Teresia Maria Pedersen

Human Rights - Sweden (Western Europe)

Teresia considers herself very lucky to be born in Sweden, where high living standards provide most young people with good opportunities in life. However, in a globalised world, no country is immune from the social consequences of drug abuse.

“In Sweden, people who are addicted to drugs often have strong feelings of guilt and shame and therefore try to hide their problems from society”.

As a result, their families feel extremely isolated and all too often it is the children who bear the brunt of their parents’ addiction. Teresia has been working with young people affected by drugs for the last 12 years. As a basketball coach, she has provided a positive role model, teaching the value of friendship, co-operation and fair play to affected youths in her local community. She has also been involved with organising seminars, youth camps and public awareness campaigns both locally and nationally.

As part of the action plan Teresia is bringing to Oxfam IYP2004, she intends to develop a website for children living with drug-addicted parents. Acting as a support network for members the website will also provide facts and information about drug addiction and practical help for dealing with its effects. Teresia hopes that Oxfam IYP2004 will give her the opportunity to meet, share ideas and potentially work on future projects with other action partners from around the world.