FROM SMOKE TO HOPE
By Emerson Sam Navaya W hen I published the story of James Tinto on my facebook page, a former student whose life I had seen dramatically altered in the aftermath of substance abuse, I did not imagine that another story would come knocking at my door so soon. Tinto's predicament had already unsettled me because I had known him before the darkness of his present circumstances. I had taught him English Literature when he was still a young and brilliant student preparing for his Malawi School Certificate of Education. I had seen the promise in him. I had seen the future before it became obscured. His story made me ask uncomfortable questions about drugs, mental health, rehabilitation and the responsibility of society towards young people who become trapped in substance abuse. But while that story was still fresh in my mind, Elson Matemba, popularly known as Kasabonya , emerged with a story of his own. ...