{"id":6698,"date":"2025-08-15T14:37:45","date_gmt":"2025-08-15T12:37:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hconline.co.za\/?p=5527"},"modified":"2025-08-15T14:37:45","modified_gmt":"2025-08-15T12:37:45","slug":"nyaope-trapped-siblings-plea-help-us-get-clean-help-us-start-again","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dev.highveldchronicle.co.za\/wp64\/nyaope-trapped-siblings-plea-help-us-get-clean-help-us-start-again\/","title":{"rendered":"Nyaope trapped siblings plea, \u2018Help us get clean, help us start again\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Emalahleni <\/strong>\u2014 For the Miya siblings, Mpumelelo (28) and her younger brother Skhumbuzo (24), who live in extension 11 from Ezinambeni, life has become a struggle far beyond putting food on the table. Each day is a battle to break free from an addiction from nyaope.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Their journey into this darkness began after their mother passed away in 2018 and their father followed in 2022. What began as teenage experiments turned into a long and merciless battle with drugs, each hit pulling them further from the life they once imagined.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Skhumbuzo did not start by smoking, but was a nyaope dealer at 18. \u201cI would get a big batch to sell, and I remember thinking, \u2018If I take a few, I can control it.\u2019 I was wrong,\u201d he says, his voice breaking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2019, Mpumi\u2019s mental health worsened after giving birth to her daughter whose father rejected. To cope with the pain, she sought an escape to nyaope. \u201cI don\u2019t want my daughter to be ashamed of me,\u201d she says. \u201cShe\u2019s growing up, and I\u2019m missing important moments in her life.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Attempts to escape the grip of drugs have been met with betrayal. After losing their father, the siblings were sent to Pretoria for rehab, but instead ended up under the care of a man who falsely claimed to own a rehabilitation centre. This man, they recount, deepened their addiction as he kept buying them drugs for a period of two months.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now, worn down by relatives who have abandoned them and neighbours who judge them in whispers, Mpumelelo and Skhumbuzo are making a public plea. \u201cHelp us get clean. Help us start again.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Kakarambha Foundation, which brings awareness about drugs and the negative impact it has on communities, has stepped in to support them with clothes and connected them to an official from the Department of Social Development.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The siblings say the foundation advised them to get checked for any underlying illnesses so that it would be easier to process them when they get to a rehabilitation centre. \u201cAddiction has stolen enough from us,\u201d Skhumbuzo says. \u201cWe just want our lives back.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, the DSD official, they say, told them she is too busy with other clients and won\u2019t be of help to them at the moment.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Emalahleni \u2014 For the Miya siblings, Mpumelelo (28) and her younger brother Skhumbuzo (24), who live in extension 11 from Ezinambeni, life has become a struggle far beyond putting food on the table. Each day is a battle to break free from an addiction from nyaope. Their journey into this darkness began after their mother…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6731,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26,76],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6698","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-tie-news-style","category-people"],"yoast_head":"\nNyaope trapped siblings plea, \u2018Help us get clean, help us start again\u2019 - Highveld Chronicle<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/dev.highveldchronicle.co.za\/wp64\/nyaope-trapped-siblings-plea-help-us-get-clean-help-us-start-again\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Nyaope trapped siblings plea, \u2018Help us get clean, help us start again\u2019 - Highveld Chronicle\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Emalahleni \u2014 For the Miya siblings, Mpumelelo (28) and her younger brother Skhumbuzo (24), who live in extension 11 from Ezinambeni, life has become a struggle far beyond putting food on the table. Each day is a battle to break free from an addiction from nyaope. Their journey into this darkness began after their mother...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/dev.highveldchronicle.co.za\/wp64\/nyaope-trapped-siblings-plea-help-us-get-clean-help-us-start-again\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Highveld Chronicle\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-08-15T12:37:45+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Highveld\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Highveld\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dev.highveldchronicle.co.za\/wp64\/nyaope-trapped-siblings-plea-help-us-get-clean-help-us-start-again\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dev.highveldchronicle.co.za\/wp64\/nyaope-trapped-siblings-plea-help-us-get-clean-help-us-start-again\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Highveld\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dev.highveldchronicle.co.za\/wp64\/#\/schema\/person\/055539f0ba62d8d2de949a4b8ec0e631\"},\"headline\":\"Nyaope trapped siblings plea, \u2018Help us get clean, help us start