As the country commemorates the anniversary of the June 16, 1976 Soweto uprising, learners of Leondale Secondary School today took part in an anti-drug campaign aimed to raise awareness of the dangers of substance abuse.
The school which has experienced issues of drug and substance abuse among it's learners, has turned the situation around through regular campaigns against substance abuse.
This morning jazz music icon, Sipho Hostix Mabuse, joined the learners as they held a June 16 inspired campaign at the school.
Mabuse urged the young people to take up the fight against substance and drug abuse, saying: "The youth of 1976 fought a different fight, and right now the youth of 2023 are fighting another fight which is substance abuse. I urge you to take up the fight against this scourge. It is important (to do so)."
Last year, Leondale Secondary School made headlines after some of its learners were caught abusing drugs and other substances.
The school was subsequently dubbed 'dagga school'.
The June 16 campaign was also joined by Nedbank, in a bid to highlight the dangers of drug abuse as part of the World Changers Candidates campaign.
Speaking to The Star, founder of World Changers Candidates, Lucas Lucas Mahlakgane, said it was important to him and the organisation to intervene in turning the fortunes of the school around.
"On that historic day, an estimated 20 000 children from various schools in the township of Soweto took to the streets to protest the introduction of Afrikaans as a language of instruction in local schools. The event would spark mass protests across the country and become known as a turning point in the fight against apartheid.
“It's no secret that the youth of today are faced with a different kind of monster; which is the struggle against drugs and substance abuse.
"We continue to encourage young people of this school and across the country to be daring and brave enough to emulate the courageous spirit of the 1976 youth and face this new enemy," he said.
Mahlakgane said the goal of the campaign was to mobilise support and inspire people and affected communities to act against drug use.
One of the learners who took part in the campaign, Katlego Mabena, said she identified with the young people of 1976 who fought to liberate their country.
"I don't identify any differently from the youth of 1976. We as the young people of today must fight to shape and strengthen the foundation of our society, and fight the scourge of drug and substance abuse like the youth of 1976. We owe it to our generation to fight this fight," she said.