Lots of SUGARS in Durban, but no PEEPS....

Easter Sunday in Durban I was invited to Pastor Bobby's house for a buffet of different curry dishes. Pastor Bobby had told his family I love spicy food so they were on the hunt to make a curry that I found spicy. Bobby’s daughter made kabob in red curry and it was spicy! Yum. Priscilla made a flat hand-made bread. Kind of like a tortilla. Yum yum yum! I tried mutten and lots of other new foods.
After dinner Pastor Bobby, Priscilla, Ashley, Pastor Chris and I went to a local rehab center. We met 22 young men who were, for the most part, SUGARS addicts. I had no idea what SUGARS was… SUGARS is the resin from heroine and rat poisoning. It’s cooked and smoked. Pastor Bobby had shown me a Dateline type show that looks at the SUGARS problem especially in the Indian community. Pastor Bobby spoke to the young men and introduced me and had me tell my story of adoption and how I got to where I am today. The guys seemed to be comfortable that I was here to give them resources, not be the great “yellow” hope. I asked the guys what it was like to be high on SUGARS. They said the first time you get high it’s euphoric. The rest of the time you spend trying to get that same high with no avail and really bad withdrawal symptoms. One of the guys said it would be similar to chasing the heroine dragon. One hit of SUGARS is 15 Rand. That’s about $2.00. These guys started out partaking socially but it soon tured into steeling or begging for the money to get the next hit.

I ran two different programs with this group during my stay in Durban. One day we ran a TeachAIDS session and a few days later I ran a Seeds of Empowerment Storytelling Workshop. The guys' feedback was positive on both sessions. I hope and pray that they succeed in the rehabilitation.

One of the many things that I am amazed by with Pastor Bobby is that he has a way of speaking TO the people not AT the people. The groups he speaks to are very receptive and open to what he has to say. He is very respected in the community and seen as a positive leader and role model.