I am from a township in Durban.* I grew up as a disobedient child, not listening to my parents when they tried to bring me up to behave well, have good manners and when they encouraged me to seek a better future.
At the age of 13 I started smoking cigarettes as I wanted to fit in with the group I was involved with. Smoking cigarettes developed into smoking dagga. I then started taking ecstasy at night clubs where I would also drink alcohol. That’s when my life really started falling apart!
I began selling ecstasy at the clubs. At 22 I was introduced to smoking heroin (whoonga/nyaope). It was now that they started noticing a change in me at home. I would leave home on a Thursday and only return on Sunday or even Monday! After two years the sale of ecstasy could no longer fund my heroin addiction.
I began to steal money from my mother’s purse. I knew the PIN number for her bank cards and I would go and withdraw money from her accounts. I would then delete the messages the bank sent to her phone notifying her of the transactions.
Finally they had enough of me and chased me out of the house. Not even my relatives would accept me because of the person I had become. I ended up living on the streets for quite some time.
That is when I met a young man who told me of CYSPA and that I could receive help there. Because I had had enough of the life that I was living I decide to make my way there.
I found more help than I expected! I found God and He set me free!
* Places, names and identifying details of individuals have been changed to protect their privacy.
