Nazarene High celebrates drug week

A school in our neighborhood, Nazarene High, is celebrating Drug Week under the theme “Shine Bright Like Me, Be Drug Free.” And after four days of activities ranging from poetry and song competitions as well as educational talks on drugs and drug abuse, the events culminated with a parade on along Coney Drive. Hundreds of students dressed in their red t-shirts championed an awareness campaign as they danced and marched from their school compound on Princess Margaret Drive to the Nazarene Primary in the Buttonwood Bay area for a drug fair. The light rains couldn’t stop the event. Sharon McKay of the Nazarene High planning committee explained. 

Sharon McKay, Social Studies Teacher, Nazarene High School

Sharon McKay

“We had a whole week of activities: we had song competition, poetry competition and today the parade is what culminated the week of activities. We joined forces with the Buttonwood Bay Nazarene Primary School and so we are parading from our school to our sister school where we have all day activity; we have students who were winners of the competition…they are performing their winning entries as well as we have a drug fair and we have booths. All the students from the primary school as well will be exposed to learning about drugs, learning about the detriments of drugs and what they can do to prevent using drugs.”

Duane Moody

“Why was it necessary to have an event like throughout this week and have the students participate in all those competitions?”

Sharon McKay

“Well as you see, at this point in time, if you look around, you can see that Belize is slowly moving into a culture of alcohol. All though it is legal, it is something that still impairs the mind and the body. And so we want to draw to our students and to show them that there are other ways to be happy and there are others ways to get high and not with using drugs.”