Heroin use has risen sharply across the country but in Pretoria, a programme of methadone and support is successfully helping people regain their lives
In the centre of the South African city of Pretoria, dozens of people mill around a dusty patch of land beside a main road, openly smoking and injecting drugs. Over the noise of cars whizzing past, one of the users, Benedict, explains that he started using heroin after he left home to get away from his abusive stepfather.
“I didn’t want to fight with him. I just ended up by myself, going to the town, sleeping on the street,” he says, “After some weeks, I started to smoke heroin with my friend.”
