Building Back with Purpose

Maybe you’re reading this in silence, feeling lost in a cycle that seems impossible to break. Maybe you’ve made mistakes, hurt people you love, and wonder if there is still a way forward. I want you to know — there is.

My name is Donovan Pienaar, and I’m from Lime Acres. I know what it feels like to spiral, to hide behind drugs and alcohol, and to become someone you barely recognise. I started using when I was a teenager. What began as fun turned into years of pain, pain I caused and pain I carried. But my life is proof that it is never too late to start again.

Even in my darkest moments, my wife Andriecia never gave up on me. We have been together since Grade 5, and her belief in me helped me believe in myself again. With her support and my faith in God, I started my journey of recovery. I stumbled along the way and even relapsed  but today, I’ve been clean for three years.

Getting clean was just the beginning. I realised that what nearly destroyed me could also be the reason someone else chooses to live. That is how our community organisation, Nqoba Ulutsha, was born. Together, Andriecia and I created a safe space for young people, survivors of gender-based violence, and those struggling with addiction because we have lived it too.

With support from the Lesedi Solar Park Trust, we received training through SAAPA and RDSP to strengthen our work. That training gave us not only skills but the power to do more to support, to uplift, and to lead.

We are seeing change. Young people are reaching out. Families are finding healing. Our community will slowly become safer, stronger, and more united. But the most powerful shift is this: people are starting to believe in themselves again. Walk into that support group. Accept that referral.