Former drug addict visits Secunda and says drugs affect whole communities
“We should be like the bread of communion. Jesus first blessed the bread before he broke it. Then he gave it out to others to be consumed.”
SECUNDA – Drug abuse is a social crime that alters and affects an entire community.
A team from the First Community Resource Centre (FCRC) in Hanover Park, Cape Town, visited the Secunda Reformed Church and Adullam Mission Station last weekend to share their success story of rehabilitating drug addicts and curbing gang-related violence in their communities.
The church aimed at gaining information over what is needed to begin a possible local rehab centre in the future.
Dr Anton Knoetze said the church sees the escalating drug abuse problem in the area and the need for a centre.
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Past Craven Engel from FCRC explained on Friday that drugs bring about two suffering sides, namely the abuser is infected, but parents, family members and eventually the community are those who are mostly affected.
He said substance abuse completely alters the community and causes people to fall into hopelessness. It also goes hand-in-hand with crime and gangs and violence are bound to follow.
The FCRC’s rehabilitation programmes and methodology have a proven success rate of 78 per cent. Past Engel explained that they get to the core of why someone began to use drugs.
“Substance abusers and gangsters are broken people who need help to deal with those things in their lives that caused their brokenness. It can be a number of things, such as abuse or abandonment.”
FCRC works with some of the most violent gang members in the country.
“Although we see so much wrong in such a person, we force ourselves to see the right, the good and the talents that God has placed in their futures. So we opt to see the best when the worst is in front of us.”
Past Engel asked the church: “If you close down your church now, will the community suffer? If the answer is no, then the church must seriously rethink why it is there.”
The visiting team consisted of recovered gang members and drug addicts, supporters and the pastor. They agreed that drug abuse is a social issue that the police cannot solve on their own.
Parent support groups are also included in the centre’s rehabilitation programmes so that they know when and how to implement tough love principles.
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“We base our work on Jesus’ command to go forth to all nations. God does not send out the unequipped and He does not use untested material. He prepares you before He tests you, and then He sends you. He promises in His Word that He will be with you until the end of time,” said Past Engel on Sunday.
He said Christians should not merely see the pain in their communities, but also feel the pain.
“We should be like the bread of communion. Jesus first blessed the bread before he broke it. Then he gave it out to others to be consumed.”
His advice to those who want to help addicts but do not know how, is to open your hearts and your ears to God. He qualifies the called. Show the love of God to all – no one and nothing can resist the love of God.
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Delegates from Secunda Reformed Church plan to soon visit the First Community Resource Centre on a fact-finding mission before heading up a local rehab facility.
* According to the police, drug abuse is a huge problem in the area. Drug dealers have spilled into the area from Gauteng. The main local drugs of choice are crystal meth and Cat, although it is still quiet with regards to drug and gang related violence.
