Thandeka Mlotshwa is a 30 year old woman who has managed to turn her life around after being a drug addict for over 5 years.

Thandeka became a drug addict when she was only 25 years, she described that moment of her life as one of the most darkest period of her life. “I was one of the most brightest student in my high school and after my fathers passing, something shifted inside me and I lost focus and I failed my matric.”

Thandeka stated how lost she felt at that moment and that she felt that she had nowhere to turn to and thought that the only way she can escape her reality was to turn to drugs as a way to help her forget and ease the pain.

“I never meant to be a drug addict, my friend told me that if I smoked that drug that he gave me all my pain would be gone but I found myself going after him everyday until I became an addict.”

Thandeka took herself to rehab but ended up running away just after 3 weeks because she felt she could not do it.
Thandeka thought that she would never get out of drugs but then she learnt that her mother was gravely ill, that’s when she knew that she wanted to turn her life around.

“I wanted to stop taking drugs, because I wanted to go see my mother and I never wanted my mother to see me the way I was.”

Thandeka went back to rehab and this time she did not run away. She stayed at the rehab for a period of 3 months and when she came out of rehab she described the moment as one of the first step to her proper life.

Thandeka went to see her mother and soon after her visit her mother passed.

“Although it was hard, I told myself that I will never go back to drugs.” and that is the same promise she made to her before she passed and she kept true to her word.

She never got back to drugs instead she took odd jobs so that she can take herself to University of Pretoria, where she studied to become a doctor – and that was after upgrading her matric and having passed with a bachelors pass and 2 distinctions.

Thandeka is now a doctor and a motivational speaker where she talks about her experience, hoping that her story will help change someone else’s life.

This was written as part of the Fellowship programme.