#DrugsDistroyLives

Drugs Destroy Lives

Let’s start by defining what drugs are because we not just referring to your cocaine and crystal meth, alcohol could be considered as drugs as well. We all know drugs are harmful to the user and we know the effects it has on them. I would like to focus the attention more on the family of the drug abuser. Maybe taking a different approach to drug use awareness might just get the message across. I have someone in my family who took drugs and he and I used to engage in a lot of deep conversations, I used to enjoy our conversations until he began taking drugs and it changed him, from his appearance to the way he behaves. When I look at him I can’t help but think of the times we shared and it makes me so sad to the point where I start to miss the person he used to be because I don’t know the person that I see at family gatherings anymore, He is quiet and he hardly talks. This could be an opportunity for public relations practitioners because social media could provide a platform for families that are affected by drugs, where they could share their experiences as to how having a family member using drugs affected them and their lives. Having other drug users share their experiences is good but I feel like hearing how our family feels or hearing what they had to go through would give a drug user that extra shove to stop. Social media reaches masses anywhere anytime that’s why it’s still a go to for promoting, raising awareness and so on. The challenges might be that not everyone is tech savvy so it won’t reach or social media might not be relevant to everyone. Like how our grannies and aunties always ask us as their children to help them with their phones.

#kasilife

Kasi life

Kasi life we know started out as being, a place where anyone that fell outside of the white race, back in the apartheid era, was basically relocated there like a squatter camp situation. Over the years though it became more than oppression, it is a support system for many, it is a lifestyle, it is the net result of a person’s character for a lot of people including me. I don’t know if I would consider myself a Kasi girl anymore? But I grew up in Mabopane, otherwise known as Bopline, Pretoria ko di B and I moved out when I was 6 years. For me kasi was rough because I used to be the little girl that was soft and sweet so my so called “friends” at that time used to bully me and these were kids that stayed near my house. This contributed to my hard, sometimes outspoken character that I have now. Public relations is all about building and maintaining relationships with stakeholders there’s also some creation of publicity as well. Kasi is well known for its turn ups, they have car washes which are a vibe, kota places (chillie pepper), places like Busy Corner and Vilakazi street. These are well known places among kasi residents, anything you could ever need and want kasi provides, you don’t need to wake up, put on your best clothes and go buy simple things like bread and eggs, in kasi these things are simply just a walk away. Kasi is a community that can stand on its own it’s just that a lot of these things people do not know about them because when a person hears the word kasi the first thing they think of is crime and poverty when it’s so much more and has so much potential. This is an opportunity for public relations to utilize social media to create awareness and promote all of these things/places, the challenge would be the crime but maybe if enough awareness is created, crime would decrease. They need to show the positive side of eKasi and there’s nothing that can reach the masses like social media