​Last week Friday, 11 August 2023, author Kentse Badirwang poured her heart out whilst motivating recovering substance users as she recounted her ordeal after running away from home to seek independence and self-control.
47-year-old Badirwang, originally from Mafikeng, North-West Province, inspired female recovering service users at Dr Fabian and Florence Ribeiro Treatment Centre, an entity run by the Gauteng Department of Social Development.

The event was celebrated in honor of Women’s Month, themed “Accelerating socio-economic opportunities for empowerment of women.”

Relating her suffering Badirwang who quoted from her book titled Kattey’s Arrow, she narrated a journey of a young girl who from birth felt her life was accompanied by a profound spirit of darkness that always landed her in painful and emotionally draining situations. Her voyage sees her living with childhood depression, surviving multiple rapes, getting caught up in gangsterism and self-destruction and experiencing severe emptiness. Ultimately, she was rescued by mothering two sons.

She said, “Because of my daily struggles and the resentment by my mother at an early age, there was no day without alcohol until I went to a rehabilitation center and eventually went back home and wrote a book that gave me a reason to believe. In the same way, I managed to change my life, so can you”.

Badirwang is also a founderof Pelegi Movement, a Non-Profitmaking Organization which advocates for the rights, and support of victims of gender-based violence, rape, and sexual crimes.

Giving a message of support to the Gauteng Department of Social Development, Substance Abuse Director Desary Carlinsky encouraged recovering service users to have connections that will help them navigate the sobriety journey ahead and said, “This is a lonely expedition that requires support because once you have succeeded you will impact positively in society”.

The treatment centre offers treatment, rehabilitation, reintegration, and support services to recovering substance users.