Pubdate: Fri, 14 May 2004 Source: New Era (Namibia) Contact: http://www.newera.com.na/ Address: P.O.box 321, Windhoek: Copyright: New Era 2004 Author: Wezi Tjaronda NEW CENTRE FOR DRUG ADDICTS AND ALCOHOLICS WINDHOEK THE Etegameno Rehabilitation and Resource Centre, opened in April 2002 to help contain the substance abuse problem in the country, is now up and running. It opened its doors to patients of drug and alcohol abuse in April this year. Situated in a hilly area in Brakwater, close to the roadblock, Etegameno, as its name suggests, still has hope that drug addicts and alcoho-lics can get better given the necessary help. The 55-hectare plot, with its very natural surroundings, offers an atmosphere where patients can enjoy nature, do self-introspection and undergo spiritual healing. The 14-bed institution is a government rehabilitation centre whose main focus is to prevent substance abuse, to treat addicts and rehabilitate them. At the moment the centre has nine patients who, according to the centre manager Verona de Preez, receive individual and group counselling and vocational therapy to help them gain hope for themselves. She noted that once people became addicted to drugs and alcohol, the habit was the only thing they sought, and there was need to give them some-thing to do. "Because of this addiction, their families kick them out because they steal money to sustain the habit and they end up on the streets," said Du Preez. A study done in 2002 to determine the extent of alcohol and drug use in Namibia found that over 55 percent of adult Namibians consumed alcohol. And most of those that drink, said Du Preez, abuse alcohol. The study indicated that "many drinkers consumed a significant amount of alcohol over the weekend preceding the survey. Thirty nine percent of all adult Namibians smoked at some point in their lives while over two percent smoked dagga and 0.4 percent used mandrax." Windhoek, says the report, has the highest number of drinkers, being 69 percent, while the northern regions have the lowest percentage of 26. The addicts are referred to the centre after an assessment at Tabitha Centre after which they are detoxified. "They are given a medicine regime to follow in hospital, for three days to one week, under supervision," said Du Preez. Patients can also be referred to the centre by psychologists, spiritual or community leaders, doctors, workplaces, client groups and other smaller rehabilitation centres. The patients are then admitted to the centre and undergo several programmes that include sharing experiences with others that have undergone similar programmes and have stopped using drugs and alcohol. During their six-to-nine weeks stay at the rehahibilitation centre, the patients, now two females and seven males, also clean their rooms and the centre's surroundings, and play pool and table tennis. It is envisaged that with time the centre will be able to offer other activities such as gardening, painting and welding, amongst others, to help the patients build up their self-esteem. Du Preez notes that substance addicts become so lazy they don't want to do anything, but the centre tries to help them regain their self-image and esteem. Sixty percent of the nine patients the centre has are alcoholics while the remaining 40 percent are dependent on drugs. Du Preez feels the first intake is a very cooperative group, which will be discharged on June 11 for alcoholism and June 18 for drug addiction. Considering that drug addicts and alcoholics develop such a love affair with their dependencies, and that they don't want to eat, the centre provides a healthy eating plan that includes soups and vegetables in the first weeks when the addicts are struggling to eat, and then later proteins such as fish and chicken. Patients get visitors during weekends but strict rules at the centre have to be adhered to as a thorough search is done to check whether some drugs and alcohol are not sneaked in for the patients. "Sometimes communities can be very ignorant," says the centre manager, adding that they sometimes do not realise the harm that sneaking in alcohol would do to the recovery of patients. Sunday mornings are for church programmes and Du Preez urges all churches to get involved in the spiritual healing of the patients at the centre. Every Wednesday, starting at 19h00, is reserved for all people that need help with drugs and alcohol problems. In future, the centre plans to reach out to schools, workplaces and to the public as a whole to create awareness on the signs and symptoms, and the causes and effects of drugs and alcohol abuse. Other activities lined up are a holiday programme for young people that are in the orange zone and happen not to be so dependant on drugs and alcohol. The programme aims to bring them back to the green zone to prevent addiction. Being a resource centre as well, Du Preez says, Etegameno will be stocked with all information there is on drugs and alcohol for the community to have access to information they need. It will also do research on whether the programmes at the centre are effective or not and the types of abuse that patients are being treated for, to gauge the growth of the centre and its impact on people's lives. December 10 will offer an opportunity for families of patients and former patients of the programme to reunite. Du Preez says the occasion will be in the form of a carnival during which the centre can teach people to live alternative lifestyles, apart from smoking and drinking. Art works and craft that will be made by the patients during their vocational pro-grammes will also be put on sale. The centre is staffed with a manager, nurses, social work-ers, a chief clerk, institutional workers, a driver and a chef. - --- MAP posted-by: Keith Brilhart