Pretoria - The Clean Up Hub, in partnership with the Limpopo Gospel Experience and former world boxing champion Ditau Molefyane, held a soup kitchen for drug users at the Mabopane station on Sunday.
Hundreds of users enjoyed soup, bread and desert while learning about the readily available free rehabilitation programme the hub is running.
Founder of the hub, Reikhutsitse Malala, said this time around, the organisation had partnered with the Limpopo Gospel Experience, with the aim of getting artists to inspire the users and to pray for them.
The organisation also roped in Molefyane, a retired boxing champion.
“The aim was to get the users to meet celebrities face-to-face so they could be inspired to look at things differently and try to kick the habit,” Malala said.
Limpopo Gospel Experience founder Francis Letsoalo said that through his company Makgobathe Securities, they always helped the needy in the community. They would continue to spread the gospel and pray for the users to kick the habit.
“We are so happy to partner here so that we can change people’s lives; the gospel artists also enjoyed the experience and were exposed first-hand to how serious the drug addiction problem is,” Letsoalo said.
Molefyane said he was overwhelmed by the experience in the township. He said that while serving soup to the users, he got to speak to them and realised that some were talented and educated young men.
“Most of them can still turn their lives around; it’s not too late for them to kick the habit and pursue their dreams. They are still young and are our future leaders, and as the older generation, we need to assist them to protect our future,” Molefyane said.
Drug addict Bongani Mahlangu said unemployment had pushed him into getting involved with drugs. “Because I was idling, it was a part-time hobby before it became an addiction.
“There are hundreds of us here who need help; we are just glad that there are people who still remember us and encourage us to kick the habit.”
Pretoria News