COTABATO CITY (June 29 ) – After about a year, 38 former drug dependents are now reformed residents of Kidapawan City and had vowed to live normal lives.
Last week, 38 individuals completed the first Community Based–Drug Rehabilitation of the city government under the Balik Pangarap Program (BPP) of Kidapawan City Mayor Joseph Evangelista.
Evangelista said the BPP, launched a year ago in partnership with the Department of Health, intends to save and rehabilitate dependents who wish to reform and be reintegrated into the mainstream of society.
The year-long rehabilitation program funded by the local government includes training on income generating projects and skills development, among others.
One of the graduates could not help but shed tears, thanking local officials and the government for the program.
“If not for this program, I do not know where I would be right now,” said the 34-year-old male graduate, who requested anonymity, during an interview over a local radio station.
He said his health has improved and he has gained his appetite back lost from use of the prohibited substance “shabu”.
Evangelista said the program will continue and will also include former drug dependents who ceased from using illegal drugs but are not enrolled in the rehabilitation program. –Edwin Fernandez/PNA
