“Giving up is never an option”

Born and bred in Potchefstroom, Matumelo Mafoko was only 12 years old when she was exposed to drugs not knowing that she was committing to a lifelong journey with drugs.

On Saturday, 17 September, Matumelo launched her book “A silent tsunami” which talks about her experiences with drugs and her journey to recovery.
“ The aim of the book is to inspire those who find themselves in bad habits they find difficult to get out of, I want my story to let the next person know that giving up is never an option,” she said.

For  Matumelo not giving up was a long and difficult journey that took countless rehabilitation centres and one drastic turning point.
“ It all started when I smoked weed at just 12 years old and escalated to extreme drugs such as mandrax over the years,” she explained.

In between her drug use, Matumelo says she went to so many rehab centres that she lost count.
According to her at the time, none of them ever seemed to work so she would hop around centres, hoping that she would find one that would help her change. “ I was tired of leading the life that I was living and I was getting depressed,” she explained.

In between the centres, Matumelowould finds ways to finance her bad habits and would continue doing this until she fell extremely sick in 2016.
“ My life took a turn and I was forced to leave the drug life behind me when I fell terribly ill simultaneously battling withdrawal symptoms,”  she said.

It was during her illness that for the first time in her life Matumelo got to reflect. “ I was forced to face my demons and realised that I had been trying to escape from the sexual trauma I had experienced growing up as well as the trauma of being accepted by my parents for my sexual orientation,” she said.

In 2018, Matumelostarted writing her book which also turned out to serve as therapy for her. “ The book became my healing, I got to reflect on things I had experienced and also got an opportunity to do self-introspection,” she explained.
It was only after that, that Matumelo began to remember all the things she had been taught at rehab and started implementing them in her life and eventually turned over a new leaf.

Now in her late forties, Matumelo has been clean for five years and lives her life inspiring others and creating awareness throughout the community.
She says every time she gets tempted to start using again, she is quickly reminded of when she fell ill in 2016 which had proven to be enough to keep her going. To get a copy of the book, contact Matumelo on 063 944 4117.