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Freeway Ministries, a non-profit-organisation (NPO) in Retreat that aims at helping addicts into recovery, hosted a brick-making workshop on Friday 17 November.
Freeway Ministries, a non-profit-organisation (NPO) in Retreat that aims at helping addicts into recovery, hosted a brick-making workshop on Friday 17 November.
Greg Craig, director of the NPO, said for many addicts doing the simple task of completing blocks would for some be the first thing they complete, coming from a background of addiction.
“We are doing a block-making workshop with our guys, and what I love about it is that for the very first time they get to complete things.”
He explained that often addictions break lives and relationships.
“Coming from addiction you never complete things because everything is broken.
“Your life is broken, you don’t have relationships with your family, and today they get to see the building blocks in their lives.
“It is a manual job, they get to mix water, sand and stone and cement and they get to see the finished product.”
The facility offers a three to six month programme for men who are addicted to drugs, alcohol, porn, gambling or food.
“In the past two months, we’ve had 12 people walk through our doors, and we only house 10 people. Our programme is three to six months and some take longer to complete.
“Often this happens because they think they are going to do it for their mom or dad, or because the court said so.”
The NPO, which was founded in 2017, receives no government funding and is open to men of all ages.
“The youngest that has come through our doors is 19 and the oldest 69.
“We also don’t receive any grant funding from the government, but what cuts our food bill in half is getting food from Woolworths, Checkers and Food Forward.
“The guys who come on the programme, they pay to join, and it is always a struggle, but our heartbeat is for those who also can’t pay.”
Their dream is to open a multi-purpose centre for skills development programmes.
“We do need donations so we can have a roof and structure over here to this end.”
Divu Makan (45), who is originally from Salt River and ended up living on the streets, said he owes his life to Freeway Ministries.
“I was addicted to drugs for 32 years of my life and was in a very dark place last year.
“Coming through Freeway Ministries I am now clean for a year and half.”
Makan further explained that he was very close to taking his own life: “I wanted to commit suicide and felt helpless and hopeless and that there was no way out.
“My brother-in-law’s neighbour, through the grace of God, saw me and he brought me to Freeway. I only had the clothes on my back and was on the streets for three weeks at the time.”
Through the Freeway programme Makan says opportunities have opened up to him.
“I have been reunited with my family and have a 20-year-old son whom I get to see every second weekend. Now I’m spending time by making those new memories.”
