Pathway to a Drug - Free Singapore

Wong Zhi Yi attends SANA’s booth to learn about the drug abuse situation in Singapore

and understand SANA’s efforts to inform and empower youths.

Singapore Anti-Narcotics Association (SANA) has inspired positivity, restored hope and strengthened youths’ participation to rise above the negative influence of drugs.

“A Better Tomorrow” was held at Jurong Lake Light Festival. SANA was invited to set up a booth from 18 December 2020 to 23 December 2020 as they were part of the presidential challenge beneficiaries.

SANA set up a booth with games with attractive prizes to be won. A photo booth was also set up for the event where participants get to take pictures using signages with anti-drug messages “SAY NO TO DRUGS”. Furthermore, participants were encouraged to post their images on social media platforms and follow SANA’s official social media accounts.

“Ultimately, it was a successful event. Since we have not been reaching out effectively since last February due to Covid-19”, stated Riduan, Deputy Head of Preventive Drug Education Team at SANA.

The event was set up to help the public understand more about SANA’s job and the dangers of drug abuse. Instead of the traditional approach of giving a speech, the event was successful in engaging the community.

“According to statistics, 61 per cent of new abusers arrested in 2019 were below 30 years old ”, according to Dr Jade Kua, SANA’s President.

Although Singapore has a zero tolerance towards drugs, there have been several incorrect representations of drugs in popular media around the globe, making it tough to fend off undesirable influence. According to Straits Times, some youths are bold enough to hand out drugs like Marijuana on school grounds in Singapore.

On SANA’s website, it states that its mission is to inspire Singaporeans to believe the fight against drug abuse begins with building self-worth and enabling self-determination. Therefore, SANA has been guiding people to recognise that they can resist and rise above the influence of drugs through social engagement, equipping, and assisting those in recovery.

As SANA’s regular workshops are about one to two hundred students in one setting, they had to shift it online due to Covid-19. SANA had to convert most of their materials online, such that participants can access the material anywhere on their devices. By doing things online, SANA was able to cut costs and reach out to various groups of people they have not reached out to before.

“I felt proud to be able to do my part and engage my generation in such a meaningful way and channel it to something positive”, says Talia Lam, someone who worked with SANA.

SANA has been grooming a network of young people known as SANA’s ambassadors to advocate for anti-drug messages. They are equipping youths with the tools to champion their initiative and they have been helping SANA to come up with their social media’s posts and content.

“Although we did suffer in terms of the number of students we work with, we did not see a huge difference with our outreach now compared to pre-covid-19 circumstances. I would say this is a successful model which we will be replicating not just in 2020 but in the subsequent years”, added Riduan.

Joey Wong, a participant of the event mentioned: “I didn’t realise the seriousness of the drug abuse situation in Singapore”. Besides, she is looking forward to how SANA continues to educate youths on the importance of a drug-free society.