Many perceptions broke down – It’s really Shafa!!

‘Many perceptions broke down’, this is what a girl from the Adolescence Education Group, Bachelors of Education, Delhi University said. They were twenty two in number, proud, energetic and would be teachers of our country. The occasion was their visit to Shafa Home on Friday the 18^th of March, 2011. Unlike the earlier crowd, they were quite informal and had the nerve to ask questions one after the other.

The assemblage started with us asking them questions as to ‘what their opinions about an addict were’. Many amongst them shared their own experiences with addicts and addiction. Never during the whole conversation did we try to tell them about the in treatment resident, which was quite contrary to what they had in mind. We wanted them to have a first hand experience of this reformed person, who lives here in this pseudo social setting. They were keen to know an addict in person and had a lot of questions for them too.

Once upstairs the students were divided into smaller groups and each group sat with a resident and spoke to him. Their queries ranged from getting up in a TC till the lights off at night. Some also discussed the reasons of the residents getting into addiction. A question which each and every group asked the residents was, as to whether there was anything in regards to their teacher’s at school which led them to addiction. There were residents from all stages of the treatment and they answered chivalrously changing the very image of the misery filled addict in their minds. Even though the stipulated time finished these students from DU wanted more and more.

Back downstairs was another session of questions and answers with the residents, all of them together now. Once through with the residents it was now Ranjan Ji who took over the assembly and cleared their last tit bits of doubt. The conference got so charged up that even Ravi Ji, who had just returned from his home visit during the session, jumped into answering the inimitable questions of the group.

Their day at Shafa had a late ending at around 6’PM with tea and refreshments. The students looked spent and through. They broke many ill perceptions about an addict, addiction and treatment that day and were ready to become our Torch Bearers in the near future.