After spending a few days getting used to my bearings, I now have a good idea of exactly what I will be doing this summer. I am interning with the Society for Promotion of Youth and Masses (SPYM), a non-profit promoting social development with a particular focus on combating juvenile drug abuse. My job is to revise and re-implement standard operating procedures (SOPs) at SPYM’s drug rehabilitation centers.
My first visit to one of the rehabilitation centers exposed me to the harsh realities of juvenile drug abuse. The modest center was located alongside a battered and dingy little alleyway. It consisted of no more than three small floors that housed an extremely small rehabilitation staff in charge of supervising almost fifty young boys. As soon as I stepped through the entrance, a group of children rushed over to show me in and wish me good morning. They were small, pleasant looking kids with radiant smiles and cheerful dispositions.
The dusty alleyway near one of the rehabilitation centers.
As I toured the rest of center, I got a glimpse of the other children going about their day. Some were napping and relaxing while others were finishing up their lunch or reading books. There was even a group running around and playing tag, with their shouts of joy and laughter wonderful to hear. To me, these seemed like a group of normal and lively young boys.
The entrance door of one of the rehabilitation centers.
The center’s manager then called me inside his office for a chat and explained how the cheerful children I had just seen were in reality all recovering drug addicts. They had been at the center for anywhere from a few days to a full month, and were all in varying stages of the grueling detoxification and withdrawal process. Due to the severe stigma surrounding the issue of drug abuse in India, these children were often abandoned by their families and turned away from schools (some had not been inside a classroom for years). Many had struggled to trust others and make friends upon arrival at the center, an unfortunate symptom of having been misunderstood and mistreated for so long.
The center is one of the few places these suffering children can go to get help and sympathy. It is only here that their addictions are considered medical problems that can be overcome with treatment and support. The ease at which the manager conveyed these disturbing facts troubled me. He had regularly dealt with such issues for so long that he was partly desensitized to the horror—seeing an alcoholic eight year old is no longer even a surprise for him.
This is juvenile drug abuse in India up close and unrestrained. It is a shocking picture to take in.