In this era of moral decadence, there is no doubt that the youth continue to be faced with challenging social evils, which make it difficult for them to make informed decisions and the right choices for the future.

Vices such as drug and substance abuse, alcoholism, smoking, and indecent dressing do damage not only the physical health of young people but also have a great potential of talking them into pre-marital sex, which may lead to several destructive actions.

Alex Asamoah is a Senior High School (SHS) student in the Bono Region who aspires to become a petroleum engineer, but his dream has come to an abrupt end because he lacked the ability to overcome social evils.

The 17-year-old SHS student recounted how he succumbed to pressure from friends to take alcohol that will enable him to muster the courage to propose love to a girl. Asamoah said he followed the advice, but the said girl rejected his request.

“I then invited the girl to my house another time, and on this occasion, I increased the alcohol intake but gave the girl a bottle of soft drink.

“Then I lured the girl to sip some of the alcoholic beverages which contained 14% of alcohol, and the girl got drunk, so I raped her,” he narrated.

However, both regretted their action from Asamoah's account because the girl got pregnant and dropped out of school. Unfortunately, neither the girl nor Asamoah could interact with the opposite sex for long hours because of what they had put themselves through.

Asamoah’s eyes were filled with tears as he narrates the story because both had bright future. He has vowed to educate other youngsters about the dangers of indulging in drugs and substances.

“I will also like to appeal to parents to draw closer to their teenage children to avoid such occurrences,” he added.

A Youth and Social worker based in Sunyani, Victor Fosu-Boamah, said he has dealt with many cases similar to Alex Asamoah’s situation.

According to him, if boys are controlled by drugs, their desire for sex arouses, so they do things abnormal sometimes.

In the case of girls, Mr Fosu-Boamah stated that they lose control of themselves when they take any alcoholic beverage.

“The girls talk anyhow, express weird feelings and readily open up to any boy that comes their way in demand for sex,” he stated.

Mr Fosu-Boama consequently advised the youth to stay away from drugs because they are likely to do things they are least expected to do.

“I encourage young people, especially those in boarding schools to shun the company of alcohol or any other form of drug and substance.

“Alcohol, marijuana and other drugs can only affect your ability to make good, safe and intelligent decisions.

“It is the property of death and destruction, keep off,” Mr Fosu-Boama stressed.       

He further urged them to eschew negative influence by their friends because by doing so, they could predictably be warning themselves up to overcome social evils