To a Brighter Future 20.06.2014

Raising awareness of prevention for HIV and sexually transmitted infections and harm reduction messages is part of the “Comprehensive HIV Prevention and Care among Drug Users with Harm Reduction Intervention” activities of the Myanmar Anti-Narcotics Association, supported by the Global Fund. Kut Kai Township, Northern Shan State. Photo: John Rae/The Global Fund

“I was caught up in a living nightmare – unwillingly having to feed my insatiable craving for heroin in those dark depraved quarries in Phar Kant township – from which I tried to wake up by fleeing the place for good to settle in Kutkai. Here, news of the opening of MANA’s office brought me the hope of a new dawn."

Ko Myo Thant, a client from MANA in Kutkai Township would like to tell of how he was able to turn his life around with support from staff of MANA Yeikmon in Kutkai.

“I used to work as a digger driver at a gem mining site in the Sine Taung Tawm awarea of Phar Kant township, a mining town in Kachin State. This is a place where heroin use is very common and pure opium is readily available at a cheap price.

“Every day I had to operate an earth-moving machine, which was backbreaking work. Not being able to resist peer pressure, I was finally persuaded to take solace in the heroin shooting galleries, hoping to overcome the hardships and tiredness of my daily labour. I ended up shooting-up heroin every single day for more than nine years. As I could not find a way to escape from the sickness and ache of heroin withdrawal, I became enslaved to the drug until I became completely broke.

“I was caught up in a living nightmare – unwillingly having to feed my insatiable craving for heroin in those dark depraved quarries in Phar Kant township–from which I tried to wake up by fleeing the place for good to settle in Kutkai. Here, news of the opening of MANA’s office brought me the hope of a new dawn.

"Only after I was contacted and registered at MANA did I dare to hope that I would be able to kick heroin out of my life once and for all. Sincere, caring and understanding staff at MANA welcomed and supported us in all possible ways –providing medicines to relieve heroin withdrawal symptoms, health education and counselling sessions on harm reduction and prevention of HIV and other infections from needle sharing. They also provided nutritional support.

“With the support of staff from MANA Yeikmon in Kutkai, we were able to start our lives afresh as useful members of our families, regaining their trust, as well as responsible members of society into which we were reintegrated, gradually winning community acceptance.

“I was able to participate in a ten-member self-help group called “Ah Lin Thit”, of which I became chairman. We opened a photocopying shop, which is going well, backed by the social support we have continuously received from our community. Moreover, we were registered to start Methadone Maintenance Therapy (MMT).

“The lives of our drug users have greatly improved and we are now moving on to a brighter future with confidence – all due to the sincere care and support we have continuously received from staff of MANA Yeikmon in Kutkai.”

Myanmar Anti-Narcotics Association (MANA)has been implementing harm reduction and HIV prevention activities among drug users with support from the Global Fund since 2011.