By Sbongile Sokela
In recent years, substance abuse has deeply affected individuals from all walks of life and ages. Many have lost their sense of self, their jobs, their families, and even their freedom due to addiction. This crisis has left many families and communities feeling hopeless, as they lack the resources to help their loved ones overcome addiction and prevent relapse. In response, the community of Payneville in Springs is taking action. On 13 June 2025, five community members started walking from Payneville to Turfloop in Limpopo to raise funds for several critical causes which include rehabilitation for drug addicts, legal support for community members silenced in their fight against drugs, support for small businesses, employment opportunities for recovering addicts, and protection for women and children from gender-based violence.
“Seeing young men and women who have so much potential to change the lives of their family members and communities get into drugs. We hope to create awareness. Most people believe that the drug problem is mainly in Gauteng, but we are witnessing that this problem is spreading fast in provinces such as Limpopo. Although we live in Gauteng, most of us are originally from Limpopo and it pains us to see these children falling into the trap of drugs, which is very difficult to get out of.”
The situation in townships across the country is dire, with children as young as 10 years old hooked on hard drugs.
“There are a number of factors that can lead young children to smoke drugs. Problems at home and peer pressure are the top two. Children trying to escape the challenges at home are easily pressured into drugs by their friends. But another thing we have noted while engaging with drug addicts is that they usually do not know they are smoking drugs. They will smoke what they think is weed or hubbly not knowing it has been laced with drugs such as Nyaope. Only when they start experiencing withdrawal symptoms will their friends who were trying to get them hooked tell them the real drug they have been smoking.”
This initiative doesn’t stop at just raising awareness, it aims to create long-term impact.
“Youth unemployment for those aged between 18 to 34 years currently sits at 56.3 percent. The youth is unemployed, and they have too much time on their hands, which then leads them to experiment and then become full-time addicts. Also, families are unemployed, and children try to escape the harsh reality of poverty in their homes by engaging in drugs. We also believe that once a drug addict goes to rehab, once they come out, they need to keep busy (work) to minimise their relapse. With this initiative, our end goal is to start a rehab centre that ensures that once the addicts get clean, we can help them start small businesses to minimise the chance of falling back into drugs.”
Inspired by the young men who recently cycled from Limpopo to Cape Town, the Payneville walkers are determined to take the future of their children, communities, and families into their own hands.
As they embark on this 400km journey, they invite the public to join them or contribute to this cause. Every cent counts. For more information, please contact Tumelo Muteme on 076 538 8502
