JHARKHAND : Only two years back, if you had told Rajneesh Kumar that he would be running a rehabilitation centre for recovering drug addicts and alcoholics in Jharkhand’s Hazaribagh, he would have stared at you in dull surprise. Today, driven by sheer strength of will, the 29-year-old has turned his life around, kicking his vices as he strives to protect youth like him from the scourge of addiction.
Rajneesh remained addicted to drugs and alcohol for nearly 10 years before he was admitted to a rehabilitation center in Odisha’s Rourkela by his parents. Recalling those dark days, he says, “Due to ignorance or improper guidance, children get attracted to bad things easily. I got addicted to cigarettes, liquor and weed during school days; but I took to drugs after I moved to Bokaro. When I did not have money to buy more and more, it was painful. Then I started taking other intoxicants to overcome my addiction until I was under complete influence of one intoxicants or the other.”
As the ill effects of addiction began to manifest, Rajneesh’s weight, once 95 kg before he arrived in Bokaro, dropped to 45 kg. Several other severe complications revealed themselves as drugs took their toll, Rajneesh recalls.
Finally, he was admitted to a rehabilitation centre in Odisha, where he stayed for nearly eight months until he was completely cured. After returning to Hazaribagh, Rajneesh was determined to adhere to the lessons he had learnt during his time in rehab.
“After being fully cured, I came back to Hazaribagh and found my friends and several others were still addicted to intoxicants, with little hope of recovery due to the absence of de-addiction facilities or rehabilitation centres in the region. Those who could afford it, would go to Bengal or Odisha for de-addiction which not everyone could afford,” Rajneesh shares, asserting that he was bent on improving the situation for these unfortunate, and often ignored ailing individuals.
The ‘Bright Hope Foundation’ – a rehab and de-addiction centre – was established in July 11, 2023, with a promise to alleviate their condition. Initially, it was quite difficult for Rajneesh to convince people to join his programme and had to conduct several awareness campaigns on the ills of addiction. Now, nearly two years later, more than 200 people have benefitted from Rajneesh’s rehab centre.
“I cannot guarantee that once they go back home, they will be cured completely, but I tell them that if they follow the guidance and instructions given here, they will surely heal,” Rajneesh said.