Students from various schools in Muhanga district in the Southern Province on Friday convened at Muhanga Cultural centre for the concert marking the end of their holidays.The Bye Bye Vacancy concert was organised by Icyizere Group, a youth association in the district.It attracted upcoming musicians in the district, models, karate groups, modern and traditional dancers, among others.Held under the theme, Fighting against access and drug abuse among the youth, it aimed at creating awareness about the effects of drug abuse."We realised that students easily get the message through concerts as opposedto preaching to them without the element of entertainment,” said Kelvin Musana, one of the main organisers of the event.He noted that when it comes to concerts, the youth turn up in bigger numbers than they do in meetings; something he said is vital in sending the message across."We recognise the effect of drug abuse among the youth and this is the main reason we come up with such initiatives as a youth group,” he said.   Musana pointed out that drug abuse is eating up the young generation, noting that there is urgent need to come up with measures that will rescue the youth from drug addiction.The concert started at around 2:00pm, after key speakers from local authorities and police made their statements.It started with music that ushered in over 20 models on the stage. The modeling took close to an hour as models displayed their styles in different attires. Then came the dancing group that excited the audience with their unique dancing technique. This left the crowd with no choice but to start dancing too. At that moment, the Karate groups took over, and owned the stage for another hour.Upcoming musicians that also included JadoMaitre did not disappoint. They staged great performances until 7:30pm, when the concert ended. Icyizere Group used the event to send out various messages to students through music, dance and drama as well as sports and games. Among other things, students were advised to work hard and aim at performing well in their studies - which is the most important key to a great future and will enable them to contribute to the development of their country.DiedonneIradukunda, a student at GroupeScolaire de Gitarama, said the concert was an interesting one."Yes, this concert has been wonderful. I enjoyed and I pray that a similar one is organised next holiday,” he said. He also called on fellow students to avoid drug abuse.