SAB's 18+ campaign is having a real impact in the fight against underage drinking with a 52% decrease in the incidence of underage drinking amongst the control group of mentor and mentees.

The 18+ campaign against underage drinking was launched in November last year, when 150 ordinary working South Africans from Johannesburg, Durban and Cape Town, aged between 23 and 30-years-old, were appointed by Instant Grass Marketing to champion the cause. These young adults shared their stories of the mistakes made in their teenage years and gave advice to a total of 225 younger mentees, comprising siblings, relatives, friends or someone in the community.

Mentors were encouraged to follow SAB’s 18+ campaign on social media and share the content so that others could take the pledge online to 'be the mentor'.

By engaging in the programme, many mentors found themselves looking at themselves in a new light or starting up various community initiatives to help others such as a girls’ youth group and a mentorship programme for young men in a township.

"I realised that, with my experience, alcohol was not the initial problem. The main problem is the social construction and the situation they are in which at times has led them to turn to alcohol or people who influence their lives in a bad way,” says Wongie Mafilika, who mentors a girl group in Khayalisha.

The majority of the mentors said they had encouraged other adults to take on a mentorship role. In the five months since the launch of the campaign more than 3500 people have taken the online pledge to mentor someone.

South Africans are encouraged to take the pledge and to mentor the youth of our country by helping them make the right decisions, including saying no to underage drinking.

For more information, visit www.sabstories.co.za. Alternatively, connect with SAB onFacebook, Twitter or on Youtube.