Delta Corporation Limited Launches the Smart Drinking and Moderation Innovation Challenge
Delta Corporation Limited in partnership with The Boost Fellowship held a Leadership Bootcamp in Harare from the 14th -17th of April 2024 which was attended by 106 Enactus Zimbabwe student leaders from 13 different universities in Zimbabwe.
The primary objective of the leadership boot camp was to introduce the Smart Drinking and Moderation Innovation Challenge, an initiative with the slogan Above the Influence that will run from April 2024 to December 2026. Delta Corporation Limited started the program in an effort to stop young people from abusing drugs, alcohol, and other substances. A World Health Organization report states that 13% of Zimbabwean teenagers between the ages of 10 and 19 abuse various illegal substances and engage in heavy episodic drinking, which is bad for their health and wellbeing.
In order to lessen the negative effects that drug, alcohol, and substance abuse have on Zimbabwe’s youth, the initiative aims to increase public awareness of the dangers and repercussions associated with youth drug and alcohol abuse.
The boot camp cleared the path for students’ capacity building on a variety of subjects that will aid in the implementation of their initiatives, such as supporting legislative frameworks and learning how to effectively advocate for and raise community awareness of the detrimental effects of drug and alcohol abuse. “We are prepared to go forward and share the knowledge with our colleagues at school,” declared Wisdom Munemo, a Zimbabwean student at Ezekiel Guti University. “We have learned a lot about the results of alcohol abuse, which include gang violence, dropping out of school, suicides, gender-based violence, and risky sexual behavior, among other things.”
Speaking at the official launch of the Smart Drinking and Moderation Innovation Challenge on the 4th day of the boot camp The General Manager of Corporate Affairs at Delta Corporation, Patricia Murambinda, highlighted that Delta Corporation Limited believes that the harmful use of alcohol is bad for communities and that university hubs as leading innovators should help solve the scourge of drug, substance, and alcohol abuse in communities.
“As a responsible business, we believe in the wellness of our consumers, we believe that when you drive, you should not drink and that consumers should understand why and how alcohol should be consumed within the limits.” It is our collective responsibility as youths to propose solutions in our respective communities, particularly on the harmful effects of illicit substance and drug abuse.
“We are investing in this program to witness high-impact and scalable innovation solutions to address the problem,” Social media expert Tinoda Moyo urged the students to use social media and pertinent technological solutions to advocate for safer and better communities for young people. She also suggested preventive measures, emphasizing the effectiveness of social media as a tool for changing behavior in today’s tech-savvy society. Speaking at the event, Zimbabwe Republic Police Sergeant Muringwa urged the students to report occurrences in their neighborhoods and collaborate with law enforcement officials to address the problem of drug, substance, and alcohol abuse.
“I would like to urge all students present at this launch to work hand in hand with our law enforcement agents in your respective areas and to not take the law into your own hands. You are our watchdogs in your residential areas and we look forward to partnering with you on this very noble campaign launched today by Delta Corporation Limited in partnership with The Boost Fellowship” highlighted Sergeant Muringwa.
Unveiling the 2024 thematic focus the students were tasked with developing innovative projects that will help in fighting drug, substance and alcohol abuse initiatives aligned to six thematic areas that include illicit drinking, drinking, and driving, alcohol and pregnancy, binge drinking, underage drinking and sugary drinks and health. The teams will run awareness campaigns and roll out innovative models to address drug, substance and alcohol abuse in their tertiary institutions and communities for a maximum of eight months. Their final initiatives will be adjudicated in December 2024 at the Smart Drinking and Moderation Innovation Challenge Competition for further upscaling and Investment courtesy of Delta Corporation Limited.
