A RECOVERED former drug addict, Thulani Chauke, is assisting three ex-Ingutsheni inmates with occupational therapy to stop them from relapsing and reverting to drug abuse.
Chauke said his therapy helped the ex-inmates by equipping them with skills.
“My role is to give them occupational therapy because once they are released from Ingutsheni Hospital, they are likely to relapse,” he said.
“So I always want to keep them occupied so that they do not go back to abusing drugs. They need something to keep them occupied.”
Chauke, however, said he was facing funding challenges and was looking for people who could assist in the initiative.
“I am looking for help from well-wishers in the form of funding. The only funds that we have currently come from what they produce. For instance, we are into welding gates, among other things,” he
said.
He said his rehabilitation efforts were hampered by the COVID-19 pandemic as he was forced to work with a limited number of inmates.
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In 2019, the ward 16 losing Bulawayo candidate in the previous year’s council election turned his home into a drug rehabilitation centre to help local youth deal with drug and substance abuse.
He lost to an MDC candidate when he contested under Nkosana Moyo’s Alliance for People’s Agenda.
Chauke who operates from Gwabalanda high-density suburb, where he lives, expressed concern that the drug addicts may go back to their old ways after leaving his place because of easy availability of drugs in the community.
Chauke said he decided to put his election loss behind him and is concentrating on helping his community to deal with the scourge of drug addiction through his Hope Mental Trust.
He said he formed Hope Mental Trust in 2016 and was looking at expanding the institution.
Chauke said he had come to the realisation that the drugs being abused by the youths were dangerous as they end up being hospitalised at mental institutions such as Ingutsheni.
The youth abuse various drugs and substances such as Bron Cleer cough syrup, marijuana, Amphetamine, Diazepam popularly known as mangemba, alcohol, among others.
Chauke pleaded with well-wishers in the corporate world and individuals to help him to find a suitable place for his rehabilitation centre so as to accommodate more drug addicts.
