Youngsters complete nyaope rehabilitation

Four young people at the Makeke Drug Addicted Centre graduated from their recovery of nyaope addiction.

The graduation ceremony was held at the centre on Saturday last week.

The recovering youngsters vowed to the community members who attended the ceremony that nothing will lead them into relapsing.

In all of their speeches, they said enough was enough. The graduates also said goodbye nyaope – a drug that turned them into monsters who robbed innocent people on the street and made them untrustworthy in their homes.

The graduates were Mr Mduduzi Masango, Mr Tumelo Moloi, Mr Moses Ndala and Mr Thami Yika.

The founder of the Makeke Drug Addicted Centre, Ms Cathreni Makeke, said they had to go through various testing sessions.

“All the graduates have spent more than five months at the centre, showing their determination to recover from nyaope addiction,” she said.

“Some young people suffering from the addiction come to my centre in an attempt to tempt the others who are recovering, but they always fail. Later, they run away to show that they did not come for healing but to tempt others.

“I am here to help those who desperately need healing. I cannot turn my home into a play ground for these boys and girls to come and eat and later go and smoke again,” she said.

One of the graduates’ parent, Ms Salaminah Ndlala, thanked Ms Makeke’s family for caring for their children while they did not believe in them.

“Ms Makeke accommodated our children with love that sometimes as parents we failed to give to our children. When my child told me he wanted to resist the addiction, I did not believe in him because I thought he would always go and smoke nyaope,” she said.

Ms Ndala said she had sleepless nights because of her child using nyaope.

“Every time when the community called for help, I always thought it was my child who had robbed someone or who had broke into a house. I used to live in fear,” she said.

She said when she saw her son, Moses Ndala, after couple of days at the rehabilitation centre, she couldn’t believe her eyes.

“I saw my boy that I gave birth to. Not some stinking street boy, dark in complexion or wearing tattered clothes as if he was an orphan. We praise Ms Makeke for the hard work and determination she gave to our children,” she said.