Elias Kalayu and Sara Deguma Complete AU Master Trainers’ Training on Youth Drug Prevention in Seychelles

Victoria, Seychelles – From June 2–6, 2025, the African Union (AU) hosted the “Training of Master Trainers for University-Based Youth Engagement in Drug Prevention” in Victoria, Seychelles. Representing MCDO (Meqoamia Community Development Organization), Mr. Elias Kalayu Abrha and Ms. Sara Deguma successfully participated in and completed the training.

The training was jointly organized by the African Union Commission (AUC), the Colombo Plan Drug Advisory Programme (DAP), and the U.S. Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL). Recognizing that over 60% of Africa’s population is under 25, the program aimed to scale up evidence‑based, youth‑centered, peer‑led prevention interventions in tertiary institutions across the continent.

Key topics covered included:

• Understanding Substance Use Disorder

• Peer‑led prevention strategies

• Culturally appropriate intervention tools

Mr. Elias Kalayu stated: *“This training is a major boost for our University Based Anti-Addiction Community Movement (UBAACM), which we have been running in Ethiopian universities for over 15 years. The knowledge and skills we gained will significantly contribute not only to our country but also to continental drug prevention efforts.”*

MCDO extends its gratitude to the African Union, Colombo Plan DAP, and US INL for this invaluable opportunity. The organization is committed to rolling out the learned models across multiple Ethiopian universities in the coming months to build a sustainable, community‑driven prevention movement.

ርዕስ፦ የኤልያስ ካልአዩ እና ሣራ ድጉማ በአፍሪካ ህብረት የወጣቶች አደገኛ ዕጽ መከላከል የማስተር አሰልጣኞች ስልጠና ተሳታፊዎች ሆኑ።

ቪክቶሪያ፣ ሲሸልስ – ከጁን 2–6፣ 2025 በሲሸልስ ውቅያኖስ ዳርቻ በተካሄደው የአፍሪካ ህብረት (AU) “Training of Master Trainers for University-Based Youth Engagement in Drug Prevention” መርሃ ግብር ላይ፣ የMCDO (Meqoamia Community Development Organization) ተወካዮች የሆኑት አቶ ኤልያስ ካልአዩ አብርሃ እና ወይዘሮ ሣራ ድጉማ ተሳታፊ በመሆን ስልጠናውን አጠናቀዋል።

ይህ ስልጠና በአፍሪካ ህብረት ኮሚሽን (AUC)፣ በኮሎምቦ ፕላን ዕጽ አማካሪ ፕሮግራም (Colombo Plan DAP)፣ እና በUS INL (Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs) በጋራ የተደራጀ ነበር። ስልጠናው ከ60% በላይ ወጣቶች ከአጠቃላይ ህዝብ ቁጥር የሚይዙት አህጉራዊ እውነታን መሰረት ያደረገ ሲሆን፣ ዋና ዓላማው በዩኒቨርሲቲዎች ውስጥ ተማሪዎችን ማእከል ያደረጉ፣ በማስረጃ ላይ የተመሰረቱ የመከላከል ፕሮግራሞችን ማስፋፋት ነበር።

በስልጠናው ወቅት የተሸፈኑ ዋና ዋና ጭብጦች፦

• የአደገኛ ዕጽ አጠቃቀም ዲስኦርደር (Substance Use Disorder) ግንዛቤ

• በወጣቶች የሚመራ የአቻ ትምህርት (peer-led) የመከላከል ስልቶች

• ከአፍሪካ ባህል ጋር የሚስማሙ የጣልቃ ገብነት መሳሪያዎች

ኤልያስ ካልአዩ እንዳሉት፦ *“ይህ ስልጠና በኢትዮጵያ ዩኒቨርሲቲዎች ውስጥ ለ13 ዓመታት በላይ ስንሰራው ለነበረው University Based Anti-Addiction Community Movement (UBAACM) ትልቅ መነቃቃት ነው። የተማርነው እውቀት እና ክህሎት በአገራችን ብቻ ሳይሆን በአጠቃላይ አህጉራዊ የመከላከል ጥረት ላይ ከፍተኛ አስተዋጽኦ ይኖረዋል።”*

MCDO ለአፍሪካ ህብረት፣ ለኮሎምቦ ፕላን DAP እና ለUS INL ይህን ትልቅ እድል በመስጠታቸው ምስጋናውን ይገልጻል። ድርጅቱ የተማረውን በመጪዎቹ ወራት በኢትዮጵያ በርካታ ዩኒቨርሲቲዎች ውስጥ በማሰማራት ዘላቂ ማህበረሰብ አቀፍ ንቅናቄ ለመፍጠር ቆርጧል።