Substance use is permeating the community of Mamelodi. The effects of substances have been widely spread across the community and community members from all age groups are ultimately affected. Substance use can have devastating effects on a person’s social, emotional, and physical well-being and children, especially teens, are a vulnerable group that is susceptible to peer pressure. The Occupational Therapy (OT) Department was invited by a secondary school in Mamelodi, to provide intervention for the learners who are known to use substances and would like to stop. Similarly, through their work at another secondary school, they became aware that many learners start using substances when they are in primary school.

During the second work-integrated learning block (9 May - 15 June 2022), the occupational therapy students conducted group therapy intervention at both a secondary school and a primary school, with learners who were identified to be using substances or have approached staff at the school, seeking help. During this time, the occupational therapy students noticed that there is a dire need for intervention among high school learners. The sessions at the high school were conducted once a week on a Wednesday afternoon and were aimed at developing the learner’s skills and educating them on making appropriate choices in their lives. During the first week, only six of the twelve identified learners attended the session. It was suspected that the learners were unsure of what the sessions entailed and were afraid of the possible stigmatisation of a “substance use group” that may become attached to their attendance in the group sessions. The group, over the weeks, grew, with up to twenty learners attending the sessions, highlighting the need for intervention among high school learners in Mamelodi. It was noted during these sessions, that these learners struggle to look ahead into their futures and tend to focus on their lives in their current circumstances. It was also noted that many of the learners struggle to overcome the problem of peer pressure ultimately resulting in substance use. Another major concern is the lack of support that these learners have in their immediate environments. The passion, participation, commitment and enthusiasm of the high school learners made the sessions easier to conduct and the need for life skills development and social support is an important aspect which needs to be addressed.

The experience at the primary school proved to be more challenging. Five learners at the primary school were seen by the teachers to be taking substances on school property. The principal requested that the occupational therapy sessions be aimed at education and prevention of substance use. The primary school learners unfortunately seemed to be uninterested in receiving the intervention and did not voluntarily attend the sessions. The learners appeared to be exploring the use of substances, however, they were unaware of the effects thereof. The behaviour of the learners in the primary school was often difficult to manage and it was difficult to understand and explore the needs of the learners as they were unwilling to share. Additionally, it was difficult to build a relationship with these learners in a limited six-week period of once-a-week sessions. It was brought to our attention that the learners are struggling with circumstances outside of the occupational therapy students’ control among others, being in child-headed households and having no support from their families.

As a result of this work, the primary schools in Mamelodi, Eersterust and Nellmaphius were invited to attend a discussion session to try and understand the situation in the primary schools from the perspectives of the teachers. Two schools attended the discussion, together with COSUP management representatives, COSUP peers, the OT students, a lecturer and a supervisor.

It was noted during the discussion that although the schools have a system or process which they follow when dealing with certain situations like substance use and difficult or disruptive behaviours, the process appears to be challenging without input from the learner’s parent/guardian. The schools stated that parents often do not attend nor arrive at meetings, do not answer phone calls, have no existing relationship with the school itself, are not willing to change their child’s behaviour and often do little or nothing to help change the situation that their child is in. It was noted that substance use appears to be a problem in both primary schools which attended the meeting and both schools had no knowledge of COSUP; which was then explained and introduced to them during the meeting. The teachers highlighted that behaviour-related issues are a major concern for teachers and those teaching learners of today are nothing compared to teaching the learners that were in schools a few years ago. The discussion continued highlighting, the need for teachers themselves to have a support system. These teachers feel like they need somewhere to debrief and that dealing with the issues that arise with their learners, cannot be done on their own. They feel as though they are unable to handle certain situations and believe that disciplinary action of a child does not form a part of their role as a teacher.

The teachers from the schools indicated that they are not aware of the types of substances, nor the effects that they have – making it difficult for them to understand when they are observing behavioural changes in children. They highlighted a need for them to understand what to look for in learners who are potentially taking substances which alter their behaviour, to be equipped with the knowledge and to be empowered by COSUP. The teachers pleaded for assistance and requested a workshop where they could be equipped with information to facilitate them in understanding and helping their learners as best as possible. The teachers suggested that this workshop should be aimed at working with the parents as well as the teachers to create awareness of what is happening in the learning environment, to recognise the problems in their children and show the parents what is happening in their children's lives.

Being able to work preventatively in schools will require a rethink due to the complexity of various factors involved. Numerous stakeholders from the University of Pretoria, COSUP and primary schools are working on creating a forum where different organisations can come together with the schools to advise and provide intervention for their learners. The teachers requested an opportunity to reach out and have somebody they can contact to close the gaps within the school environment. The relevant stakeholders concluded that there are missing links within the system and therefore we need to find a link between the different organisations in order to ensure that there can be a holistic change in the lives of the learners of Mamelodi.

In conclusion, the need for support, collaboration and change in the learning environment is something which does not have an immediate solution. However, by following through with the relevant stakeholders, buy-in and support from the Department of Education and by sharing this information with other schools, there is an opportunity for change and improvement of the lives of those within the education system in the community of Mamelodi.