again\u2019\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-08-15T12:37:45+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dev.highveldchronicle.co.za\/wp64\/nyaope-trapped-siblings-plea-help-us-get-clean-help-us-start-again\/\"},\"wordCount\":388,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dev.highveldchronicle.co.za\/wp64\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dev.highveldchronicle.co.za\/wp64\/nyaope-trapped-siblings-plea-help-us-get-clean-help-us-start-again\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/dev.highveldchronicle.co.za\/wp64\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Screenshot_16-8-2025_154133_-e1755352048356.jpeg\",\"articleSection\":[\"News\",\"People\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/dev.highveldchronicle.co.za\/wp64\/nyaope-trapped-siblings-plea-help-us-get-clean-help-us-start-again\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dev.highveldchronicle.co.za\/wp64\/nyaope-trapped-siblings-plea-help-us-get-clean-help-us-start-again\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/dev.highveldchronicle.co.za\/wp64\/nyaope-trapped-siblings-plea-help-us-get-clean-help-us-start-again\/\",\"name\":\"Nyaope trapped siblings plea, \u2018Help us get clean, help us start again\u2019 - Highveld Chronicle\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dev.highveldchronicle.co.za\/wp64\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dev.highveldchronicle.co.za\/wp64\/nyaope-trapped-siblings-plea-help-us-get-clean-help-us-start-again\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dev.highveldchronicle.co.za\/wp64\/nyaope-trapped-siblings-plea-help-us-get-clean-help-us-start-again\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/dev.highveldchronicle.co.za\/wp64\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Screenshot_16-8-2025_154133_-e1755352048356.jpeg\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-08-15T12:37:45+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dev.highveldchronicle.co.za\/wp64\/nyaope-trapped-siblings-plea-help-us-get-clean-help-us-start-again\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/dev.highveldchronicle.co.za\/wp64\/nyaope-trapped-siblings-plea-help-us-get-clean-help-us-start-again\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dev.highveldchronicle.co.za\/wp64\/nyaope-trapped-siblings-plea-help-us-get-clean-help-us-start-again\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/dev.highveldchronicle.co.za\/wp64\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Screenshot_16-8-2025_154133_-e1755352048356.jpeg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/dev.highveldchronicle.co.za\/wp64\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Screenshot_16-8-2025_154133_-e1755352048356.jpeg\",\"width\":371,\"height\":183},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dev.highveldchronicle.co.za\/wp64\/nyaope-trapped-siblings-plea-help-us-get-clean-help-us-start-again\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/dev.highveldchronicle.co.za\/wp64\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Nyaope trapped siblings plea, \u2018Help us get clean, help us start again\u2019\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dev.highveldchronicle.co.za\/wp64\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/dev.highveldchronicle.co.za\/wp64\/\",\"name\":\"Highveld Chronicle\",\"description\":\"First with the news, First with the people\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dev.highveldchronicle.co.za\/wp64\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/dev.highveldchronicle.co.za\/wp64\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dev.highveldchronicle.co.za\/wp64\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Highveld Chronicle\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/dev.highveldchronicle.co.za\/wp64\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dev.highveldchronicle.co.za\/wp64\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/dev.highveldchronicle.co.za\/wp64\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/cropped-HighVeldLogo.jpeg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/dev.highveldchronicle.co.za\/wp64\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/cropped-HighVeldLogo.jpeg\",\"width\":507,\"height\":134,\"caption\":\"Highveld Chronicle\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dev.highveldchronicle.co.za\/wp64\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dev.highveldchronicle.co.za\/wp64\/#\/schema\/person\/055539f0ba62d8d2de949a4b8ec0e631\",\"name\":\"Highveld\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dev.highveldchronicle.co.za\/wp64\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f0ab28f6efbe3b19a924cc79414879b592e52c145c1ddb6980aaad6d31a6f393?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f0ab28f6efbe3b19a924cc79414879b592e52c145c1ddb6980aaad6d31a6f393?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Highveld\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/dev.highveldchronicle.co.za\/wp64\/author\/highveld\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Nyaope trapped siblings plea, \u2018Help us get clean, help us start again\u2019 - Highveld Chronicle","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/dev.highveldchronicle.co.za\/wp64\/nyaope-trapped-siblings-plea-help-us-get-clean-help-us-start-again\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Nyaope trapped siblings plea, \u2018Help us get clean, help us start again\u2019 - Highveld Chronicle","og_description":"Emalahleni \u2014 For the Miya siblings, Mpumelelo (28) and her younger brother Skhumbuzo (24), who live in extension 11 from Ezinambeni, life has become a struggle far beyond putting food on the table. Each day is a battle to break free from an addiction from nyaope. Their journey into this darkness began after their mother...","og_url":"https:\/\/dev.highveldchronicle.co.za\/wp64\/nyaope-trapped-siblings-plea-help-us-get-clean-help-us-start-again\/","og_site_name":"Highveld Chronicle","article_published_time":"2025-08-15T12:37:45+00:00","author":"Highveld","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Highveld","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/dev.highveldchronicle.co.za\/wp64\/nyaope-trapped-siblings-plea-help-us-get-clean-help-us-start-again\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/dev.highveldchronicle.co.za\/wp64\/nyaope-trapped-siblings-plea-help-us-get-clean-help-us-start-again\/"},"author":{"name":"Highveld","@id":"https:\/\/dev.highveldchronicle.co.za\/wp64\/#\/schema\/person\/055539f0ba62d8d2de949a4b8ec0e631"},"headline":"Nyaope trapped siblings plea, \u2018Help us