Sometimes the path we walk takes us places we never imagined going. Not because we planned it that way, but because life mixed with pain, longing, and choices has a way of rewriting the story we thought we were living. There are moments we would rather forget. Days that felt too heavy. Years that blurred into survival. But then grace. Not loud or showy, but quiet and persistent. It reaches into the hardest places and whispers, “You do not have to stay here.” This is the story of one such whisper. A story of struggle, of addiction, of heartbreak, and of our God who never stops redeeming what feels too far gone.
My name is Shamig Prins and I live in Atlantis. My life as a young boy growing up in Atlantis in Cape Town was different. My mom and dad were never married, and I had a stepdad at the time. I was always confused as to where I fit in. I grew up with my grandmother, and she loved me and spoiled me a lot.
After my grandmother passed away, things changed for me. I now stayed with my mother and stepdad. My stepdad was a taxi driver and he used Mandrax, so I was always in an environment where I saw a lot of negative things. He used to beat my mom when she didn’t give him any money, and he used to cheat on her a lot. He always hit her. After a while of seeing these things, I started defending my mom. I remember he slapped me once, so I took a knife and stabbed him in his hand. He and my mom argued a lot about me, and then my mother took a stand and got a divorce.
little did I know this was the beginning of addiction
At that time, I was about 14 years of age. I started drinking and smoking cigarettes, but little did I know this was the beginning of addiction. Later, I started with dagga, a few months later with Mandrax, and at the age of 16 I was into Ecstasy and Tik (methamphetamine). I was going to clubs every weekend, which became my new habit. I would take Ecstasy when I went in—which was an upper—and then when I wanted to come down, I used Mandrax or dagga. Now I was addicted to many substances.
At that time, I had a friend whose father was a big gang boss in Atlantis, so he was always the hookup with drugs. It was easy getting them. Later, I joined the gang, and I got even worse. Eventually, I went to stay at my friend’s father’s drug house; working for them, doing hits, and doing many things that got me shot and in prison. Things got so fast that I couldn’t even recount what was happening in my life. Being active in the gang, I couldn’t be soft. It came with a lot of sacrifices. I never saw my family for years.
I couldn’t think like normal people do
After a lot of years went by, I got married and we had a beautiful son. At that time, I was in control of the drug house, and we stayed there running the normal day-to-day money and drug sales. I raised my boy at that place. He was exposed to a lot from a very young age because I couldn’t think like normal people do. My wife and I were using Tik together for years. I can remember every time police raided that place, they would tell us they were going to take my child away if we didn’t move away. We were scared they were going to do that, so we decided to move. We had stayed there for more than 12 years.
After that, we moved around, staying here and there, still using drugs. My family saw what was happening to my life, so they used to give me food through the safety gate. They didn’t allow me in because I kept stealing things very quickly.
I was worse than ever before
This lifestyle went on for about 6 more years. I was sick at the time. Tik had made a hole in my stomach, so I couldn’t eat anything. I was losing a lot of weight very quickly. My weight was down to 55kg from 87.6kg, so they booked me into hospital. I had a big choice to make: die or stop using. After I got better, I didn’t stop using immediately. I think I went on for 2 more years, but eventually my wife wanted to leave me because I couldn’t stop using. I was worse than ever before—robbing people, stealing things—part of a lot going on in Atlantis.
I was eventually forced by the court to go for help. That’s when I met Mr. Frank Stockenstroom, a volunteer community worker, and he booked me into a support group on Fridays at the CAB. I was part of that programme for more than 3 months, and at that time I had a lot of support from my wife and part of my family, so I stayed clean for 3 months.
It was the best 3 months of my life
After that, I had an amazing chance to get into a treatment centre called Hesketh King, run by The Salvation Army, and I took that chance. I was there for 3 months, and that was the best 3 months of my life. I gained a lot of knowledge about my addiction and how to stay clean, with so much help from my therapist, Mrs. Oberholzer. I opened up about a lot of my childhood hurt and things I hadn’t dealt with growing up.
I accepted Jesus as my Saviour
While I was at Hesketh King, I had everything in those 3 months—love, kindness—from the staff and the leaders. Wow! I was Muslim at the time, but I took part in everything at the centre just to grow in my sobriety and my Christian journey. I accepted Jesus as my Saviour.
I got out after 3 months and weighed 110kg. I am now working at Dischem and am very involved with my church. A team of us ex-addicts, with our pastor, do services sometimes on a Sunday night—sharing our testimonies and ministering to the patients.
All glory to Jesus.