Rehab centre in Tobu helping addicts turn their lives around

Amid the gloom, a drug rehabilitation centre under Tobu sub-division in Mon district is on the job to help opium addicts turn their lives around

DIMAPUR—Drug abuse is rampant in remote areas of Nagaland, especially in the eastern districts, but most people do not seek help and support due to lack of treatment facilities for addicts.

However, there is one facility called JACAOA Rehabilitation Centre in Tobu sub-division under Mon district that has been helping opium addicts turn their lives around for more than a year now.

The centre is a source of hope for addicts and their families, many of whom have easy access to drugs and often resort to criminal activities.

Inaugurated in April 2022, the rehabilitation centre is run by the Joint Action Committee Against Opium Addiction (JACAOA) in collaboration with Tobu Area Students’ Union (TASU).

TASU president Sangti Konyak told Eastern Mirror that the centre was started under the Nagaland State AIDS Control Society (NSACS) intervention programme. But since its inception, the expenses are taken care of by JACAOA, which includes various organisations, Tobu Village Council and church.

After getting approval from ADC Tobu, the old building of the Tobu Community Health Centre was renovated by the JACAOA, and now houses the rehabilitation centre, he said.

Substance abuse (particularly opium) is increasing in Tobu, with at least one member in a family using drugs and most of them are the bread earners of their families, lamented Sangti Konyak.

Even if there is no access to drugs within the village, the users can procure from neighbouring villages or districts, he said.

“The drug users who come to the rehabilitation centre are kept for 40-45 days, and during the first one-two weeks, nurses are deployed since the addict require medical attention. We charge an amount of INR 5000 per head and with this registration amount, the salary of caretaker of the centre, nurses, food, medicines and their basic needs are taken care of. Most of the times the expenditure are more, which the JACAOA covers,’ said the student leader.

TASU and JACAOA take care of the centre on rooster basis, it was informed.

The “clients”, as the addicts housed in the centre are called, are taken in phase-wise and the maximum number of clients housed at a time is between 20 and 25.

“Even after staying for 45 days, if the clients want to extend their stay for another one-two weeks, we keep them as we know 45 days is not enough for an addict to recover,” he added.

It may be mentioned that Eastern Mirror had, in 2019, brought to light the dire situation in Obay Hoangup, an extended village of Pessao bordering Myanmar, which was said to have at least one member in each family who is addicted to opium.

Opium cultivation and use was not checked until late 2016, when a mass movement against opium trafficking was initiated by JACAOA in collaboration with TASU.

Obay Hoangup villagers, however, refused to leave their village even after their opium fields were destroyed during the movement.

It was after an intervention from the then Block Development Officer of Tobu, Moba Konyak, that opium cultivation was replaced by cardamom and a church building was constructed in the village.

In 2018, the people of Obay Hoangup requested TASU president to help establish a school in the village.

So, TASU launched the ‘Teach for Tobu’ campaign to reorganise and empower the community for developing strong sense of ownership to promote education at the grassroots level. And from the erstwhile opium fields sprouted a school named Hope Academy Obay.

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