Windermere-based non-profit-organisation I Care is working to assist street children in Durban. Their goal is to instill healthy life skills and a good work ethic into the children who pass through their system. In a four-part series, Berea Mail’s Danica Hansen hears from four men who have turned their lives around with I Care’s help.
A STRUGGLE with substance use is at the heart of Ngcamu’s story. Orphaned and uprooted at a young age, he started using substances in an attempt to fit in with his peers. Trapped in a downward spiral, he matriculated with no idea what to do next. That’s when he landed up on the streets of Durban.
“My mom passed away when I was about 18 months old, and my father passed away when I was six or seven years old,” he said.
Ngcamu lived with a relative in Johannesburg for a short time before they returned to KwaMashu. There, he struggled to fit in with his peers. He said substance-use was rife in the location, and he started to sniff glue because of peer pressure.
“I ended up being trapped in drug use. I started with small things like cigarettes and dagga. I started sniffing glue when I was in primary school, then I started harder drugs like smoking mandrax when I was in high school,” he said.
Drug use wasn’t the only challenge he faced growing up in the location. Ngcamu was about ten years old when he ventured into Durban, looking for food with other children.
“There was no food at home, so I went to the beach to beg. I would beg, get something to eat and then go back home,” he said.
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Ngcamu’s struggles with drug use came to a head when he matriculated – without school to attend, he felt lost with no idea what to do next.
“I wasn’t working, and my family was expecting me to do something as I had finished school. I went back to my old friends on the street,” he said.
As his home life became more difficult, Ngcamu would spend longer periods of time on the streets.
“[My relative] started drinking and shouting at me, and I left. I stayed about five to eight months on the street. I would go around the city; I didn’t stay in one place. Then one day, I saw the I Care car and approached them to ask for help,” said Ngcamu.
Breaking free from substance use
“Life started after rehab. I was sober in my thoughts and wanted to fulfil my dreams,” said Ngcamu.
Although, the process wasn’t an easy one – rehab was an adjustment for Ngcamu.
“I wasn’t sure what to expect – I had never gone to rehab before. I just went because I needed help. When I got there, I wanted to come home the same day – the environment is very different – it’s a quiet place. One of the staff encouraged me a lot, and I stayed. After a week, I adjusted,” he said.
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He knew he needed to change his path. While substance use offered an escape from life’s problems, the escape was short-lived.
“I was tired of being abused by drugs. When you are smoking drugs, you only enjoy it for a short time. Then you remember everything – for me, I would remember that I don’t have parents, which is why I don’t have any money,” said Ngcamu.
He was 20 years old when he reached out for help. He remembers feeling grateful for small things.
“I wasn’t bathing and taking care of myself because of drug use. When I started to visit I Care, I started bathing and eating regular meals. I would spend the whole day in I Care programmes, leaving at about 5pm. I started to adapt to a new life. I visited I Care for about two months before they took me to a rehab centre,” he said.
Ngcamu is currently completing a hospitality qualification in line with this dream. I Care urges the community not to give street children money but rather to donate to organisations such as I Care who transform lives. Visit www.icare.co.za for more information.
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