The fight against drugs in Soweto goes on
Nandi Ntini Drugs have become on the major issues that society is facing and have also become the drivers of loss and hope for the youth of Soweto.
Drugs have become on the major issues that society is facing and have also become the drivers of loss and hope for the youth of Soweto.
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Last Saturday, February04, Kaofela Rehabilitation and skills development centre in Protea hosted a workshop discussion about the use of substance abuse at Protea Glen Library Ext 2.
Substance abuse is an enormous social problem in South Africa and it’s increasing every day. Alcohol, marijuana (dagga), nyaope and crystal meth are some of the most frequently used substances in this country.
“The problem with these drugs that we are consuming, they make us hurt the people we love the most.
“Today my mother is diabetic, with a kidney failure and she has lost her eye sight because of me,” said Makhosini Kubheka, a qualified mechanical engineer who has been living with drugs for 14 years.
Drug problems in South Africa enter into our homes and are not just isolated to the streets. They pervade all levels of society and our personal lives. It is always the people that care and show support that get tainted and burnt.
According to Tsakane Sono, an occupational therapist and reigning Miss Soweto, one of the reasons why a lot of young people are consuming drugs it’s the fact that they do not have anything tangible to do and their degrees are just sitting at home.
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“One of the biggest contributors is that we have a lot of young people that at home and don’t have anything productive to do with their time. For most of them it is not their fault, they are graduates and have nothing to do with themselves,” said Sono.
“Most of the time when people don’t have anything productive to do, they open doors to risky behaviours as an escape from their realities,” she continued.
Kaofela rehabilitation and skills development centre is an organisation that addresses social ills in the community. The three social ills include crime, GBV and the abuse of substances.
Petronella Maseko, co-founder of Kaofela rehabilitation and skills development centre said, “We adopt addicts for nine months where we first take them on a 21 day state of readiness programme. This is where the social worker can determine if they are ready to go to rehab and fight their addiction.
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“When they return from rehab, we talk about their career plans and what is it that they want to do with their lives. We provide them with something productive to do instead of sitting and doing nothing.”
One of the biggest solutions in the fight against drugs in townships is for communities to unite and support those who are seeking help and reduce the name calling.
“It is important to take the family to counselling while the recovering edict is in rehab so that they all receive help and be in one mind when they return from rehab,” Maseko concluded.
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