Besides treatment, drug addicts learning skills in Herat

HERAT CITY (Pajhwok): Alongside ongoing treatment, vocational training is being provided to 500 drugs addicts in western Herat province, an official said on Wednesday.

Maulvi Hayatullah Rohani, director of counter-narcotics department at the Police Headquarters, said the initiative was aimed at empowering recovering patients and paving the way for employment opportunities after overcoming addiction.

He said the programmes were being implemented in different two-month, three-month and six-month phases, depending on individuals’ abilities and circumstances and would have a positive impact both on their psychological and economic conditions.

Meanwhile, some patients undergoing treatment and enrolled in training programmes said learning skills such as fridge repairs, tailoring, vehicle maintenance and other trades has given them greater motivation to start a new life.

Abdul Samad, an inhabitant of Obeh district in Herat, who has been receiving treatment at the provincial rehabilitation centre for the past two and a half months, said: “I was familiar with radio and other electoral appliance repair since teenage. Now these training programmes have been launched, I believe after full recovery, I will not only be free from addition but also able to earn livelihoods for myself and my family.”

He urged the entities concerned to continue and expand these initiatives.

kk/ma