Behind every story of substance dependency is a person.
A child. A parent. A son or daughter. A family trying to hold on. A community longing for healing.
During SANCA National Directorate’s Drug Awareness Week, from 22 to 28 June, Badisa is joining the national conversation around substance dependency, recovery and hope. This is not simply a campaign on a calendar. It is a reminder that people are more than their struggles, and that recovery becomes possible when someone is met with care, dignity and support.
Substance dependency affects far more than the person using alcohol or drugs. It reaches into homes, schools, workplaces, families and communities. Children grow up carrying fears they cannot name. Parents and grandparents carry worry, grief and exhaustion. Families often live between hope and heartbreak, wondering whether change is still possible.
At Badisa, we believe change is possible.
Through ABBA Stellenbosch Social Services, Ramot Treatment Centre for Substance Dependency and Toevlug Centre, Badisa offers support to people whose lives have been affected by substance dependency. These programmes provide professional guidance, care and practical support, helping individuals and families take the next step towards healing.
Recovery is rarely a single moment. It is a journey of many small steps: asking for help, showing up again, learning new ways to cope, rebuilding trust, and beginning to believe that a different future is possible.
This year, Badisa is intentionally supporting SANCA’s Kick Your Habit campaign. As SANCA marks 70 years of service, the campaign invites all South Africans to pause, reflect and choose growth.
For Badisa, this message matters deeply. Substance dependency often begins long before a person turns to alcohol or drugs. It can begin with trauma, loneliness, loss, hopelessness, poverty, pressure or the painful belief that no one cares.
That is why the answer must also begin earlier.
It begins when children are protected and taught the skills they need to cope with life.
It begins when families receive support before they fall apart.
It begins when communities choose compassion over judgement.
It begins when someone who has stumbled is offered a hand instead of being pushed further down.
Every act of care matters. Every conversation matters. Every second chance matters.
Badisa does not do this work alone. Together with SANCA, government, churches, schools, partners and communities, we continue working towards a healthier, stronger and more resilient South Africa.
The invitation is simple: choose one thing.
Pause it. Swap it. Kick it.
Choose growth. Choose hope. Choose to show up for someone who needs support.
Because when one person begins to heal, a family can begin to breathe again. A child can begin to feel safer. A community can begin to grow stronger.
We are all part of the same story.
We are one South Africa.
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