He established Word On The Street, a substance and drug-free society movement, that aims to help people get their lives back on track.

The organisation has been operating in Pretoria and Johannesburg and now he wants to also help the youth of Ba-Phalaborwa and surrounding areas.

Also read: Signs your teenager could be using drugs

Selepe told the Herald that his organisation has realised that prevention is better than cure and thus they have endeavoured to not only focus on addicts, but also on youngsters in underprivileged communities who are at risk of adopting a drug lifestyle.

As an addict Selepe, was once hired and fired within ten minutes after it was discovered that he was under the influence on his first day at work.

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Fortunately for him, he has managed to be free from drugs since 2015 and has not looked back ever since.

“We engage with the parents/guardians of the affected individual regarding what type of action they think would suit their child best.

“We also advise them on what we feel needs to happen depending on the type of drug, age, and other factors related to the patient which we must consider.

Also read: Difficult conversations: How to talk to your teen about drugs

“We go with parents and assist with transport to take their children to the various rehabilitation centres around the country,” he explained.

Within six months of starting their programme, they managed to save 45 kids, each with a different story.

So far the youngest child they worked with was a seven-year-old drug addict.

As much of a good job this team is doing, funding remains a huge obstacle in reaching as many addicts as possible.

“Thus far we have been operating with unpaid volunteers as our organisation is not sponsored.

“We rely on the money I have to keep us afloat.

“We pay for everything ourselves and without sponsors or any sort of capital, no organisation can thrive in fulfilling its mandate.

“We are looking for is sponsors to help us facilitate this program,” Selepe concluded.

For more information on the program or to fund the organisation contact Itumeleng on

0677022784.

. Follow their page on Facebook, Word On The Street.