Community Engagement Unit Substance abuse Graduation Ceremony
On 15 May 2015, the Community Engagement Unit held their fourth annual graduation ceremony at
the School of Public Health at the University of the Western Cape. A total of 66 participants
received certificates from the University of the Western Cape. These participants are selected from
several rural and urban communities across the Western Cape with participants travelling from as
far as Riversonderend, Worcester and Atlantis / Mamre to attend the training programme. Twenty
six participants received a certificate for completing a 2-day course on Foetal Alcohol Syndrome
(FAS) while 41 participants received certificates for successfully completing the Substance Abuse
Training Programme. Prof. Tyrone Pretorius (Rector and Vice Chancellor at UWC), Prof. Vivienne
Lawack (Deputy Vice Chancellor – Teaching and Learning) and Mr. Charles Jordaan (Chief Director of
Social Welfare Services) commended the participants for their role in addressing the problem of
substance abuse within their communities and presented the certificates to the recipients.
The Substance Abuse Training Programme is a partnership initiative between the Provincial
Government’s Department of Social Development and the Community Engagement Unit at UWC and
consists of 8 registered modules which are delivered over a period of 9 months (2-3 days per module
per month). The UWC Community Engagement Unit wishes to congratulate all participants for their
commitment to the field of substance abuse and for their dedication to completing this training
programme. The success of the programme has been phenomenal and the Community engagement
unit has secured funding from government for the continuation of this training programme for a
further three years.
Mr Dwayne Ludick highlights the impact of the course on the course participants in the following
video clip.