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Rabelani Tshifaro tells of her struggle against drug addiction.

Former drug addict sees light and now hands it to youths too!

 

“Human life is too precious to throw away on drugs – it is never too late to quit!”

The 31-year-old Rabelani Tshifaro, who believes that the continued abuse of drugs is perpetuated because people do not want to own up to addiction and seek help, speaks of her painful journey as a drug addict.

This proud Thohoyandou-based survivor of drug addiction, Rabe – as she is affectionately known – started abusing drugs at the age of 14.

Just like many youths, she started by drinking alcohol “just to look cool”, but the excessive alcohol consumption escalated when she went to a university in Bloemfontein.

“I abused my freedom and I ended up experimenting with marijuana to try and solve my problems,” she said. “My life was starting to just become a whirlwind. Although I had a university degree, I would feel as though my life was pointless. I had a void that I thought drugs could fill. One day I was stressed from the pressures of life, and I decided to try out a drug called Methcathonine, which has a street name of ‘cat’. And that was one tremendous mistake, because I ended up being addicted, although it started out as something I did just to stimulate the alcohol that I was drinking.”

The addiction took control of her and it had a negative effect on her personal relationships and jobs. She suffered from depression and she could feel herself getting lost in the dark cloud of addiction.

“It felt like I was trapped inside my own body, I could not even hear myself think anymore,” she remembered. “The time I realised that I had hit rock bottom was when I was heavily depressed. I would feel alone, being isolated from everyone. I would sometimes lock myself in my room for two days, and that was when I realised that I needed to get my life back on track.”

At times, she would feel suicidal because she realised the pangs of addiction were doing her no good. It dawned on her that a life with drugs destroys many things and it delays or even destroys dreams. “I even gave up on my job and I was stagnant, living a life with no purpose,” she said.

However, Rabelani was brave enough to take a step towards rehabilitation on 28 August 2015. Her family gave her all the support that is needed by a drug addict who seeks rehabilitation. “I went to a Christian rehabilitation centre called Hands of Compassion,” she said. “That’s where I discovered myself.”

In rehabilitation, she had an idea to start an organisation that helps addicted individuals. Today, she runs Made New. “We give hope to those who have recovered, so that they do not relapse. We help vulnerable kids to stay away from drugs and we also support family members affected by addiction,” she said.

News - Date: 15 January 2018

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Rabelani Tshifaro started an organisation to help those affected by drug addiction.

Rabelani Tshifaro tells of her struggle against drug addiction.

 

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Tshifhiwa Mukwevho

Tshifhiwa Given Mukwevho was born in 1984 in Madombidzha village, not far from Louis Trichardt in the Limpopo Province. After submitting articles for roughly a year for Limpopo Mirror's youth supplement, Makoya, he started writing for the main newspaper. He is a prolific writer who published his first book, titled A Traumatic Revenge in 2011. It focusses on life on the street and how to survive amidst poverty. His second book titled The Violent Gestures of Life was published in 2014.

Email: [email protected]

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