2 weeks Ago By Wanshika Kumar
The Adult and Teen Challenge (Fiji) is a place of hope for drug addicts, says executive director, Reverend Hemraj Mangal. Located at Lololo in Lautoka, Mr Mangal said their program allowed people to recover and be free from drugs. “We also like to empower them, and we like to restore them back to society, to their families,” he said.
“I want to tell everybody that at this place, hope is revived and people can live again.” Mr Mangal said the addiction treatment program was divided into four stages. “The first stage is what we call recovery, and then it is rehabilitation, then we do empowering and then we do the restoration.
” He said the recovery stage was spread over 16 to 20 weeks. “Our program is, there is no medical intervention. “It is totally Bible-based, it is totally Christ-centered, it is spiritual, where people look to God the creator, to be healed and to be set free and to be restored in the purpose and plan of God.
“When we are talking of rehabilitation, rehabilitation doubles the character, doubles the person, it gives them the ability to get to a normal life and they become a normal person. “And when we’re talking of empowering, here we give them or we take them through vocational training, at the moment we take them through carpentry, joinery. “We take them through some farming, whatever is their interest, some electrical implements and all that.
” Mr Mangal said the final stage of the 12-month program was restoring the person to their families. He said they measured their success by ensuring the person does not return to drugs after recovery..
