Former addict shares his struggles to inspire all
I was desperate for money to buy drugs, especially rocks which they sell at R50 per inch. I sold my expensive clothes, computers, study materials even my mother’s kitchen utensils.
Drug addiction is one course for unemployed youth in the country. This is according to a former drug user, Thami Makhubela. 
Makhubela was willing to share his story and experience with the Mpumalanga youth and help them in their rehabilitation process from drugs.
He attended rehabilitation programmes at Dr Gcina Mavuso’s surgery , KaNyamazane Medical Centre. Last year Makhubela was appointed as an assistant teacher at Stintile Secondary School.
Due to his hard work and commitment the school appointed him as one of the Covid-19 screeners after the end of the contract of the assistant teacher programme. He also runs a lawn mowing business. He is looking forward in applying for any work related programmes to pursue his dream career in chemical engineering .
READ : KaNyamazane Medical Centre helps combat addiction
Reliving the 10 years of his addiction, Makhubela said, “I regret all the time I wasted doing nothing but drugs. If it was not for peer pressure I would be a better version of myself”.
He lost his mum, a former nurse, in 2006 after which he could not concentrate on his studies as a chemical engineering student. His marks fell and he dropped out of university.
He stayed home for six months. He finally regained strength and continued with his studies and completed them in 2010. He had a promising future. It all turned to nothing during his early stages of being an independent young man. He was unfortunately introduced to drugs.
READ : Coping as a parent of a drug addict
“You know addicts are opportunists. This friend of my mine who introduced me to the drugs was not working and he would call me now and then to buy him a fix and we would end up smoking the whole day. Slowly I also ended up being dependant on drugs,” Makhubela said.
“I found it hard to perform my duties without a fix. I was initially introduced to heroine and then I moved on to nyaope and rocks.
“Eventually this affected my performance. I would abscond from work while taking drugs at popular liquor outlets in the City on Mbombela. I ended up overlooking my duties. My bosses would call me and I would come up with all excuses just not to be at work,” he said. Makhubela said he ended up losing interest in his work which led to the company terminating his contract. The relationship with his girlfriend, who was pregnant at the time, ended. “Due to the abuse of drugs I took irrational decisions and lost all that was meaningful to me. I regret all the years of not being part of my nine-year-old son’s life,” he said.
READ : Signs your teenager is using drugs
Like many drug users, Makhubela lived on the streets of Mbombela and KaNyamazane. “My street life in town was short lived after a cousin of mine saw me, approached me and told me how I was misrepresenting my family, especially my late mum who was a role model and a community builder. Those words hit me hard and I left Mbombela and came back home,” he said.
“I was desperate for money to buy drugs, especially rocks which they sell at R50 per inch. I sold my expensive clothes, computers, study materials even my mother’s kitchen utensils. As a user one ends up selling anything and everything to get money to buy a fix,” he said.
“I became a known trader and people knew that I was selling, from there I learned selling and negotiating skills,” he recalled. In August 2018 Makhubela was helped by his grandmother to register for the rehabilitating programme after he told her of his willingness to change his life and beat addiction.
