NGO Santulan adopts 7 people and helps them start their own breakfast stand and catering service.
They are seven of them: addicts, aged 16 to 40 years and on their way to recovery. Doubtful whether their families or society would give them a chance to start anew, they decided to stand on their own with each other’s support.
With the help of non-government organisation, Santulan, they started a snacks stall at Patrakarnagar in Pune on Friday. Santulan helped them get rid of addiction through their de-addiction camp held in June this year. Later, the NGO decided to adopt them for rehabilitation.
An activist from Santulan, Indrajit Deshmukh said, “A total of 33 people had participated in the first camp held by Santulan in June. We decided to adopt seven of them because some of these had some form of physical disability and had no family to go back to after the camp.”
Santulan has helped these people start their own breakfast stand and catering service.
Aftab, in his 30s, comes from Delhi. He was thrown out by his family because of his addiction. He came to Mumbai and a friend sent him to Santulan for de-addiction. He is a fabulous cook and plays an important role in preparing the snacks.
Sanjay, in his 40s, was an addict for years. Abandoned by his parents, he lived on the streets and went through a lot of hardships before landing at the Santulan camp. The senior-most in the group, he hopes to start a new life with this initiative.
Anwar is only 17. Addicted to whitener, he gave up education. He was brought to Santulan to get rid of the addiction. He is good at mechanical work and works in a garage. Before going to the garage, he helps the group with the snacks business.
Rajan, another recovering addict, is already into marketing of dress material. He too assists in serving the customers at the snacks stall.
They are all living in a shelter home in Gokhalenagar. “It is difficult to get work even after giving up addiction. It’s not always that the family accepts you. This venture is important for all of us as it will give us the confidence that we can do it,” said Sanjay.
Shilpa Smart, an activist from Santulan, felt this venture is a beginning for them to meet people, learn to deal with confidence and restore faith in themselves. “We wish to go even further and come up with more initiatives for rehabilitation of the addicts,” she said.
Santulan also found employment for two other participants in a chartered accountant’s office and an insurance company. Santulan was started by a team of recovering addicts with the help of psychiatrists and de-addiction counsellors.
It conducted the first de-addiction camp in June this year giving free treatment to people from Mumbai, Sangli, Daund and Pune.
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