company can make someone to start doing what he/she doesn’t like. Usually
the common activities done in bad company or under bad influence are drug
abuse, theft, fights and other bad activities. Someone may feel more obligated to
use a drug such as weed if the people around him/her are doing it at that time. If
that person continues to associate with people who encourages him/her to use
drug , the person may keep on using them and develops an addiction. The
findings from www.springboardcenter.org said that “Peer pressure is when
someone is urging you to try something new, you could have said no but that
person is giving you all the reasons why you should try it. Peer pressure can be
used to experiment with drugs or alcohol in order to fit in.”

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4. Poverty
Poverty decreases self-esteem, this can lead to the feeling of guilt, shame and
diminished self-worth. According to psychologist, people nowadays struggling
with low self-esteem have an increased vulnerability to developing substance use
disorder.

5. To feel grown up
Some young individuals do drugs so that they can try to fit in a group of grown-
ups copying their habits and other things so that they can be considered as one of
them. This negative pressure, results in the loss of respect for elder people such
as parents, guardians etc.

6. Prevalence of drugs in the society

Particularly in Wusakile area there are a lot of unauthorized drug dealers. As for
those who sale illegal substances like marijuana are usually addressed by the
names like ba chilolo, plug and many others. This readily availability of drugs has
led to many youths in the area to start doing drugs and has negatively affected
the behavior of a lot of youths. The affordable price is one thing that also has to
be put into notice as the majority of drug abusers can easily afford.

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EFFECTS OF DRUG ABUSE ON SCHOOL GOING CHILDREN AND
YOUTHS IN GENERAL IN WUSAKILE TOWNSHIP
1. Loss of interest in school
Due to the abuse of drugs, school children experiences a sudden decline in
academic performance. This is also associated with a great frequency of missing
classes and as a result they start to lose interest in school. At the end of the day
school going children who do drugs start to drop out of school one by one and for
some the story doesn’t end well as they find themselves in prison serving a
sentence and for some they end up being abandoned by their parents. This one
an example of the many stories children known as street kids may narrate.

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2. Drug dependence (drug addiction)
Addiction can be classified as a long term effect of drug use amongst all the
people including school going children. The English dictionary defines addiction as
“Being abnormally tolerant to and depend on something that is psychologically or
physically habit-forming .” when a person becomes addicted to something that
person cannot stop doing it, in our case if a school going child becomes addicted
to drugs he/she is likely to start losing interest in school and they end up dropping
out.

3. Money issues
A person who is addicted to drugs can’t stand a minute without doing drugs, as a
result the person happens to spend all the money they have. If they become
broke, they tend to steal and find other means of having money so that they can
buy drugs. Children who have no means of finding money usually steels from their
homes or other places in order to satisfy their desire of wanting to do drugs.

4. Aggressive behavior
Most drug abusers portray a very violentic and unfriendly behavior, this can either
be a short term or long term effect of drug abuse on someone. The first time
users or beginners are the ones that are likely to this kind of behavior because of
the effects it will impact on the brain. A person under the influence of drugs may
even commit a crime without realizing what is actually happening and will see the
effects at the end of the course. A person under the influence of drugs may
commit crimes like rape, murder and others. 0ne of the major and common traits
in behavior amongst the youths in Wusakile area is smoking this has been widely
practiced for quite some time now and for the past few years cases of pupils
caught smoking in school premises have been recorded.

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According to Knowing the examiners mind civic education pamphlet MT Mazimba
Kaunda etel, the following are some of the listed effects of smoking; it causes
bronchitis, lung diseases which can affect breathing(emphysema), cancer (about
90% of deaths from cancer are due to smoking), blood clot and stomach ulcers,
damage to unborn baby, shortness of breath among others.

5. Sexual activities
Girl children are not usually involved in illicit activities such as drug abuse, but if
so happens and she becomes addicted she is likely to be involved in sexual
activities(prostitution) in order to have money to buy drugs. Considering the fact
that girls are not good at stealing they engage themselves in sexual activities to
satisfy their desire to do drugs.

6. Low rates of self-esteem

A child who is doing drugs and all the drug abusers in general experiences a
decline of the feeling of pride in one self. This is because they are usually looked
down on by many people especially at community level.

