Whoonga addicts get a second chance

A CHANCE to raise their children with dignity is what some of the young men who were addicted to whoonga made them want to get help and change their lives.

Various stakeholders, including KwaDabeka SAPS, KwaDabeka Clinic, foreign businessmen, Clermont and KwaDabeka Tourism Development (CTO) and local businessmen, Clive Mntambo and Nkosinathi Phili, joined hands to assist these young men change their lives for the better.

Ten young men from KwaDabeka and Clermont completed their rehabilitation process with the help of various stakeholders.

One of the coordinator of this programme, Bongumusa Molefe, said it all started when there were attacks on foreigners.

“Myself, Lungi Ncobela and Cebo Ndlovu got together to find a way to fight this. What we learnt is that these were not cases of xenophobia but the whoonga addicts wanted to steal from the foreigners.

“We then asked various stakeholders to assist us help these young men quit their drug addiction and lead a normal life,” he said.

Molefe said 20 young men came to them and asked for help, but due to various reasons others quit, and they were only left with 10 who successfully finished the rehabilitation process.

One of 10 men, Tshepo Nombika (32) said he started smoking whoonga in 2012.

“I was staying with my grandmother when I started smoking in 1999, I started with cigarettes and dagga. The problem started when my grandmother passed away, I had the house to myself.

“My friends would visit me and we started smoking heavy stuff as there was no adult around.”

Nombika believes that being clueless about the dangers of drugs is what led him to smoking them.

“It was only when I started seeing negative impact of drug use that I understood; I started stealing to support my addiction. When I had this chance to get help I grabbed it, I wanted out.

“What really opened my mind was neglecting my children. I want to change my life and be a better father to them,” said Nombika.

Another former addict, Xolani Soni, said he started by selling drugs said his biggest mistake was to use what he was selling.

“Once you taste that thing, you are hooked. People should not even try it, because it very hard to quit.

“It has been said that once you become an addict there is no way you can quit. That is a lie, you can still be rehabilitated.

“Yes, it is hard and it a long process but you have to tell yourself that it’s what you want to do,” said Soni.

Molefe said these young men will be working at a car wash in the meantime while trying to get them jobs so that they can keep busy.

“We have another group that will be going to rehabilitation.

“We are very grateful to the stakeholders who joined hands with us and assisted get this project of the ground, we hope that more people will cooperate with us to change the lives of our young men,” said Molefe.

He added that their wish is to reach more people who are addicted to whoonga and other drugs around Durban.

“Our biggest problem is transport issues, we can not get around as we would love to,” he said.

Anyone who wishes to be part of this project can contact Bongumusa Molefe on 084 814 4486/Cebo Ndlovu on 084 742 0364/email rwhoonga@gmail.com.

Addicts who would like to get help can go to KwaDabeka Police and ask for Sgt Ntenza or contact Bongumusa or Cebo.