BY PATRICIA SIBANDA
Thulani Chauke was once a drug addict and alcoholic, but is now a firm believer that urgent interventions are needed to rescue Bulawayo youths from the vicious cycle.
Three years ago, Chauke established a rehabilitation centre for drug addicts and recovering alcoholics at his Gwabalanda home to walk the talk.
Bulawayo, like most of Zimbabwe’s urban centres is battling the scourge of drug abuse and alcoholism, which is largely blamed on the country’s deteriorating socio-economic situation and limited recreational facilities.
Among the commonly abused drugs is marijuana (mbanje), bronclear (popularly known as Bronco) and Histalix D.
The drugs menace has also ensnared school children, who organise so-called vuzu parties during school holidays where they indulge in unprotected sex and intoxicating substances.
Chauke said he set up Hope Mental Trust together with his United Kingdom based sister, Sibusiso Ndlovu who is a mental health practitioner.
“I understood the situation these people find themselves in and this is what motivated me to open this centre,” he said. “I abused both drugs and alcohol.”
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Chauke said dealing with drug abuse should be the responsibility of every Zimbabwean.
“Society is letting us down as we see our fellow brothers and sisters abusing drugs but do nothing to help them,” he said. “However, such things tend to come back to haunt us as it is our relatives that are affected.
“Some end up stealing from us and killing just to get that two cents for drugs.”
The centre uses occupational therapy to help the drug addicts to turn around their lives. It offers them a platform to acquire skills in carpentry and welding, among other things.
Chauke said the idea was to keeping the recovering addicts occupied so that they do not relapse. His long term plans include setting up a skills training centre and a hospital for mental health patients.
“l have goals for this operation and these include setting up a rehabilitation hospital to treat addicts and thereafter a skills training centre for those who would have been treated,” he said.
“The aim will be to empower them thorough vocational skills and sports.
“My desire is to pre- occupy them with skills so that they will not look back after getting their revelation.”
Some of the challenges that Chauke faces include a criminal justice system that has no support structures for mental health patients.
“The greatest challenge that l am facing is that of government policies such as the banning of corporal punishment at schools, which cases of delinquency are no handled by the police,” he said.
