We have just received the report from the Rehabilitation Drug Users in Nepal project. We are impressed by the work happening there. In a poor country like Nepal, the lower status of women is deeply rooted in society. Family problems, unemployment and peer pressure provoke addictions. In Pokhara, 100 kilometres west of Kathmandu, the organisation The Good Neighbour (Asal Chhimekee Nepal, ACN) helps women drug users. It does so on behalf of 52 churches in the region. They treat the addiction as well as guide them in returning to the community. We helped 20 clients admitted to the residential centre in 2022. Fifteen of them were able to complete their treatment. Five others did not succeed for various reasons.
Laxmi Ruchal successfully completed treatment last year. She tells her story.
I have been given a new life
My name is Laxmi Ruchal and I am 34 years old. I am a single mother, my husband passed away a long time ago. My father died when I was eight years old. My mother worked as a farmer in her parents' house and earned a living for our family. Because I had to help my mother, I could not go to school.
After a few years, I married a man from Baglung. My husband worked as a bricklayer and I also worked as a labourer. Since we belonged to the lower caste, we owned no land and were forced to either stay in the village and work for the rich and wealthy family or go abroad in search of work. After the birth of our two sons, my husband went to Malaysia to work. There he stayed for two-and-a-half years. From there, he sent us money. Severe headaches forced him to return to Nepal. At the hospital, we found out he had a brain tumour. All the money he had earned over the years was spent on treatments, but he did not get better. It was extremely difficult for me, my sons were still very small. Eventually, he died at the age of 38.
After my husband passed away, life became even harder for me. My whole body always ached when I came home after a full day's toil at work. I was lonely. Meanwhile, my eldest son got married and went to Pokhara with his wife. I couldn't fall asleep at night and slowly started consuming more and more alcohol. I did not realise that I was becoming dependent on it and became addicted. As I had more alcohol than food, my health started deteriorating. My hands were shaking and I often fainted. Then my sons had me admitted to Nawajeewan treatment centre.
At first, I was very sad to be taken to a place like this. After a while, it got used to it and I found the staff friendly. Coming from the village, I didn't know many things and was very shy. I learnt to talk about my feelings and all those things that bothered me. I was no longer lonely. Besides undergoing treatment for my addiction, I also learnt to be free. I learnt many skills and techniques to suppress the urge to get addicted again.
I have been free from my addiction for eight months now. I am staying with my daughter-in-law here in Pokhara. I help her in the shop and with household chores. I am very grateful to Asal Chhimekee (The Good Neighbour) for helping me and taking care of me. I realise that I have changed a lot. This transformation has been possible only because of Asal Chhimekee Nepal.
