AN EVENING WITH THE HOMELESS

Representatives from Shafa were invited by Sampoorna, an NGO to visit their Night Shelter Home and speak on the subject of Drug Abuse amongst the homeless. Other NGO’s had also gathered there on a common outreach program to spread awareness about addiction.

There were around 50 homeless people in the audience who were addicted to different drugs. They didn’t seem to be interested as speakers from different organization were trying to talk to them. But as Mr Ravinder, one of the re-entry residents from SHAFA stood up with confidence the audience took notice. He started by asking them to look back into the days when they left their places and came to Delhi. They had made promises to their families and themselves that they will make a good living in the city and then support their families from there. He reminded them what happened later, today they are deep into addiction, forget about being an asset, they have become a liability for themselves, their families and the society at large. Everyone in the crowd went silent and listened to him patiently. He asked them to analyze what they lost in their past and what they had earned in their present. Later he gave them a way of hope for their future by sharing with them how he managed to change his life and about his 5 yrs in sobriety. Every one present there were amazed and accepted the truth that there is hope in their life.

The meeting ended with the commitment of living a drug free life as they were shown a way to save themselves. Finally, reading material was distributed in form of Shafa Newsletter and Brochure.