Originally from Port Elizabeth, had to fulfill the man’s role in the house from time to time after his father died. The fact that his mother has been married four times did not help the situation, and he started to smoke from a very young age. As a rebellious teenager, he got involved with the wrong friends and started with drugs at the tender age of 17. He eventually failed Grade 9, where after his school refused to allow him back. He got a second chance at another school but continued with these bad habits and eventually dropped school and focused full-time on messing up his life!
Marcel started working at a bar and used his remuneration to feed his addictive habits and got more involved with bad influences. So, the self-destructive cycle continued. Over time, he had numerous jobs but could not hold onto one of them. After leaving the first bar he worked at, he went back and stole money from them. He also stole laptops and other items to sell so he could buy drugs.
His mother tried to intervene by sending him to a rehabilitation center, which did not have a lasting effect. Marcel says he went because he wanted to please his mother, not for himself. Today he understands that change will only happen once you want to do it for yourself, not for others. He also now understands that he was focused on having people like him. His father’s absence in his life could be why he had the drive to be popular and accepted, which drove him to the wrong people and groups.
After the first rehabilitation effort failed, things became progressively worse. Eventually, Marcel’s uncle intervened, and on his advice, Marcel was sent to a branch of KwaSizabantu Mission in the Free State for help. The rest, as they say, is history…
About Restores Lives
The Concerned Young People of South Africa (CYPSA) is housed on the premises of the KwaSizabantu Mission and runs a three-week programme for people fighting addictions. Marcel and Romeo (stories below) both attended the programmes and are no longer broken people. The young men are now free from drugs and alcohol, and they willingly participate in the programmes. They still interact regularly with the pastoral caretakers, and they choose to work at the Mission as they feel driven to help others like they have been helped.
