Rehana Rossouw
DRUG addicts and dirty needles go together like love and marriage used to in the old lyrics but, in Cape Town, where drugs are smoked rather than mainlined, a zealous doctor is using (clean) needles to cure addicts of their curse.
In his comfortable Rondebosch acupuncture clinic, Dr Won H Lee launches passionately into his pet subject: curing drug addicts in Manenburg, the township that has become the scourge of the Cape.
Until January this year, Lee visted Manenberg every Tuesday and Sunday to treat addicts, free of charge, with his guaranteed acupuncture treatment. His visits were curtailed abruptly when a brick with a brutal message tied to it was flung through the window of a Manenberg peacemaker’s car.
“I was too successful, the drug dealers were losing their customers,” Lee modestly shrugs off the death threat which warned him to stay out of Manenberg “or else”.
Although he stopped his visits to Manenberg on the advice of peacemakers, he still welcomes addicts from the township and the rest of Cape Town to his Rondebosch clinic for
Lee’s interest in Manenberg went beyond clinical assistance — his dream was to start a rehabilitation centre for addicts where they would not only be treated for their dependence on drugs, but would learn skills like carpentry and motor mechanics and participate in organised sports, including martial arts.
“I was treating boys as young as 11 years old who were addicted to Mandrax and dagga, and after just two free treatments, all of them were cured. They couldn’t thank me enough for helping them to start a new life.”
Unfortunately, some of his patients started using drugs again after a few months. They complained that they had lost their friends after kicking the habit, because they had dropped out of gangs and weren’t trusted.
“My patients were staying at home, watching TV all day. Their homes became their prisons, and they started using drugs to get their friends back again.”
This was the reason Lee wanted to start his rehabilitation centre — to offer cured addicts an alternative to gangsterism and crime. A long distance runner at the age of 62, Lee also wants to introduce sports to his patients to keep their bodies and minds strong after they are weaned off drugs.
Lee’s motivation for his crusade against drugs started in Korea almost 20 years ago. Born a Bhuddist, he followed in his grandfather’s and father’s footsteps as a successful acupuncturist, until he converted to Christianity and received a “command” from Christ to move his practice to an area where his skills were needed.
His missionary zeal took him and his family to Kenya, where he ministered to both the privileged and underpriveleged for 11 years. Lee came to South Africa in 1992 when his daughter was accepted to study at the University of Cape Town and his family decided to move to Cape Town to be with
He has since built up a successful practice, with patients flying in from all over the country to his Cape Town clinic for treatment. He is still in demand in Kenya — last week he spent three days there treating old patients.
“I don’t care if my work with drug addicts reduces my income. The Lord said I should love my neighbour, and in Manenberg I have found out who my neighbours are,” he said.
“The methods I use to treat addicts can’t be found in any textbook. Acupuncture can’t be learned in a month or a year. It is the oldest form of medical treatment that started 6 000 years ago in the Stone Ages.
“Today, I’m still studying and learning more every day. I taught myself the cure for drug addiction over the years, and with lots of practice I can now cure everyone I treat – – if they want to stop.”
Manenberg People’s Centre director Faldielah de Vries said it was a tragedy that gang warfare had kept Lee and his patients out of the area.
“I saw the difference in the people he treated, and his cure was more successful than conventional ways of treating drug addiction with medication. His patients experienced an immediate physical improvement,” De Vries said.
“I have a great admiration for Dr Lee. He came to Manenberg out of religious convictions and set aside time he could have spent in his clinic, treating paying patients.