Centre saving my child from drugs
IN response to your article relating to Noupoort and its alleged "shocking treatment" of the recovering addicts who have joined its programme ("Shocking treatment revealed in report on Karoo rehab centre", June 20), I am hard pressed to find anything shocking other than the fact that Transnet has clearly embarked on a campaign to evict the centre from its land.
It is deplorable to my mind that it would go to such aggravated lengths to shut down the only hope many parents – including myself – have left. Many of the younger addicts are there not by choice and would jump at any opportunity to feed the allegations in the hope that they could go back to living the hell they chose for themselves and their loved ones.
Addicts are master manipulators and will elaborate to Oscar-winning- standard performances to get their way and I have no doubt that many of these allegations are nothing short of just that.
My 19-year-old daughter succumbed to tik more than a year and a half ago. Initially, we blamed ourselves, friends, circumstance and peer pressure, and booked her into a cushy rehab centre for three months. She managed to manipulate even the psychologists into believing she was "clean", she had seen the "light" and we felt so sorry for her having been through all she had.
Six weeks after coming home she relapsed and all hell broke loose. Dealers were coming to our house, there were threats and tears.
We were a broken family struggling to understand what to do next. I had heard a lot about Noupoort and its no-nonsense approach to addicts and their addictions, read up about it, asked people who knew people and finally decided to sign her up – whether she liked it or not.
Every parent understands what he or she is signing his or her child up for. Noupoort goes to great lengths to explain every detail ad nauseam to both child and parents.
They are made to understand the consequences of their actions or choice in disobeying rules. It boils down to self-discipline, self-respect and understanding that they have to be responsible for their choices (something any addict is severely lacking).
Noupoort runs like a well-oiled machine for very good reasons. It is strict – of course.
It has to be. Think of who it is taking care of: undisciplined, selfish and desperate individuals who have stooped to much lower standards than cleaning out a pig sty to get their fixes.
At no time does Noupoort create any illusion that it is anything but a (hard) working recovery programme and so yes, they walk the dogs, dig dirt, clean bathrooms, wash dishes and their clothes. So what?
As far as I am concerned it's a far cry from them hanging out with dirty dealers, thieves and prostitutes doing things that will eventually kill them. Cleaning a pig sty or two has never killed anyone.
My daughter is a very headstrong girl and if at any time she was asked to do anything she didn't deserve or was subjected to "sit and squat" searches, we would have heard about it. She was put into CI (correctional intervention) once after breaking rules and as much as she hated it, she was determined never to break rules again, and she hasn't.
If someone runs away, of course they call in the police. If that child was at home, wouldn't any parent do the same and then punish him or her afterwards?
My daughter is nearing the end of her time at Noupoort, and she is by far a lifetime away from who and what she was when she first went in. She has repeatedly told me that as much as she hated being away from home, Noupoort saved her from the hell she had created for herself.
Every single aspect of Noupoort's programme is there for a very valid reason. The psychological angles of all disciplines have been carefully thought out and have gone on to save many lives – some have even gone on to be motivational speakers.
Your article has not delved into the good things that Noupoort has done and is doing. Not one word or hint of a parent's input, past recovered addicts, etc to make it an unbiased article in all essence.
As a parent, I am forever grateful to Noupoort and the selfless people who have dedicated themselves to helping our children. It is not an easy job by any means – if it was, more parents would keep their children at home and try to help them.
The amount of abuse the caregivers get from our children (and their parents it seems) is shocking, but they push through and carry on helping our children despite it all. It is a monumental slap in the faces of all who readily take on our children who we send there when all else has failed at home to go on slandering this very much needed centre.
The problem with most parents is that they "send their problems away" and instead of then researching, following up and taking action together with Noupoort to help their children, they prefer to handle things from a distance. When their precious children don't seem to be having the miraculous recovery they were hoping for, or cut themselves with glass in the hopes that mom and dad will feel sorry for them, they blame the centre.
There are always two sides to a story, Ms Editor. I certainly hope in future, you will strive to balance the scales in this instance.
M Visser, Port Elizabeth
