NEW CENTRE FOR DRUG ADDICTS AND ALCOHOLICS

WINDHOEK

THE Etegameno Rehabilitation and Resource Centre, opened in April 2002 to
help contain the substance abuse problem in the country, is now up and running.

It opened its doors to patients of drug and alcohol abuse in April this year.

Situated in a hilly area in Brakwater, close to the roadblock, Etegameno,
as its name suggests, still has hope that drug addicts and alcoho-lics can
get better given the necessary help.

The 55-hectare plot, with its very natural surroundings, offers an
atmosphere where patients can enjoy nature, do self-introspection and
undergo spiritual healing.

The 14-bed institution is a government rehabilitation centre whose main
focus is to prevent substance abuse, to treat addicts and rehabilitate them.

At the moment the centre has nine patients who, according to the centre
manager Verona de Preez, receive individual and group counselling and
vocational therapy to help them gain hope for themselves.

She noted that once people became addicted to drugs and alcohol, the habit
was the only thing they sought, and there was need to give them some-thing
to do.

"Because of this addiction, their families kick them out because they steal
money to sustain the habit and they end up on the streets," said Du Preez.

A study done in 2002 to determine the extent of alcohol and drug use in
Namibia found that over 55 percent of adult Namibians consumed alcohol. And
most of those that drink, said Du Preez, abuse alcohol.

The study indicated that "many drinkers consumed a significant amount of
alcohol over the weekend preceding the survey. Thirty nine percent of all
adult Namibians smoked at some point in their lives while over two percent
smoked dagga and 0.4 percent used mandrax." Windhoek, says the report, has
the highest number of drinkers, being 69 percent, while the northern
regions have the lowest percentage of 26.

The addicts are referred to the centre after an assessment at Tabitha
Centre after which they are detoxified. "They are given a medicine regime
to follow in hospital, for three days to one week, under supervision," said
Du Preez.

Patients can also be referred to the centre by psychologists, spiritual or
community leaders, doctors, workplaces, client groups and other smaller
rehabilitation centres.

The patients are then admitted to the centre and undergo several programmes
that include sharing experiences with others that have undergone similar
programmes and have stopped using drugs and alcohol.

During their six-to-nine weeks stay at the rehahibilitation centre, the
patients, now two females and seven males, also clean their rooms and the
centre's surroundings, and play pool and table tennis.

It is envisaged that with time the centre will be able to offer other
activities such as gardening, painting and welding, amongst others, to help
the patients build up their self-esteem.

Du Preez notes that substance addicts become so lazy they don't want to do
anything, but the centre tries to help them regain their self-image and esteem.

Sixty percent of the nine patients the centre has are alcoholics while the
remaining 40 percent are dependent on drugs. Du Preez feels the first
intake is a very cooperative group, which will be discharged on June 11 for
alcoholism and June 18 for drug addiction.

Considering that drug addicts and alcoholics develop such a love affair
with their dependencies, and that they don't want to eat, the centre
provides a healthy eating plan that includes soups and vegetables in the
first weeks when the addicts are struggling to eat, and then later proteins
such as fish and chicken.

Patients get visitors during weekends but strict rules at the centre have
to be adhered to as a thorough search is done to check whether some drugs
and alcohol are not sneaked in for the patients.

"Sometimes communities can be very ignorant," says the centre manager,
adding that they sometimes do not realise the harm that sneaking in alcohol
would do to the recovery of patients.

Sunday mornings are for church programmes and Du Preez urges all churches
to get involved in the spiritual healing of the patients at the centre.
Every Wednesday, starting at 19h00, is reserved for all people that need
help with drugs and alcohol problems.

In future, the centre plans to reach out to schools, workplaces and to the
public as a whole to create awareness on the signs and symptoms, and the
causes and effects of drugs and alcohol abuse.

Other activities lined up are a holiday programme for young people that are
in the orange zone and happen not to be so dependant on drugs and alcohol.

The programme aims to bring them back to the green zone to prevent addiction.

Being a resource centre as well, Du Preez says, Etegameno will be stocked
with all information there is on drugs and alcohol for the community to
have access to information they need.

It will also do research on whether the programmes at the centre are
effective or not and the types of abuse that patients are being treated
for, to gauge the growth of the centre and its impact on people's lives.

December 10 will offer an opportunity for families of patients and former
patients of the programme to reunite. Du Preez says the occasion will be in
the form of a carnival during which the centre can teach people to live
alternative lifestyles, apart from smoking and drinking.

Art works and craft that will be made by the patients during their
vocational pro-grammes will also be put on sale.

The centre is staffed with a manager, nurses, social work-ers, a chief
clerk, institutional workers, a driver and a chef.