It is natural for young people to undergo social and personal experimentation until they find their place in life. Unfortunately, during this phase, peer pressure can change them, their appearance, and their attitude. Peer pressure can cause young people to do unhealthy, sometimes even dangerous, things.
aQuellé water
QINISO KHUMALO was born in Ntuzuma Township but grew up in KwaDukuza (Stanger), KwaZulu-Natal. He said, In 2015, I arrived at CYPSA and enrolled in its Restoration Programme as a drug addict in desperate need of help. I had started using drugs at an early age and was smoking cigarettes and dagga while still in primary school. In 2009, my friend introduced me to smoking whoonga (heroin), and that was when my problems started. I became a terrible person at home and in my community. Because of the ingredients used and the properties of heroin, it gives you a high, but when it wears off, your trouble begins. You suffer from pain in your body and severe stomach cramps, and only smoking more of the drug can take these symptoms away. Because of the daily need to use heroin, I became a criminal and started stealing and was even sent to prison for a short time. I tried to quit, but I failed.
“It was then that my friend told me about CYPSA, where I would be welcomed with open arms and be able to get help. I confessed all the wrong things that I had done in my life and was prayed for, and God set me free from my drug addiction. I went back to my community and apologised to all the people I had wronged in the past. I was then allowed to work at the aQuellé water bottling factory. After having started as a packer packing loose packs onto pallets, I was appointed to become a machine operator. Now, I am working in the Technical Department as a technician and have received training on the maintenance and repairs of the manufacturing equipment used at the factory. God has truly changed my life.”
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