By Fanuel Chinowaita
Mutare, 19 November 2025– Local arts organisation Mutare Tales is intensifying efforts to curb drug and substance abuse among young people through creative expression, including a mobile mirror campaign that visually confronts users with the consequences of drug addiction.
Speaking at the Fifth Edition of the City of Mutare Women Empowerment Expo on Monday, artist and sculptor Charles Pariyani said drug abuse had become a serious concern in communities, urging parents and guardians to take an active role in protecting young people.
“Drugs are now in the minds of many youths. Parents should intervene in the fight against drugs,” Pariyani said.
He encouraged young people to join Mutare Tales and use art as a positive alternative.
“I urge youths to get into arts; they can survive and stay away from drugs. I used to smoke, but now I don’t even want to smell it,” he said.
Pariyani said many youths were drifting into drug abuse because they lacked guidance and constructive engagement. Initiatives such as Mutare Tales, he said, offered a platform for talent development, discipline and cultural appreciation.
Founded in 2023, Mutare Tales promotes music, dance, handcraft, fine art, poetry and other creative genres. The organisation’s mission is to harness the transformative power of art rooted in Zimbabwe’s cultural heritage while empowering emerging artists to collaborate, grow and preserve local traditions.
The group’s programmes include traditional and contemporary dance, Afro-fusion and Zim dancehall music, Shona sculpture, handcrafts, poetry and spoken word.
Mutare Tales representatives said the mobile mirror campaign — which allows youths to see visual depictions of drug-damaged health and lifestyles — has been an effective tool in sparking conversations and discouraging substance abuse.
The organisation says it will continue expanding its outreach programmes as drug abuse remains one of the most pressing social issues in Mutare and across Zimbabwe.