In the Philippines, drug addicts have the stark choice of surrendering to the authorities, or risk being punished by death. The surrenderees report weekly to the police stations. There are some 68,000 surrenderees in Laguna Province, and Goducate has been invited to help 350-400 of them (see blog, May 19).
Recently 76 of the drug addicts from six villages in Laguna completed a 14-week drug-rehabilitation program called Simula ng Pag-asa (SIPAG, “Start of Hope”). They met every week for large-group and small-group activities.
The program had been adapted by Goducate workers for use locally after they attended a 3-day workshop on addiction recovery in Singapore (see blog May 5).
The group that finished the SIPAG programme will be referred to the Department of Social Welfare Development for job placements
A second batch of about 70 drug surrenderees will start to undergo the SIPAG program in the 4th week of October.
