David Phawe finally conquered drug addiction, despite the inescapable hold of nyaope on addicts.
Nyaope has shattered the dreams of many young people in Tembisa and many families have given up on trying to rehabilitate their addicted loved ones, citing the impossibility of quitting the drug.
Asked whether it is impossible to quit nyaope, David said it is a complete lie that the drug is impossible to quit. He has been clean for two years.
He is a living example of self-determination and he thanked 10th Commandment Community Care Centre (10th CCCC) for helping him to break free.
David said there are many expensive rehabilitation centres that discharge patients who will later relapse, but 10th CCCC is different.
He said the centre is like home, where everyone shares everything and they all regard one another as siblings.
David stayed in the centre for six months before he was released back into the community.
“Everyone is willing to change there. When I was admitted I had withdrawal symptoms and there was a little voice in me that said I couldn’t do it. The guys there motivated me,” he explained.
He said what kept him going was the fact that he wanted to change, not only for himself, but for his family and his children.
“My siblings have to look up to me. I need to be a mentor to them,” he said.
David said he regrets the pain he has caused his mother.
“She used to pay for all the damage I caused to the community,” he said.
Asked how he got into drugs in the first place, David said he grew up a normal teenager like any township boy.
When his brother went missing while they both were attending a party, David bottled a feeling of guilt and never made peace with the incident.
To escape the feeling he would steal and drink his uncle’s mental illness prescription drugs, which would leave him numb for some time.
He said his involvement with drugs was not the result of pure childish curiosity or naughtiness.
When David proceeded to high school he found that there were Grade Eight pupils who were already experimenting with different kinds of substances, including alcohol.
“There I started smoking dagga, while my new friends were already on Mandrax,” he said.
”We would put money together to buy alcohol and drugs and that is where I began to try other drugs.”
Drugs became a regular habit, which was difficult to quit, even after he left school and started working.
David would continuously lose jobs, and a girlfriend who had his child left him due to the drug abuse.
To feed his addiction, David started stealing from family and community members.
He met a second girlfriend, who was into nyaope, and that is when he sank to the depths of his drug problems and he thought there was no going back.
David was doing nyaope and struggling to quit when he met a recovering addict and asked how the man managed to beat the addiction.
“The friend told me about 10th CCCC and I spoke to my mother about booking myself into the centre. She supported me and assured me of her love for me, despite all my challenges,” said David.
That is how he rid himself of his nyaope addiction.
“I am a changed person; I no longer steal or lie. I am a Christian,” said David.
He added that at the centre he has learnt a lot because he now knows how to control his anger and can speak better with people.
“My family is slowly healing and regaining trust in me,” he said.
David said to prevent young people from experiencing what he experienced in using nyaope, young people must be taught about the effects of drugs.
David now regards himself as a motivational speaker and he visits schools to hold talks on the dangers of drug abuse but he is looking forward to getting a formal job.
“We give him support. We wish for him to get employment and catch up with his peers. We hope David has learnt from his mistakes,” said David’s elder sister, Busisiwe Phawe.
