Gregg Sachs: My life on the street
Being involved with gangs, Gregg lived on the streets and townships and eventually forgot how to speak proper English
POLOKWANE – According to the Constitution, every child has the right to among others, family or parental care, basic nutrition, shelter and basic health care services; to be protected from maltreatment, neglect, abuse and degradation.
Still, when driving around we notice children living on streets, begging for money and not going to school.
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Once such a child was Gregg Sachs, now 30 years old, who has a tale so unreal, it belongs in the movies.
Gregg visited Polokwane recently with Evangelist, Pickard Henn, to share his story.
“I grew up in Greenside, Johannesburg and my parents got divorced when I was a year and eight months old. At age seven, my dad thought it funny to let me smoke a joint and by the age of nine I smoked marijuana and drank alcohol non-stop.”
He explained that by the time he was 11-years-old, his grandmother had two strokes and dementia and his mom could not handle it. The caring of his grandmother became his responsibility.
“In that time, my mother moved us to Cape Town and she had me arrested for smoking weed. I ended up in juvenile detention for two months. I went to Simons Town School but was kicked out. I’ve been to 15 schools in my life. From here on it all went down hill. I smoked mandrax and one day my mother sent me to the cafe, we lived in a furnished flat, and by the time I came back my mom took her things and left. I ended up on street.”
Gregg lived on the streets and townships and eventually forgot how to speak proper English. He could swear very good in English, but that was about it. He learnt how to speak Zulu and got involved with gangs.
“The most dangerous people made friends with me. God had His hand of protection over me as these gangs protected me from other dangers. I ended up in juvenile detention again and got an eight year sentence, suspended for eight years. God kept me alive and I saw terrible things of witchcraft and people being necklaced. I was shot at a few times. It was then that I realised too many people I know were dead.”
Due to the smoking of mandrax he had a collapsed lung. One day while watching a video of Angus Bachun, he yelled out to God and God healed him.
“I returned to Gauteng where I now stay in a rehab centre and I’m the spiritual father for others who live there. I pray for them and baptise them. When I started to forgive my parents, I became free again. My life changed when I started to forgive others. I can now be a testimony for God. I am covered in tattoos, I have 106, but I have the scripture tattooed on my body. ”
