Parents raise their children well.
Even though there are no guarantees, they never give up but keep on nurturing day-in and day-out.
What can they do? It is their job that sometimes requires them to hold more than one job so that they can afford the everyday demands from their children.
You should see their faces when their children achieve and fail; it is the same – supportive.
There comes a time when things just go left. As a parent used to being in control, these times are often difficult to deal with especially when a child starts misbehaving and stealing because of substance abuse or even worse, addiction such as nyaope addiction.
An addiction doesn’t only affect the person addicted but everyone around them as well.
Helping an addicted child deal with whatever it is they are addicted to, also puts you as a parent in a challenging position.
I mean, you can’t help someone who does not need your help.
What is sad is that as a parent, you can’t help but only hope that one day they will seek help.
You might give up on them because they do not want you to help them, or talk to you for that matter. This is what parents have to deal with when Nyaope is involved.
Nyaope took us all by surprise. We were not ready.
The drug has found a home in most locations around Gauteng, including Tembisa.
Also known as wunga, nyaope surfaced in Tembisa. It is believed the drug came from Mamelodi in Pretoria few years ago.
It was like a hot song freshly released. Teenagers started using it, with most quitting school and tertiary education.
What this drug does to users is way too scary to look at.
Most Nyaope addicts do not take good care of themselves as they hardly bath or even eat proper meals. They mostly eat snacks referred to as “Amakipkip” or “Mashwanshwam” all day long.
This behaviour has caused the general public to associate the drug with dirtiness.
Even though medical research argues that Nyaope does not contain HIV anti-retroviral drugs as it is widely reported, the users often steal these anti-retroviral drugs as per media reports.
Drugs in their nature are not good. They destroy lives and most of the time users end up with nothing.
In Tembisa, most Nyaope addicts are young adults and teenagers who are seriously endangering their lives on a daily basis, stealing and robbing people.
During the day they are self-appointed taxi marshals and at night, criminals.
Some parents blame themselves and I think they shouldn’t.
It is not their fault their children are addicted to Nyaope. Just like with anything else, they made the choice on their own and unfortunately at the end, Nyaope will destroy them.
