Helping them kick the habit

Helping youngsters realise their dreams is Eugene Makhene’s mission.

Makhene, who is the president of the Assault Riderz Club in Alexandra, has vowed to help more than 30 young nyaope addicts kick the habit. “They have vision, goals and dreams and I want to help them achieve those dreams,” he said. “It is possible to quit. We are very close, they trust me and can tell me anything.”

Makhene said he found out about the youngsters because people were talking about them. “I have been hearing people saying they steal TVs and break into houses. I wanted to see it for myself.

“I talked to them and found out what got them into drugs. There are different reasons, others were experimenting while others were forced by their family conditions.” He said he picked up that most of them were very intelligent and could read and write.

“I saw that they needed help. It is not right to have youngsters on that path. The police lock them up but they don’t receive the necessary help. Some have been in and out of rehab but with no help.”

Although the recovery process was not easy, Makhene believed that it was possible. “We are going to do this manually,” he said. “They will monitor themselves, they will monitor their progress and they need to be honest with themselves.”

Makhene said he would like to move them from Alexandra for a while and take them to a place where they would start their own rehabilitation centre. He said keeping them busy with positive things would assist them with the recovery process.