fijivillage Straight Talk with Vijay Narayan - Kalesi Volatabu

Drug Free World Fiji Founder, Kalesi Volatabu is urging all Fijians not to use methamphetamine as means of comforting oneself from the trouble they are going through since this drug is highly addictive.

While speaking on fijivillage Straight Talk with Vijay Narayan, Volatabu says when she was living on the streets in Australia, meth was a common drug she used.

She says using marijuana relaxed her but she did not want to feel relaxed because of the things she was going through.

Volatabu says whenever she took meth, it felt that she could do anything and sometimes it would not matter what she did to herself or others.

She also highlighted that for an addict to stop using, it would take them four to seven tries to walk way from using drugs.

The Founder says what made her stop using was the support that she got from the man that took her out of the streets.

Volatabu says he showed her the importance and love of a family.

You can watch the full video below:

Parents play a pivotal role in children’s lives, and they should create a platform where children can easily come to them for any advice or share whatever they are going through.

This was highlighted by Drug-Free World Fiji Founder Kalesi Volatabu during the fijivillage Straight Talk with Vijay Narayan when advising parents on the importance of their roles in ensuring that their children are not falling victim to drugs.

She says parents are the first role models for the children and do not expect teachers or somebody else from outside to do that.

While talking about her past life, Volatabu says she never thought that her mother would leave her in Australia when she wanted to travel back to Fiji and this broke her.

She says she ended up on the streets because there were people like her who were kicked out of their families and were also unloved.

The Founder says there are certain things that children are being influenced by inside a family instead of them going outside and being influenced by somebody else.

Volatabu stresses that if children do not feel a sense of belonging in their family, they will look for it outside.

Volatabu says parents cannot be naive anymore and monitor what their children do when they are on their smartphones because whatever is seen in movies and social media about drugs is not the reality that happens in the real world.

We do not have an alcohol and drug rehabilitation centre in Fiji and the Saint Giles Hospital does not have a programme for drug addicts.

This has been highlighted by Drug-Free World Fiji Founder Kalesi Volatabu while speaking on fijivillage Straight Talk with Vijay Narayan.

Volatabu says they needed to reach out to the Saint Giles Hospital in 2019 because of the data they received and the increasing number of what was happening on the street.

She says they touched base with Saint Giles Hospital because it was perceived to be the mental institution and at the same time they were trying to see if there is any help they can offer.

She says they started workshop sessions with 5 patients and they came to a stage they were sitting with about 35 people, both male and female.

Volatabu says drugs is complex on its own because everybody either do not want to talk about it because there are too many taboo subjects and there is a shame factor attached to it.

She says if there is stigma attached to it then people will not come out and reach for help.

She says when they got into Saint Giles, they did not care what drugs they were on and where they came from; it was a talanoa with a family member.

The founder says they were seeing the increasing number of young people coming through and having conversations with them.

Volatabu adds they have a close relationship with the Police in terms of giving out booklets but they are not a law enforcement agency.

Drug-Free World Fiji Founder Kalesi Volatabu is calling on parents to spend more time on their children and create an environment at home where they can talk about issues because when kids do not have boundaries set for them or have security, they are going to look outside for a sense of belonging and family.

While responding to a question on fijivillage Straight Talk with Vijay Narayan on the erosion of morals and values, not feeling safe and facing child abuse in their own home resulting in children loitering on the streets,Volatabu says the words that you say and how you treat your children affect them.

Volatabu who is a former addict and survivor of child abuse and neglect says parents are the first role model for children and they should not expect the teacher or anyone from the outside to do that.

She says there are certain things children are being influenced by and instead of going outside and being influenced by somebody else, please create a platform that they can come to the parents first and talk to them.

She says become a friend for them and not come down really harsh on them.

Volatabu says obligations towards the church, the vanua or the family take parents away from their responsibility, but the family comes first.

1 in 3 young people seen loitering in the streets are highly likely to be users of methamphetamine or even heroin, and most of these people using the hard drugs are using syringes and needles to inject these highly addictive illicit substances into their bodies.

Shocking revelations have been made by Drug Free World Fiji Founder, Kalesi Volatabu while appearing on fijivillage Straight Talk With Vijay Narayan where she also spoke about a 11-year-old boy who is now living on the streets in Suva after coming from the maritime islands for education.

Volatabu says this young boy is shooting meth into his body daily, and although he cannot afford it, he is being used by the drug dealers, to get other young people to buy the hard drugs, and he then gets his shot as a payment.

The 11-year-old is even selling his body for sex, just to get his next meth hit.

Urgent action is needed as more information continues to be revealed on the reality on the ground.

Volatabu says when she came in 2018, she was asked by the former Defence Minister, Inia Seruiratu, to assist in drug awareness, but she said many things were hidden including the data on what is the situation.

Volatabu also says based on their surveys, most of the hard drug users are intravenous users, and most of them are sharing needles.

You can watch the full Straight Talk interview on our website, fijivillage.

The Drug Free World Fiji team has started its Drug Awareness Outreach at the Suva Market, Suva Bus Stand and surrounding areas, where they raised the issue of drug peddlers targeting young children at the Bus Stand and also concerns of drugs being sold at the Suva Market.

Drug Free World Fiji says after receiving feedback from the schools they visited recently in Suva in June and concerns raised by people that came to see them at Fiji Showcase 2023, it was evident that drug peddlers were targeting young children at the Suva Bus Stand and drugs is being sold at the Suva Market.

It says they had called the Fiji Police Force, where they explained what they were planning to do which is a Drug Awareness Outreach.

The organisation says they had a few students coming to them and wanting to talanoa about what they are seeing in their schools and communities - these were young children (class 3 to class 6), while other young children were bringing their peers to listen and ask for more information.

They say they had a couple of requests from some of the children asking for boxes of booklets to be dropped off at their primary schools so they can share the factual information with others at school.

Their planned time was to deliver more than 3,100 Truth About Drugs booklets from 2pm to 4pm but in the end these booklets were gone in just one hour.

They acknowledge the support from the Police Commander Central Superintendent of Police (SP) Farasiko Matawalu, who gave them the authorisation to conduct the distribution of the booklets at the site and surrounding areas.

Drug Free World Fiji is looking forward to conducting outreach programs at the same location in the coming weeks and it is also a chance for everyone to go and see them for a talanoa.

11 yr old boy shooting meth daily, is being used by the drug dealers to get other young people in Suva to buy hard drugs – Volatabu

1 in 3 young people seen loitering in the streets are highly likely to be users of meth or heroin