A JOURNEY TO SOBRIETY AND A SECOND CHANCE AT LIFE

By Matlaba Machete

• Vincentia Makwe has turned her life around and is now a role model of the transformational power sobriety.
• The turning point for the young mother was her desire to provide a stable home for her children, and make sure they are not removed from the family.
• With the help of the Department of Social Development, Makwe is studying a hair and beauty course with the aim of opening her own business.

For Vincentia Makwe the past year has demonstrated the transformational power of sobriety. From suffering addiction to embracing a life of purpose and clarity, her story is a beacon of hope for anybody struggling to break free of the strangle-hold of drugs.

This is the narrative of her first year sober, a year marked by raw vulnerability, unyielding perseverance, and the rediscovery of a self she believed was lost for good.

Makwe is a 32-year-old mother of two residing in Bophelong in southern Gauteng.

After seven years of addiction to crystal meth, she spent three months in rehabilitation and has now been sober for over a year.

The turning point came when her youngest child, only three years old, could differentiate the types of drugs Makwe was using and even demonstrated how to smoke them. “That is when it dawned on me that I had exposed my children to my bad habits,” she recounts.

“If I didn’t change my ways, they could end up like me at a very young age or be taken away.”

Driven by the desire to provide a stable home for her children and prevent their removal by social workers, Makwe sought help through the Department of Social Development, which led her to the Nigel Rehabilitation Center in Ekurhuleni. There, she embarked on a journey to reclaim her life and health.

Today, Makwe is a student at the Dirang Ka Kagiso Skills Development centre in Bophelong, studying a hair and beauty course that covers the treatment of hair, nails and feet, as well as providing massages for clients.

“My life has completely changed since I have sobered up,” she shares.

“I no longer hang with the same crowd I used to.

“I am in school now, building towards a sustainable future with the skills the centre is equipping me with.”

Once she has completed her studies, Makwe plans to open a salon in her neighborhood, offering hair and nail services, using the starter pack kit she will receive on graduation.

Makwe is grateful for the support she has received: “I would like to thank Social Development for giving me a second chance to be a better mother to my children and equipping me with skills to make an honest living.”