Social Development Deputy Minister Hendrietta Bogopane-Zulu has called on rehabilitation centres to offer support for the children left behind while parents are recovering from substance abuse addiction.
Bogopane-Zulu made the call during the official hand over of a multimedia centre at the Life Recovery Centre in Randfontein recently.
Funded by the Gauteng Department of Social Development to the tune of R56 million, the centre renders holistic treatment interventions to service users and their families to mitigate the social, psychological and health impact of substance abuse. The centre currently has 306 beneficiaries under the in-patient treatment and 44 in the halfway house programme.
The multimedia centre empowers patients, who are currently undergoing substance use disorder treatment, with accredited computer training to arm them with job-related skills.
The Deputy Minister said the multimedia centre will give addicts an opportunity to understand their lives better, understand their responsibilities, and give them access to the internet so they can tell their stories about their journey towards recovery.
The MTN Foundation has invested a total of R750 000 towards the renovation of a library and the building of the 22-seater multimedia centre.
The multimedia centre has an interactive white board, printer, teacher station and internet connectivity. The foundation will also provide 20 Gigabytes every month for the next 24 months for internet connectivity.
A recovering addict from Orange Farm, Tshepo Seame, (32), thanked the department and the MTN Foundation for preparing them for the outside world.
“We will use google and post our CVs, and in that way, we will become active productive members of society rather than previously when we were in active addiction and on the bad side of things,” Seame said.
Seame urged other addicts to make use of the rehabilitation centres, saying that the services offered are very helpful.
“There is life and hope in recovery, please check yourselves into rehab centres. Take it easy and one day at a time,” Seame said.
Get help to stop drug use: Call the South African National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence on 011 892 3829.
Email
Facebook
Twitter
WhatsApp