Family of nyaope user appeals for help
ALEXANDRA - An Alex family is struggling to cope with the addiction of their 20 year old daughter to nyaope and request for assistance to help her quit the habit.
An Alex family is struggling to cope with their 20-year-old daughter’s addiction to nyaope and asks for assistance to help her quit the habit.
The family, which requested anonymity due to the shame, are contactable through this paper. They are worried of loosing their child who is constantly sick, has behavioural problems and steals everything in her way to sustain the habit.
The mother said things were going well for the child who attended a multi-racial school until her father died and, due to financial reasons, was enrolled at a local school for Grade 9. The daughter struggled to adjust to her new school environment and after joining bad company, began smoking cigarettes and taking nyaope. The mother said at one point the daughter contracted meningitis and was treated at hospital. She also has a baby after falling pregnant allegedly from her association with the drug. “She constantly complains of stomach cramps when the drug effects wane out, has grown thin but eats a lot and has sold household items including vases, pens, children’s clothes and cleaning materials to sustain the habit,” she said.
The child is said to have gone for non-residential rehab, but relapsed and is back on the streets. Her sister said she dreads loosing her sister who had a bright future. “I am worried about her association with the drug and the dealer on 16th Avenue where she and her colleagues congregate daily for their drug doses. The drug has blighted her bright future, she is now scruffy, has changed complexion and I worry that anything can happen to her.” she said.
Development organisations and individuals have through this paper expressed concern on the growing use of the drug especially by children. The South African National Council on Alcohol and Drug Dependency [Sanca] said most addicts drop out of school. It requested parents to protect their children from this highly addictive drug. Peggy Chauke of Leratong Joy For One, a non-profit organisation working with addicted children, said they want to kick the habit but require parental and community support and not rejection. She urged the police to take drastic steps with peddlers. Mabel Dikobe of the Alexandra Development Centre called for community mobilisation against the drug before many children are lost to it. Sizakele Nkosi-Malobane, MEC for Public Safety, has said nyaope is an illegal drug whose possession and peddling is prosecutable.
