I triumphed over my alcohol addiction

 

My name is Godfrey Awory. I was born and raised in Moyo district. My parents died when I was an infant, so I grew up with my uncle and aunt. I took to drinking in S2. All my friends would escape at night to go drinking, so one day I decided to go with them. I started drinking crude waragi and strong beers.

 

Drinking grossly affected my academic performance, but I managed to get 12 points in A’level. I was also lucky to get scholarship for my Bachelor of Business Administration at Kampala International University. But because of my addiction, I missed many lectures, subsequently doing very many re-takes. 

 

My aunt was concerned and brought me to Serenity Centre. I was disgusted because she had told me she was taking me to the village. I asked the people who were taking care of me why I was here and I was told that I was sick. I told them I was alright and had no business being here. On several occasions, I tried to escape but they would stop me. Eventually I settled. I was given a counsellor, who, for three months, helped me to overcome my addiction.

 

 

 

I went back to Moyo with no hope of continuing with university because my scholarship had been cancelled and I had no money. But last year, I was surprised when my uncle offered to pay my tuition. I am now back at the university. Every Tuesday, I go to the centre to give my testimony to other addicts to show them that they too can prevail over alcoholism and substance abuse.

 

To many people, alcohol and drug addiction seems to be a private issue, however, the Catholic missionaries see alcoholism as a serious problem, which can slowly but surely lead to national devastation. 

 

It is this awareness that compelled the missionaries to start a specialised centre for the rehabilitation of alcohol and drug addicts. The newly-inaugurated centre is at Namulanda off Entebbe Road in Wakiso district.

 

Rev. Fr. Brendan Jordan, the centre’s board chairperson, says: Alcoholics and drug addicts are broken people, so when they come here, we build their self-esteem. They get a new sense of who they are and are to lead productive lives.

 The initiative was started in 2001 by the Jesuit Fathers, the Holy Cross Fathers and the Missionaries of Africa to rehabilitate alcoholic priests. We initially operated in a small house in Nsambya. The project later expanded to cater for all people; alcoholism doesn’t know a person’s status. 

 

When we started receiving more clients, we shifted the centre to Ggaba. We later got land and established a permanent centre here at Namulanda, which can accommodate 80 clients. Currently, 95% of the centre’s funding is from Europe. 

Edward Nuwamanya, a counsellor at Serenity Centre says: Alcoholism can be genetic, much as it can be a result of social factors. People can also take to the bottle through peer influence. The environment in which people live can also influence them to take alcohol and drugs.

 

An addict is first assessed to determine whether to retain them or refer them to Butabika Hospital. Alcohol and drug addicts stay here for three to six months, respectively. Each client is assigned a counsellor. 

 

After orientation and the signing of an agreement between the respective sponsor and the administration, we begin treating the client. We first look for the root cause of the problem before we treat a client. 

Part of the treatment is detoxification of the body. 

 

During the treatment, we also help the client learn how to cope with the outside world. Since its establishment in 2001, Serenity Centre has rehabilitated over 700 clients.