About KWK
Koffee With Kuda is a YouTube series that engages conversations from people with lived experience in drugs and alcohol addiction, mental health, and other forms of rare diseases. Most conversations are centred on substance addiction, with the goal to reduce stigma that often follows drug and alcohol addiction. With these conversations, the idea is to educate the society about the root cause, and effects of drugs and alcohol. As well as removing stigma, another goal is to help youth and other individuals on how to prevent their own life from leading towards addiction. Coping mechanisms about prevention of addiction are discussed on individual basis as the road to addiction differs for every person.
Substance addiction includes, but is not limited to heroine addiction, fentanyl addiction, crack/ cocaine addiction, alcohol addiction, and even psychedelics. The conversations will also lead to negative effects of abusing substances, such as homelessness, prostitution, criminal activity, and substance/ drug induced psychosis. Further, the community is informed about withdrawals, trauma, relapses, recovery, therapy/ counselling, and life after addiction in general. Different front line workers are also interviewed to give a perspective of supporting people living in addiction and suffering from mental illness and homelessness.
About Kuda Mabiza
Kuda’s desire to support people in addiction came as a result of working with the homeless population in the mental health industry. Having experienced numerous deaths to opiates overdoses, and seeing a no end to the opiates epidemic, he hoped for a plan to prevent addiction than fight addiction. At the same time, Kuda was also running a non-profit youth program, supporting youths from low income and refugees families; with the goal to keep youths away from engaging in criminal activities. Youths were supported through volunteer programs, first aid training, naloxone training, and further vocational support through volunteers from various professions.
Through experience of working with homeless population/ people in addiction; there was an understanding that the youth Kuda was supporting were at risk of possibly leading a life to addiction and homelessness via the identified social determinants of health. With a goal to prevent substance addiction amongst the youths he was working with, Kuda connected with community members with lived experience of addiction and homelessness, so they could educate youth about risks of experimenting with substances.
Due to Covid restrictions; youth gatherings were not permitted, but the idea of educating youths (and now the whole world) from people with lived experience lived on. Guests agreed to share their stories via YouTube, Koffee With Kuda was born. With this platform, ‘former addicts’ could prove that recovery is possible, while educating the world about risk factors that can lead to substance addiction.
Become a guest
All our content comes from my experiences and interviews from guests on the show
Support this cause
Help us to educate the youths about a direct correlation between untreated trauma and addiction,