Drug peddlers are targeting children – Volatabu

Drug-Free World Fiji Founder Kalesi Volatabu says drug peddlers are targeting children in Fiji and what is worse is that parents are allowing that to happen.

While speaking during fijivillage Straight Talk with Vijay Narayan, Volatabu says when they started in 2019, their target were the youth but it has shifted to the primary school students where they need to have frank conversations with them because they are being targeted.

She says while speaking to a 6 or 7-year-old girl in the Western Division, she found out that her father would get her to take it from home from him and in her school bag, into the school and somebody would purchase it from her.

She says Tonga charges the parents if their children are found with drugs and when questioned if this is the direction Fiji should go into, Volatabu says definitely as our children are the most vulnerable.

Volatabu says the Education Ministry and other stakeholders do not have any strategies in place to deal with the issue.

She says everyone knows we have a problem in the country but nobody is doing anything about it.

Volatabu asks instead of talking about it, can we look at some action and start implementing strategies in school.