7. Neglected appearance
Some drug abusers are so smart in looking that you can barely tell, but for many
you can just tell from the way they look and this is the most common case. The
reason for their neglected appearances can be attributed to many factors, for
some especially those who are addicted is because they sell some of their good
looking cloths in order to satisfy their drug usage.

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Some people become lazy to do work and for some it’s because they low energy
level in their bodies. For the school going children who abuse drugs the same
thing applies and they usually don’t participate in school sports activities.
Although some believes that they gain more energy after they take some drugs
and does work more efficiently.

8. Health problems
This is the well-known side effect of drug abuse. It can be categorized into two
forms namely mental and physical problems. The mental side effects of drug
abuse mainly affects the normal functioning of the brain resulting in depression
and the having of suicide thoughts in ones mind. This in some cases is associated
with lack of sleep, a condition which is called insomnia and it can also damage the
brain Physical side effects of drugs amongst abusers are wide. They result in the
weakening of the immune system increasing the risk of illnesses and infections.
Problems with the memory may also be involved, lack of attention and decision
making which make daily living more difficulty. Increased strain on the liver,
which puts the person at risk of significant liver damage, lung disease, seizures,
strokes and heart condition problems. Young people are known to be energetic
but for those who abuse drugs it`s another story. Some of the noticeable features
long term drug abusers develop are; having red eyes, having colored lips( black for
those who smoke and reddish-pink for those who take liquor).

9. Loss of respect for elders

One of the noticeable changes in behavior among youths who abuse drugs is the
loss of respect for elders. They are copping from the Western ways of life(counter
culture). It is now becoming normal to the face of every person who has stayed in
the area for some time now.

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 Some of the household effects of drug abuse is the having of an increased or
decreased appetite. Although the most common is having a reduced appetite but
for some they develop a very strong eating habit. This is because some senses
become dull and they become unable to ways of consuming food.

This is not common as many tends to loss their appetite for this reason, many
makes sure that they eat something before taking any drugs. A certain individual
narrated that whenever he takes one gram of weed, he feels like he has taken six
lamps of nshima. Another individual narrated to me that whenever he feels like
not eating anything for the entire day.

PROBLEMS AND LIMITATIONS

 Some of the people were not confortable with me taking pictures of
them abusing drugs, as a result they would chase and insult me.
 Delays in typing of the projects due to load-shedding.
 Finding the right person to acquire information from was a big
challenge as some individuals would turn the conversation and start
telling me to try out what they do.

 Inadequate time to start going round collecting views from the public
as I would remain studying at school.
 I had to spend money time to time so that I can do a research. Not
forgetting printing costed me more than K100.
 The aggressive behavioral portray of youths in some areas hindered
me from reaching out to them as they are known for gang violence.

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CONCLUSION
In this case study, various things can be concluded. The reasons behind the
matter why youths including those youths who are still in school are abusing
drugs. The case study has revealed and has come to understand the reasons
behind the abusing of drugs in the area. A number of reasons have been outlined
and explained the same thing can be said about effects as eluded earlier in this
article. The following reasons have been pointed out as the major causes of drug
abuse among juveniles , they include amusement, poverty, peer pressure, lack of
parental supervision, to feel grown up, and the availability of drugs in the area.
Among the effects brought as a result of drug abuse include; drug addiction, loss
of interest in school, neglected appearance, aggressive behavior, lower self-
esteem, sexual activities, money issues and health problems.

RECOMMENDATIONS
 The government through the local authorities and other agencies like the
drug enforcement commission (D.E.C) should sensitize the area as some
people lack information and some are just ignorant.
 The parents should be able to detect signs of drugs abuse in their children
such as a sudden change in behavior and should immediately seek for help
from the right people.
 The government should introduce rehabilitation programs for those who
are finding it hard to quite drug abuse.
 The government should make stiffer laws to restrain people from abusing
drugs.
 Guidance and counseling programs should be taken seriously in schools to
inform the pupils on the effects of drug abuse. The same programs should
be introduced at primary level so that the children knows the effects of
drug abuse at a tender age.

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