Drug-free after a 15-year battle

In 2020, a drug withdrawal programme was launched at Moses Mabhida Stadium, where members of the homeless community were sheltered as the Covid-19 pandemic broke out. At the time, about 260 people elected to start methadone treatment. Now, two years later, patients continue to visit the Bellhaven Harm Reduction Centre every day. In a weekly series, Berea Mail will find out more about the programme. This week, we chat to Mszi Zondi on how the centre helped him to successfully quit drug use.

FOR 15 years, Mszi Zondi fought an uphill battle to quit drug use – a battle he describes as a ‘jail you can’t escape’. Today, he is free from that prison cell after methadone treatment at the Bellhaven Harm Reduction Centre. Speaking to Berea Mail, Zondi recounted his lengthy battle to overcome whoonga-use.

Zondi hails from Kwaswayine, a rural area near Pietermaritzburg, where he lived for part of his childhood, before moving to Clermont, a township area near Pinetown. It was in this environment that Zondi first encountered drugs.

“In a township setting, you don’t have to go looking – there are drugs just around the corner. The people using drugs were the same people I grew up with. It’s hard to escape them because they are always around,” he said, adding that his parents worked long hours which kept them away from home.

Zondi said he first took whoonga when he was a Grade 10 learner in 2008.

“It was just a stupid idea I had out of the blue. Like most addicts, I thought I was going to manage it, ” he said.

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Once he began using the drug, there was no turning back.

“It was like a new gearbox was installed in my life, and there was no reverse. I was stuck for 15 years,” said Zondi.

In the gruelling battle that followed, Zondi would retreat into rural areas where drugs were not available, hoping to shake his habit.

“I kept on moving. When you really want to quit, you think maybe if you change the environment you are in, it will help. I would move away for two or three months and get clean,” he said.

When he returned home, Zondi relapsed time and time again, battling his drug abuse disorder alone.

“Imagine you are deep in the sea, drowning, and the lifeguards think you are enjoying yourself,” he said. “I was strategic when it came to my habit. I hid it for a long time, but it wasn’t a positive thing because I was dying, and people couldn’t see it.”

An inescapable jail

Drug abuse consumed his life, leaving Zondi more despondent with each relapse as he fought a loosing battle.

“With whoonga, you can’t do anything – it’s like you are in prison. There is nothing else you can think of but your fix,” he said.

Relationships in his life broke down, and he dropped out of college. Not only did he lose interest in his life, Zondi lost himself.

“I’m a very caring person, but it got to a point where I lost that. I was always angry, I had a temper, I would beat people – everything I stand against. I saw I was turning into something I was not, but I couldn’t do anything about it,” he said.

He added that there are teachers, doctors and lawyers recovering from drug abuse at the centre who have lost everything chasing the high.

“You might be able to keep up for a long time, but you won’t win – when it comes to whoonga, you never win,” he said.

During his attempts to quit, Zondi faced severe withdrawal periods riddled with aching joints, fever, insomnia, hot and cold flushes – he said the word ‘pain’ could not begin to describe what he felt.

“You can’t move. That is why you see people living under bridges – that’s why you will find people doing things that are inexplicable to get their fix,” he said.

Zondi added that relationships break down for drug users in this altered state – leaving them with little support when they commit to quitting.

Turning point

The turning point for Zondi was when he began treatment at the Bellhaven Harm Reduction Centre.

“Without methadone, I don’t think it would have been possible,” he said. “I dedicated a whole year to recovery. Quitting required my whole attention. I had to be there. I cried and sobbed, saw social workers. I even turned down jobs to focus on recovery.”

The support of his family was vital to Zondi’s recovery.

“My mother did everything to help me. She raised money so I could get out of town. She bought methadone for me many times. My mother and older sister never left my side. Family support is very important for every addict who wants to quit. The love they gave me made me change. I didn’t want to disappoint people who loved me that much,” he said.

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Don’t give up

With a new lease on life, Zondi hopes to inspire others to be persistent in the road to recovery.

“Winning this battle is about not giving up. Every day you wake up and go to the battlefield. It doesn’t matter if you are off drugs for a year and then relapse – just keep trying. Look at Thomas Edison – he tried so many ways to make a light bulb – but only succeeded once,” he said.

With persistence, Zondi has found the light and left darker days behind.

“After a long time, I am finally feeling like myself, and I’m gunning for greater things,” concluded Zondi.

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