Breaking free from the shackles of the past: Independence Day 2014

On Friday 15^th August 2014, the atmosphere reached fever pitch as our residents celebrated the 68^th Independence Day of our nation in both our Kotdwar and Delhi centres. The mood was ablaze with electric excitement as our patriotic boys wholeheartedly immersed themselves into the festivities of the day. At the back of our minds, we knew a large proportion of India would undoubtedly be celebrating the occasion with a bottle in their hand and this resurrected past memories of previous Independence days during our using period. The defining point was that our residents rocked the day to a totally different rhythm: we set the day on fire – without requiring any chemicals to ignite the sparks!!

In Delhi, our residents had dedicated two long weeks preparing and rehearsing plays on the Swadeshi movement and the legendary freedom fighter Bhagat Singh, two group songs, dances and a fashion show! Initially a lot of our residents were shy and reluctant to participate, but as the patriotic spirit was cultivated, events flourished into a beautiful and victorious success. Everyone had a part in the day; whether they were performing or preparing the scrummy food up in the kitchen – nobody was left idle! Treats of the day included burgers for breakfast, then a tantalizing paneer pulao with raitha for lunch and a mouth-watering chicken dish for dinner.

Our boys merrily broke free from their insecurities to present a fantastic display of their creativity, painstaking dedication and personal triumph over limits. Our cultural events kicked off with our charismatic host making a seamless introduction into the events of the day. Our very own Neelabh demonstrated his fantastic speaking skills as he shed light upon the history of our brave nation and its courageous citizens; the thousands of heroes who sacrificed themselves so that our country could be free from oppression. That same fearless spirit belonging to our forefathers is what we strive to emanate today as we fight to overpower our personal tyranny to succeed living a drug and alcohol free life.

Our first event was an emotive speech capturing the essence of the events: glorious conquest over   a music interlude of our boys heartily sung a jolly anthem of hope and brotherhood, accompanied by one of our residents on the harmonium. It was really beautiful to see how engaged our residents were as they proudly showed their hidden talents to the cheering audience! The song was followed by the fashion show wherein a few of our boys modelled apparel of the age and slung patriotic slogans into the whooping crowd. This year’s fashion show was a totally fresh innovation into the Independence Day scene at SHAFA HOME; rest assured it was a superb addition to the day.

Next, Tushar threw himself into the programme to put on a rib-tickling splay of laugh-your-head-off impersonations and jokes. Towards the middle of the programme, the mood grounded and became serious as Marco, our voluntary staff member from Africa eloquently delivered an emotional speech about the power of treatment and breaking self-imposed boundaries...he ignited a beacon of hope and courage within his little brothers; showing if he could overcome the boundary of language to integrate at SHAFA, the treatment programme was limitless as to what it could achieve for them.

Dance was the following cultural event where our boys got footloose to hit the floor and get their groove on; our boys performed a flawless choreographed sequence taught to them by the infamous Bob Ji. Then one of our members made an impromptu appearance on the dance-floor and simply bowled us over with his moves...who knew Rohit was a secret dance star? The crowd went wild for him!

The programme wrapped up with SHAFA’s director Mr. Ranjan Dhar giving a resounding commendation to our resident’s first-class preparation and performances and they were congratulated for their individual efforts. The final event of the day was a candlelit prayer of strength and a recital of our national anthem.

All-in-all, Independence Day 2014 was a beautiful embodiment of triumph, brotherhood and hope. May this be the gatekeeper that allows the following years to bring freedom and illumination within all of our hearts!

To view more pics please click on the link below:https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.323408844489361.1073742015.150155235148057&type=3&uploaded=48

Sometime We Are The Windshield...Sometimes We Are The Bug

On Monday 11^th August 2014, Ms. Maheshwari Jani, experienced behaviour analyst and master of Neuro-Linguistic Programming presented her twelfth session at SHAFA HOME, Delhi in which she discussed the super interesting topic: emotional intelligence. The aim of the session was to identify the definition beyond these two words. Our residents were encouraged to dive below the surface level to investigate exactly what it means to be emotionally intelligent. A few of our more conscientious residents were eager to share their opinion. One young chap commented that an ‘emotion’ are the same as feelings; the term is interchangeable. Emotions or feelings are reaction to a stimulus generated from our interaction with the environment around us.

Once a definite explanation was decided upon, then residents were asked to delve deeper into their mind to analyse the multitude of different emotions and feelings that they simultaneously feel at any given time. After all, it’s a proved fact that addict’s naturally have a tendency to create a scrambled, confused mess of the emotions they are truly feeling at any given time. Due to this it is crucial to pinpoint exact emotions. By understanding ourselves, then we can begin to understand others and act more compassionately.

The first activity involved our residents grabbing hold of three of their fellow brothers to ask them to write their good qualities and their working points. In this exercise they had to purposely choose somebody they got along with, someone who they felt neutrally towards and lastly someone who they wouldn’t regularly interact with. So, the residents quickly got to work meandering round the ‘Asha Grah’ to catch their three lucky companions.

When the activity was over, residents grouped back together into a circle and collectively gave each other’s feedback. This activity pushed our residents to act with honesty and maturity to deliver both praise but also eye-wateringly pinching criticism. Basically, our boys didn’t beat around the bush with this task...they jumped straight in to dish out sweet and savoury opinions of their peers.

Whatever our emotions were and whatever we felt towards others, we were reminded to act without bias to appreciate the unique quirks and beauty of all. Maheshwari explained this idea was not exclusively restricted to the activity, but was also a golden lesson to apply in wider living. By being kind and appreciative of everyone, we form and strengthen healthy relationships...something a recovering addict craves for in their new, substance free life...and the beautiful thing is, it’s 100% achievable!

The last activity of the day involved our boys picking a partner to tickle their funny bone...in this activity members were instructed to make their companion laugh. Positivity is contagious and smiles were flying all round the hall. From the session, it was evident to see that our residents have improved upon their communication skills, emotional intelligence and confidence leaps and bounds in recent weeks, thanks to Maheshwari Ji’s dedicated support and work with our residents. We endeavour to meet with her very soon for her next exciting session!   

To  view pics please click on the link below:

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.321189871377925.1073742014.150155235148057&type=3&uploaded=17