The Sunday Mail
Tendai Manzvanzvike Divine Appointments
Alcohol, drug abuse and sexual activity are rife among young people. Why? What is the church’s role in ensuring that young people maintain righteous lifestyles in this Internet age, and that their broken lives are restored? Tendai Manzvanzvike (TM) spoke with Dr Farai Katiro — a pastor, parent and teacher — whose areas of specialty include pregnancy crisis and post-abortion counselling, HIV and Aids counselling, leadership development and pastoral training. He is also a youth advocate with Africa Street Youth Ministries. Pastor Katiro shares his thoughts on the problem and others. TM: Pastor, you work with young people. Substance abuse — drugs and alcohol – even among young people in the church is now rife. What is the extent of the problem, and can the church successfully address it?
FK: From my discussions with other people, a lot is happening. There was a time when I used to think that the problem was not as serious here in Zimbabwe as in other countries, but I am realising that things are getting worse, and the children are getting involved at a very young age.
TM: Why?
FK: There are lots of factors. One of them is poverty. Just recently, I spoke to some pastors – and they told me that in one suburb (name supplied), very young girls dress up in mini-skirts and around sunset, they are on the streets, ready to be picked up, and they get paid for the services they render.
The sad thing is that the parents are aware of this, and maybe, they are even pushing the children into prostitution.
Secondly, it could also be caused by dysfunctionality of the family structure. When you lack a father figure, mother or parental guidance, I believe that’s the genesis of such problems.
For example, there was a time when we were talking about families and I asked children to give us the types of family we have in Zimbabwe. We wrote down all the family types: parent-headed, single parent families and child-headed families.
When we thought we had exhausted all, one girl said, “You have omitted one family type, my family,” and we were surprised. She went on to say that her parents were divorced, but they lived in the same house.
Do you see the bigger picture? It disorients the child’s thinking and the social structures we have. What then do you expect from such a scenario? It needs grace.
TM: The grace of the Lord?
FK: All this disintegration is because parental guidance is lacking.
The father figure is a very critical. In my view, God ordained man to lead but when man fails to lead, a lot happens. The fact that you are born a man, that in its own has to do with leadership.
The Bible gives this comparison in Romans 5:12 and 2 Corinthians 5:21 respectively, “Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all people, because all sinned.”
And that because of one man, righteousness has been imputed unto us: “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” God then brought one man who turned the situation around to restore identity.
So, when men make decisions, they affect generations.
From Adam until the coming of Jesus Christ, those were many generations. When Adam was created, he was a perfect man. He messed up and it affected us all. It’s now up to us to make the right decision as God says in John 1:12.
And, because of one man – I am very conscious of that each time I wake up. I tell myself that I have to make decisions that won’t affect my wife, my children, my nation, not only Zimbabwe, but the nations. It might sound naive, but I hope that men will also see what I am seeing.
TM: Are you therefore saying that the failure by some men to be responsible priests of their families is a catalyst to this problem among youths?
FK: In some cases, men have refused the responsibility that God gave them. When it is like that, to me, it is disobeying God.
These are the stories I get from the streets. But, at the end of the day, my worry is, what kind of child are we moulding?
TM: You worry that when an opportunity presents itself, they will think that it is okay to take drugs because the others are doing it?
FK: Yes! They will think that anything goes, and feel that the decisions they have made are right.
The third factor is the exposure that we now have – the Internet. Internet is not bad per se, but it is how we use it, where the problem lies.
TM: Like what the Bible says about money, “For the love of money is the root of all evil…” (1 Timothy 6:10)
FK: Money is neutral, but once you handle it, you start having problems. So too the Internet. Our children are now responding to the global village on the Internet. The caveat is that even if we talk against boys, girls, drugs, alcohol; that boyfriend actually gets into our children’s bedrooms via the Internet or social media.
That “in-law” is there in our houses without our knowledge and permission. You can put up heavy security systems around the house, but they will find their way in.
When you think that your son or daughter has gone to bed, he or she will be with that man or woman on the net. This is why I say that it can be a dangerous thing.
TM: And, the problem is worsened by the generational and digital divide. Some Christian parents also think that it is not a good idea to have access to the Internet or social media?
FK: Parents fail to realise the changes that have been brought by information and communication technologies.
Thus, they are unable to give their children proper guidance on the use of these gadgets as the Bible says in Proverbs 22:6, “Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.”
These are today’s children, so as a parent you can’t ignore it, because your child is there online.
TM: So what is the way out?
FK: I think that we go back to value systems because the general entrance for every person is the family. So a family must have a value system that works in that family.
As parents, we must have sound biblical value systems. Even if our children go somewhere, those values will go with them; like what we see with Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego.
They were told to worship an idol, but they refused, and said you can kill us, but we will not worship this image. This was powerful.
Obviously, this did not start in Babylon. This was inculcated in them as they were growing up, that there is only one God, who rescued them from Egyptian bondage.
TM: Catching them young?
FK: Yes, and when we do that, even if that child ends up in Babylon, he or she will remember the God of her or his father.
The Daniels had a powerful value system where they could put their lives on the block.
Look at what they say in Daniel 3:16-18. Ndinofunga kuti Mwari akanzwa manyemwe. But it started with a value system.
TM: How does this link with the issue of substance abuse?
FK: Turning back to substance abuse, which continues to rise, it is due to the presence and or absence of this value system.
Before we look for the drug pusher, why not concentrate on our families? Let’s educate families and young couples because this is where our hope as the church is.
We should inculcate in them that divorce is anathema, because God hates divorce.
Divorce and unfaithfulness among married couples is growing in the church. You hear surprising stories and you wonder whether this is really happening in the church of Jesus Christ.
Let me also get back to the father. Do you know that whatever you do will still affect your generation? Thus as parents, we have a huge responsibility of training our children to live Godly lives.
TM: Since you have identified ICTs as one of the causes, should parents buy mobile phones for their children?
FK: I can’t say that I won’t buy my child a cell phone when I have the money, just because I think that they will abuse it.
If I don’t, someone else will. Even if someone does not buy, somebody will still lend them.
TM: Just like they do with alcohol and drugs?
FK: Yes, because you will find the child always high, and you wonder where they got the money. So, not buying them the gadgets is not the solution. That’s my stance.
What is required are Godly value systems to be instilled by the parent or guardian into the child.
TM: Let’s get back to the church. Does it see the enormity of this problem – substance abuse among the youths?
FK: It does. That is why there are youth groups, because the church saw and realised that there are some issues that can be dealt with when there are target groups.
That is why we also have groups where they discuss issues like drug abuse and relationships.
TM: Final remarks.
FK: I am privileged that I sometimes get into schools and talk to girls and boys. I tell them that there is no way you can be successful if you don’t work hard.
I normally joke and say the only place where you find success before work is in the dictionary. So I tell them the importance of work. If you work, it is an ordained thing — hard workers are deeply rewarded.
I challenge them to plan. I actually use an acronym — DPAAR, which stands for Dream, Plan, Act, Achieve and Relationships; which is a big one because they enable you to achieve your goals.
I also tell them that what separates winners from losers is action. Most people have written good proposals, but because they never acted on them, they did not succeed.
I believe that God respects dreams and visions. When we don’t have that, we perish.
That is my message to young people, “You have to be a dreamer, a planner; you have to be courageous and act.”
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