Most often than not, those who recover from addiction think life is all lost because of stigma related issues and because they have been exposed into the public realm, hence fear of rejection and isolation. Capacity building done at Purpose Rwanda helps in overcoming this mythical thinking
Recovering from addiction is a painful and gradual journey that extends far beyond breaking the cycle of drugs, alcohol, and sex abuse. It is a transformational process that encompasses rebuilding lives, nurturing talents, and fostering resilience. At the core of this transformation lies capacity building: This is a holistic approach that equips individuals with the skills, knowledge, and support they need to thrive beyond recovery: support is needed; dreams are needed, miracles are deliberately needed to transform lives to the benefit of our shared destiny.
Capacity building initiatives play a pivotal role in empowering recovered addicts to lead fulfilling and purposeful lives. These efforts recognize the inherent potential within each individual and provide them with the tools to realize their aspirations. Through mentorship, training, life skills development, and mental health support, miracle of capacity building opens doors to new opportunities and lays the groundwork for sustainable recovery, leading to socio-economic development in Rwanda.
Capacity building for recovered addicts plays vital role and it’s a life changing tool in the following ways:
- Enhanced Employability: Capacity building equips recovered addicts with vocational skills, increasing their chances of securing or creating sustainable employment and self-sufficiency. Whether this job involves sweeping the road, washing clothes, being a sanitation worker, all these jobs are well performed by those who have acquired interpersonal skills. What is crucial here is; capacity building to recovered addicts by Purpose Rwanda prepares the recovered addicts to graduate as Purposeful Agents of transformation who should be able to use every little opportunity available to create jobs for themselves by starting small businesses that can set new chapter in their lives, first and foremost.
- Personal Growth: Through training, mentorship and life skills development, capacity building fosters personal growth, allowing recovered addicts to realize their potential and pursue meaningful paths. One of the PATs had this to say during the last mentorship and training session: “I did not know that I will attend a session like this that empowers about Leadership and Management. What I have learnt can help me on how to manage my own family and help my community too. I have benefited a lot as an individual and my thinking about life has changed a lot” says M.L
- Mental Health Support: Capacity building initiatives provide essential mental health support, contributing to sustained recovery and emotional well-being. Purpose Rwanda integrated the mentorship and training session with group and individual counseling sessions. These help in supporting PATs to understand the meaning of the new life they are being prepared for. The integrated approach further helps PATs manage their expectations after recovery. An individual who has recovered from addiction needs to approach new life from new perspectives. The mental health support offered during mentorship and training sessions enrich coping mechanism towards new environment and new challenges.
- Reduction of Relapse Rates: By empowering recovered addicts with the tools and knowledge to navigate everyday challenges, capacity building efforts help reduce the risk of relapse. When the mind is productively engaged, the pace at which it races with positive thinking is monumental, on the other side, temptations are at a higher rate when the mind is filled with lots of nonsense, lots of unproductive thinking, or it’s devoid of good thoughts and ideas about life. Imparting recovered addicts or PATs with knowledge and tools necessary to transform their lives empowers them to make rational choices about their lives, thereby are able to resist temptations leading to relapses. M.C has to say this after attending training session on wiring business project: “I have learnt how to put my ideas into a project, I will be making use of what I have learnt to keep busy, and never go back to where I was for many years”. If there is anything that makes the team of Purpose Rwanda satisfied, it’s when someone’s way of thinking has been transformed consistent with the mission of Purpose Rwanda.
- Community Engagement: Recovered addicts who receive capacity building support are more likely to engage positively within their communities, becoming productive and contributing members of society. One C.T shares how contented she is “I have been empowered with the idea how to start saving little that I can afford, am sure this knowledge will help me on how to save and accumulate some income for the future. I will enable me to contribute to community development and for the development of my country”.
- Promotion of Recovery-Oriented Values: Capacity building as done at Purpose Rwanda through training and mentorship instills values such as resilience, determination, and self-improvement, contributing to a culture that prioritizes sustained recovery and personal development. One of the courses thought for the recovered addicts or better known as PATs have is Soft Skills and Application in Daily Life. One of the critical expected learning outcomes is to increasingly enrich positive mind set of PATs in order to appreciate and practice the values of soft skills in their lives. A leaner had this to say “Am determined everything in my life will change for the good of my humble family and this has started with me” –J.P
- Enhanced Family Relationships: Capacity building efforts through mentorship and training often include support for rebuilding and strengthening family relationships, fostering healing and harmony within the family unit. One of the core courses covered during mentorship and training session was Self-Sufficiency: implications to the Family, Community and Country. This was to provide valuable and significant knowledge to PATs about the meaning and importance of self-sufficiency and how to achieve it and how this trickles down to the family and the community. Addiction of a family member leads to may undesirables including rejection, isolation, and conflict among many. Capacity building helps to restore the worth of the affected person and this is instrumental in improving relationships in the family: love, care, happiness and joy, therefore, fostering a culture of inclusion and support within the family.
- Reduced Stigma: Through mentorship and training and advocacy, capacity building initiatives contribute to reducing the stigma associated with addiction and recovery, promoting a more inclusive and understanding society. Integration of the recovered addicts as PATs should ensure the mindset of the recovered person is changed. These changes should be reflected in day to day life: How the former addict relates with others in the society, what he/she is able to offer to the wellbeing of the community, the value he/she stands for is critical in reducing stigma. One J.C says that “because am able to contribute to the welfare of the family, the attitude of the people who used to underestimate me has changed. People trust me more”. Trust is vital in our day to day relationship with people in the society.
- Holistic Wellness: Capacity building addresses various aspects of an individual’s life, promoting holistic wellness encompassing physical, mental, and emotional well-being. Healthy body, emotional heath, spiritual wellness, social wellbeing, environmental wellness constitute holistic wellness. Courses such as Basic Business Skills and Knowledge, National Policy in Poverty Reduction and Development, God as a Worker and his Plan for Mankind, Sustainable Development among others were offered for the PATs in order to build the aspects and path to holistic wellness. One of the PATs has this to say: “I did not manage to finish secondary school education but what Purpose Rwanda has thought me makes me become more human than what I was before. When given chance, I can do better in fighting addiction and poverty in our country and change many people’s lives”-P.M
- Sustainable Transformation: By empowering recovered addicts with the skills and resources needed to thrive beyond recovery, capacity building initiatives foster lasting transformations, leading to long-term positive outcomes for individuals and communities. Empowered individuals who have recovered from addictions forms a stronger back-born for community aspirations. The stronger individuals who enrich the wellbeing of their families further contribute to the health of our nation: providing labor force, contributing to the tax base, actualizing national dreams, contributing to poverty eradication that is anchored into sustainable development.
Together, through collaborative efforts and unwavering support, we can build a Purposeful and Addiction Free Generation by empowering recovered addicts as Purposeful Agents of Transformation to lead lives that are not only free from addiction, purpose and joy at a time when Purpose Rwanda prepares to graduate/deploy over 60 recovered addicts as Purposeful Agents of Transformation.
