VANDERBIJLPARK.  –  A former patient of the Jamela Rehabilitation Center recently blamed initiation school as his deterioration and down spiral in life. Elias Porogo (33) from Sonland Park near Vereeniging gave this message to an audience of outgoing patients and their parents at a passing out graduation ceremony at the Jamela Rehabilitation Center. The graduation ceremony that attracted parents, relatives and board members was hosted at the Jamela center, at the Mullerstuin Plot near Vanderbijlpark on 23 April. In his exclusive interview with Sedibeng Ster, Porogo said that his life started to deteriorate immediately after he came from initiation school. “I always ‘heard’ my parent but listened to my friends. We would go out and smoke dagga in groups. We also robbed members of the community to feed our habits,” said Porokgo. With tears rolling down his cheeks, Porogo thanked Jamela for changing his life for the better. Speaker after speaker thanked Doctor George Sibanda, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Jamela for changing lives of hundreds of youth for the better.