I Will Never Do Drugs Anymore

These were the words of recovered drug user Thandeka Ndobe when she returned to her renovated home today after undergoing substance rehabilitation.

With a hurt voice, she expressed how alcohol and drugs ruined her life, and how that impacted her children who had to endure abuse from others in community who called them ‘children of a druggie’. She swore never to go back to substances, and expressed how her body now feels differently, and that sobriety can be a wonderful feeling.

The Gauteng Department of Social Development, in partnership with local businessperson, reunited Ndobe (37) with her children, who spent their Christmas and New Year apart. The children were taken to a children’s home, and their mother was at a drug rehabilitation center in Nigel.

As a planned surprise, Ndobe arrived at her newly renovated house in Protea Glen, Soweto. The house had been in a bad state since drug users were using it to take drugs. She shed tears of joy and was overwhelmed when she found several people, including her neighbors, there to welcome her and the children.

Ndobe says that when her husband passed away, she became depressed, started drinking, and was later introduced to drugs by her friends. “Since then, I began craving drugs in the morning and was no longer taking care of my children. I didn’t have money anymore to support them, so I went to my local mall and started begging for food, even eating from trash bins,” says Ndobe.

The Acting Head of Department for the Gauteng Department of Social Development, Mr. Bongani Ngomane, commended Ndobe for taking a brave step for the sake of her children’s future. “We thank Ndobe for her resilience and returning home to start a new life in her community with her children. As the Gauteng Department of Social Development, we are proud of our Social Workers for stepping in, referring Ndobe to rehabilitation centre, and placing the children in a children’s home while Ndobe was undergoing rehabilitation,” says Ngomane.

“We are grateful that she is starting the new year in her newly renovated house, ensuring that her children will go back to school. Fortunately, stakeholders such as SASSA have promised to provide school uniforms for Ndobe’s children,” added Ngomane.

Mr. Thihanedzwi Mashapha, the contractor and local businessperson who renovated the house, says it was not easy for him to take on the project after being approached by the Social Workers from the Protea Glen office. “As a parent and a local businessperson, one thought that came to my mind was the well-being of the children. The house was in a bad state, but I put everything in God’s hands, and everything just happened. I started working on this project during the festive holidays with my workers who did not go on holiday,” says Mashapha.

“The rubble we removed from this house required more than two trucks; it was burned down, and we had to buy new bathroom and toilet sets since the original were all broken,” he adds. The work he did included, building perimeter wall, plastering the house, painting, electrical works and replacing the whole plumbing system, and roofing.

A teacher who cannot be named to protect her identity says she was aware of the situation; however, there were times they struggled to assist. “We used to donate school uniforms and ensure they received school nutrition. We are glad that our local office of Social Development is assisting them,” says the teacher.