get clean, help us start again\u2019","datePublished":"2025-08-15T12:37:45+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/dev.highveldchronicle.co.za\/wp64\/nyaope-trapped-siblings-plea-help-us-get-clean-help-us-start-again\/"},"wordCount":388,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/dev.highveldchronicle.co.za\/wp64\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/dev.highveldchronicle.co.za\/wp64\/nyaope-trapped-siblings-plea-help-us-get-clean-help-us-start-again\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/dev.highveldchronicle.co.za\/wp64\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Screenshot_16-8-2025_154133_-e1755352048356.jpeg","articleSection":["News","People"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/dev.highveldchronicle.co.za\/wp64\/nyaope-trapped-siblings-plea-help-us-get-clean-help-us-start-again\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/dev.highveldchronicle.co.za\/wp64\/nyaope-trapped-siblings-plea-help-us-get-clean-help-us-start-again\/","url":"https:\/\/dev.highveldchronicle.co.za\/wp64\/nyaope-trapped-siblings-plea-help-us-get-clean-help-us-start-again\/","name":"Nyaope trapped siblings plea, \u2018Help us get clean, help us start again\u2019 - Highveld Chronicle","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/dev.highveldchronicle.co.za\/wp64\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/dev.highveldchronicle.co.za\/wp64\/nyaope-trapped-siblings-plea-help-us-get-clean-help-us-start-again\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/dev.highveldchronicle.co.za\/wp64\/nyaope-trapped-siblings-plea-help-us-get-clean-help-us-start-again\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/dev.highveldchronicle.co.za\/wp64\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Screenshot_16-8-2025_154133_-e1755352048356.jpeg","datePublished":"2025-08-15T12:37:45+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/dev.highveldchronicle.co.za\/wp64\/nyaope-trapped-siblings-plea-help-us-get-clean-help-us-start-again\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/dev.highveldchronicle.co.za\/wp64\/nyaope-trapped-siblings-plea-help-us-get-clean-help-us-start-again\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/dev.highveldchronicle.co.za\/wp64\/nyaope-trapped-siblings-plea-help-us-get-clean-help-us-start-again\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/dev.highveldchronicle.co.za\/wp64\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Screenshot_16-8-2025_154133_-e1755352048356.jpeg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/dev.highveldchronicle.co.za\/wp64\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Screenshot_16-8-2025_154133_-e1755352048356.jpeg","width":371,"height":183},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/dev.highveldchronicle.co.za\/wp64\/nyaope-trapped-siblings-plea-help-us-get-clean-help-us-start-again\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/dev.highveldchronicle.co.za\/wp64\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Nyaope trapped siblings plea, \u2018Help us get clean, help us start again\u2019"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/dev.highveldchronicle.co.za\/wp64\/#website","url":"https:\/\/dev.highveldchronicle.co.za\/wp64\/","name":"Highveld Chronicle","description":"First with the news, First with the people","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/dev.highveldchronicle.co.za\/wp64\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/dev.highveldchronicle.co.za\/wp64\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/dev.highveldchronicle.co.za\/wp64\/#organization","name":"Highveld Chronicle","url":"https:\/\/dev.highveldchronicle.co.za\/wp64\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/dev.highveldchronicle.co.za\/wp64\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/dev.highveldchronicle.co.za\/wp64\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/cropped-HighVeldLogo.jpeg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/dev.highveldchronicle.co.za\/wp64\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/cropped-HighVeldLogo.jpeg","width":507,"height":134,"caption":"Highveld Chronicle"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/dev.highveldchronicle.co.za\/wp64\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/dev.highveldchronicle.co.za\/wp64\/#\/schema\/person\/055539f0ba62d8d2de949a4b8ec0e631","name":"Highveld","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/dev.highveldchronicle.co.za\/wp64\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f0ab28f6efbe3b19a924cc79414879b592e52c145c1ddb6980aaad6d31a6f393?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f0ab28f6efbe3b19a924cc79414879b592e52c145c1ddb6980aaad6d31a6f393?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Highveld"},"url":"https:\/\/dev.highveldchronicle.co.za\/wp64\/author\/highveld\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dev.highveldchronicle.co.za\/wp64\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6698","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dev.highveldchronicle.co.za\/wp64\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dev.highveldchronicle.co.za\/wp64\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.highveldchronicle.co.za\/wp64\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.highveldchronicle.co.za\/wp64\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6698"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dev.highveldchronicle.co.za\/wp64\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6698\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.highveldchronicle.co.za\/wp64\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6731"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dev.highveldchronicle.co.za\/wp64\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6698"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.highveldchronicle.co.za\/wp64\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6698"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.highveldchronicle.co.za\/wp64\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6698"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}