RESIST TEMPTATION OF ALCOHOLISM — KABRAL (PAGE 11, MARCH 22, 2010)

The Chairman of the National Media Commission, Mr Kabral Blay Amihere, has advised the youth to resist the temptation of alcoholism and drug abuse.
Mr Amihere noted that most of the inmates of the country’s psychiatric hospitals were made up of the youth due to their indulgence in alcoholism and drug abuse.
He was speaking to the Daily Graphic after joining staff, students and some past students of the St. Augustine’s College to donate items to the inmates of the Ankaful Psychiatric Hospital on Monday.
They also planted tree seedlings along the road from the school’s park to the Metropolitan Hospital to commemorate activities marking the 80th anniversary of the establishment of the St. Augustine’s College by the Catholic Church.
“Coming here is not a choice, students should be guided by the advice on drug abuse and excessive use of alcohol,” he stated.
Mr Amihere, who is a former High Commissioner to Sierra Leone and member of the St. Augustine’s Past Students Union (APSU), advised the youth to study hard to help unearth their potential to enable them to become useful citizens and contribute to nation building so as to justify the investment made by their parents and the government in their education.
He commended the staff and students for their efforts to give to the needy and described the gesture as a testimony of the founding fathers of the school built on the spirit of service to mankind.
The Headmaster of the school, Mr Joseph Connel, said it was the objective of the school to train the youth to learn moral values to make them become useful citizens and contribute to the development of the country.
Mr Connel said the donation formed part of the school’s social responsibility and was also meant to inculcate in the students the spirit of giving back to society to help the less fortunate.
The Head of Administration of the Ankaful Psychiatric Hospital, Mr Kingsley Asamoah-Bediako, expressed gratitude to the staff, students and the past students for the donation, which he described as the biggest for the institution so far.
He also advised the students to learn from the unfortunate experience of the inmates who were once students but failed to heed advice and had, therefore, found themselves in that unfortunate circumstance.