Columban Fr. Eamon Sheridan washes the feet of recovering drug addicts at the Rebirth & Rehabilitation Centre in Myanmar - Photo: Fr Eamon Sheridan
Globally, almost 300 million people (5.6% of the global population aged 15-64 years) use plant-based and synthetic drugs each year according to the 2024 United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime(UNODC) Report. This is a 20% increase compared to a decade ago, with cannabis having the highest worldwide rate of usage, followed by opioids (pain-relief pills), amphetamine-type stimulants (ATS), ecstasy, and cocaine.
The damaging effects of drug use are well known, especially on the health and developing minds of young people, whose brains do not fully develop until their mid-20s. Using drugs increases the risks of memory loss, learning problems, and impulse control. It also causes damage to their health, and sometimes causes them to become violent and harm others and themselves while perpetrating crimes as a result of their addiction.
The “International Day Against Drug Use and Illicit Trafficking” is commemorated every June 26th as an expression of global solidarity to achieve a society that is free of drug abuse. By creating awareness of the dangers of illicit trafficking and drug addiction, this year’s theme campaigns on “Investing in Prevention” as a part of the justice, education, and health care systems in all countries to help treat and heal victims of drug abuse.
The Columban Missionaries work in Myanmar, which is the world’s top producing country of opium and heroin. With over 45 thousand hectares of opium poppy fields, Myanmar now supplies the high global demand due to the decreased production in Afghanistan which began in 2022. The cultivation of the opium poppy flower traps rural communities like those in Myanmar into economic dependency on drug production and cycles of debt that expose them to exploitation through this type of floriculture (the farming of flowers).
In 2015, the Myitkyina Catholic Diocese opened the Rebirth & Rehabilitation Centre (RCC) to help young men struggling with drug addiction. Columban Fr. Eamon Sheridan became one of the facilitating priests who helped young men complete a 15-week program that accompanies their healing and recovery, while building skills in areas like carpentry and hairdressing.
Fr. Sheridan reflects,
“There is no greater blessing than witnessing the transformation of someone freed from the shackles of addiction. The joy of seeing a former addict find stability, purpose, and a renewed sense of dignity is indescribable. These moments remind us that recovery is possible - even during war and uncertainty.”
Fr. Sheridan celebrates Dawn Mass on Easter Sunday at the Rebirth & Rehabilitation Centre. Photo: Fr Eamon Sheridan
One of the findings from the 2024 United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime Report is that while men make up the majority of drug-users globally, women who use drugs face many barriers to accessing treatment and experience high levels of gender-based violence and sexual abuse by intimate partners or other male users. This vulnerability amongst women also occurs in Myanmar, where Fr. Sheridan explains that the drug epidemic happening amongst women is hidden away with no treatment centres to help them recover from their addiction.
The Rebirth and Recovery Center (RRC) responded to this need during the pandemic years and opened a women’s program helping them with their sobriety, avoiding sexual exploitation and human trafficking, and regaining their quality of life, health, and most importantly, their sense of dignity and self-worth.
Fr. Sheridan provides both the women and men’s programs with spiritual support through daily Mass, prayer, meditation, faith sharing, and Bible readings. His long-term goal is to see young people being reintegrated into their families and communities with the message that “hope for recovery is available to those who want to start the journey.”
While the Columban Missionaries continue response efforts through the RRC to address the drug epidemic amongst Myanmar’s youth, they are also investing in prevention programs that address social issues around unemployment, human exploitation, and the ongoing civil war, all of which contribute to the use of drugs as a means of bringing short-term relief to suffering, hopelessness, and pain.
An example of this is the RRC’s vocational training workshops which develop young peoples’ employability skills by training them in carpentry, hair-cutting, soap production, and making rosary beads. Fr. Sheridan shares that as the youth seek recovery from the negative impacts of drug addiction, the workshops have “become places of learning, mentorship, and hope, where they can rediscover their abilities and find a renewed sense of purpose.”
Adi Mariana Waqa is the Partnership Coordinator at the Columban Mission Centre in Essendon.
