Last week, I had the opportunity to visit a recovery center in Gulu (about a 3-4 hour drive from where I'm staying). This recovery center is one of the few that are available in Uganda. The organization is called PACTA (Program for Awareness, Counseling and Treatment of Alcohol/Addictive Illnesses. The organization operates as an in patient facility where clients are encouraged to stay for up to 90 days. We were very impressed with what this organization is doing and how their facility is running on a daily basis. While we were there we were able to meet multiple staff members, as well as, the patients. We had a brief meeting with the patients and were able to encourage these men in many ways, which included continued focus on their recovery.
Further long term visits to PACTA by the SAF team and myself may occur sometime in the near
future. Although I have knowledge and experience in addiction and recovery, I have a lot to learn, especially culturally. Shadowing PACTA would be very beneficial for the future of the ministry in Soroti. I have also begun working with other individuals that are seeking sobriety. Prior to visiting the facility I had the opportunity to meet with a man (with Mike from Saving Arms) who had recently relapsed from alcohol. This man had told us about PACTA and how it had helped him, but he could not afford to return to the facility (they are self funded and clients pay 40,000 UGX per day which is about $12, the average daily income for a Ugandan is $3.50).
I was able to do an assessment with this man and determined that he could safely detox from
home. The man stated he had drank a small amount that morning and so he was encouraged to stay sober and complete the detox process. We supplied him with a sedative from a local trusted doctor (Dr. Tom) to help him sleep and cope with withdrawal symptoms. We encouraged him to stay hydrated and nourished. Lastly, we educated the family on what the withdrawal symptoms of alcoholism looks like. We also educated them on being watchful of deceitfulness that the son may do in order to get money for alcohol. We revisited the man three days later for a follow up. The man stated that he was able to stay sober the past two days. I praised him for his new sobriety and encouraged him to remember the date of January 24, 2022. I preformed another withdrawal alcohol assessment and his symptoms had decreased tremendously. I was able to provide him with folic acid, which can significantly help with withdrawal symptoms when combined with a multivitamin, which I also provided him with. Lastly, we encouraged him to get exercise, read, pray and meditate, eat healthy, as well as, drinking lots of fluids. We will return next week where we will focus on engaging him in social sober activities outside the home.
Spending time with this young man has made me think about my days of relapsing and new sobriety when I was in my late teens and 20s. There were many people that would reach out to me, encourage me and support me in my very early days of sobriety. These people would show up at my home, many times I was not ready to get sober, but they would keep coming back. They showed me grace and patience time and time again, as they were all in recovery and understood what I was battling.
Thank you Bob, Alice, Mike, Dave and Kirk for making an impact on my life, you have helped shape me into who I am today and now I can be that person who shows up for others with grace and patience.
Most of all, thank you Jesus, for rescuing me, giving me hope and saving me.
Very proud of you all. Doing such great work even in such adversity. 💕