Addicted to a cause

They are not saints. Nor philosophers or social leaders. They are not even social activists in the true sense.

But in today's world, their contribution is immense -- they are the rejuvenators of humanity, the revivers of our dying youth.

In New Delhi, a group of selfless women are fighting the evergrowing menace of drug abuse. Through counselling and emotional assistance to addicts.

Their work is exacting, sometimes even traumatic. But the counsellors of Navjoti Drug Addiction and Rehabilitation Centre, a non-governmental organisation, hold that a successful de-addiction campaign more than makes up for everything.

''It gives us great pleasure to see the happiness of our patients's families. That is our biggest reward," says Rajrani Saxena, the centre's programme officer.

''Can you realise the agony of a mother whose son is a drug addict?" asks Kamta Bhatia, "My son was a brilliant student till he took to drugs. Since then my life has been a nightmare."

Bhatia admitted her son at the centre and he recovered. Now, she is a drug counsellor at Navjoti. "I do not want any mother to face what I have faced," she says, "If I am successful in helping even one of them, I will feel my mission is accomplished.''

Fiftyfive-year-old Rama Gupta, another counsellor at the centre, has more or less the same tale to tell. Along with her addicted son, she was thrown out of her house.

"Initially Sanjay (her son) was very reluctant to get admitted here. But after being here for a few days he liked the place," Gupta recalls. "Now he is completely cured."

She now spends all her spare time at the centre, counselling addicts and their families.

What made Prema Sharma turn counsellor was not any such drug-related problems.''I felt I would be able to get over my own personal troubles by offering emotional assistance to the needy," she says.

When Prema's husband left her and their three children after twelve years of marriage, she had taken a job as a school teacher. She came in contact with Navjoti, and was soon involved in their work. ''My work here gives me a lot of internal satisfaction... I am helping people. Now I am perfectly happy." she says.

Today, the group consists of 12 women who train new recruits, provide telephone counselling and even house-to-house programmes.

"The centre has adopted a medico-psycho-socio and spiritual model of treatment," says Saxena, "And we are successful, even in many 'no-hope' cases."

UNI