Falconer flies high in the fight against social ills

THE death of his siblings, who both died from drug overdoses, motivated 49-year-old Craig Falconer to establish an organisation to assist those in desperate need of help.

Falconer, a life skills and anti-narcotics therapist, started an organisation, Waynol, six years ago. The name was derived from Falconer’s siblings’ names, Wayne and Nolene Falconer.

Speaking to The Highway Mail about his journey thus far, Falconer said, “The organisation was initially established with school theatre productions on substance abuse. Sadly we did not have the means to keep our word to the hundreds of children that asked us for help at these shows. We had no option but to stop the shows, which led us to concentrate on taking addicts off the streets and sending them to rehabilitation centres. Falconer and his team, which currently includes nine people, specialise in narcotics, mainly addiction and rehabilitation, but they also have a 24/7 lifeline for missing teens and operate the ProtectaKid programme.

“Protectakid is an investigation and guarding programme for teenagers, to give parents peace of mind about what their children are doing – who they see and of course where they go. Waynol’s powerful influence was highlighted when the dynamic team located a Krugersdorp teen who went missing from her hometown. Reports revealed that the teenager was seen in Durban, and Falconer pursued every lead until he found the 14-year-old and rescued her from a drug den.

“The entire operation took us three days once we had her photograph. The young teenager had been using heroin for only four days when we got to her. She is now safely back at home with her family in Johannesburg.”

When asked what are some of the severe problems crippling communities, Falconer said, “For us it is addiction, no doubt. We have more of an epidemic with addiction and all its spin-offs than HIV/Aids. Our adults, teens and even younger children are facing an everyday struggle to stay clean. The dealers are growing and working with impunity. The drugs are becoming cheaper and twice as dangerous. It is an all-out war, and we are up to the challenge.”

In regards to their goals, the organisation aims to design a programme for rehabilitation that actually works better than those already in place. “All existing programmes we believe are outdated as the drugs – and the attitudes of addicts – have changed vastly. We therefore need to change our approach as well. We have our own rehabilitation campus and we currently combine an old Christian programme with our very own programme, called ‘Man Up or Lay Down’.”

For Falconer and his team, the most rewarding feeling is seeing their patients stay clean and restore their lives.

To find out more about this organisation, contact Craig Falconer on 076 178 5724 or Janet Williams, founding director, on 082 772 4171.