Thembisa Shologu
Taking a child to a drug rehabilitation centre is one of the most difficult decisions a parent may ever make. However, pressing circumstances left Grace Lekhoaba of Pretoria with no choice.
For Grace, who looks after the three young men of her late sister, the launch of the Gauteng Anti-Substance Abuse Programme was just what the doctor ordered.
Parents and caregivers of children who are addicted to drugs were invited to submit applications for placement in a state rehabilitation facility by Premier Panyaza Lesufi.
Grace registered with the 24-hour Gauteng Anti-Substance Abuse Helpline, launched by the Gauteng government in October 2022.
The first intake of the patients under the programme was at Dr Fabian and Florence Ribeiro Treatment Centre in Cullinan on Tuesday, 15 November 2022. The treatment centre has qualified social workers, psychologists and psychiatrists.
"My sister died in 2013, and my mom took over raising the boys. All three of them are substance abusers. Unfortunately, the last born was buried two weeks ago at the age of 25 because of nyaope," she said.
 After the death of his young brother, the second-born wanted to quit drugs while the first-born is still hooked on drugs in the Free State.
"The second born took care of his brother when he was sick, which I think shook him. He is now 31 and started using nyaope in 2013. Since then, I have tried looking for rehabilitation centres, but they were very expensive. I could not afford them. He left school in grade 7," she explained.
Grace said she heard from a friend about the Anti-Substance Abuse programme and enquired about enrolling him in the programme.
Lekhoaba was grateful to the premier for this programme and was hopeful that he will not waste the second chance given to him.
The operational manager at the 200-capacity centre, Nkgadi Dorcas Setati, said they had admitted 50 boys under 18 and another 50, divided into 38 adult females and 12 teenagers.
"We are going to help them holistically…from head to toe. This will allow them to function as a whole when they return to the community and their families.
"Currently, we are dealing with halfway houses where some of the service users are being taken for rehabilitation to be assisted in becoming different people because they came in with a problem of substance abuse," said the nurse. The patients will be taught skills development daily to keep their minds off things.