Quarterly graduation ceremony to be held for newly rehabilitated drug users
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Minister of State for Home Affairs and National Development Muhammad Faishal Ibrahim addressing graduands of the rehabilitation programme on March 25, 2023.
PHOTO: LIANHE ZAOBAO
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SINGAPORE – A graduation ceremony will be held for former drug users on a quarterly basis, to celebrate their completion of a mandatory year-long rehabilitation programme.
As part of the ceremony, the Singapore Anti-Narcotics Association (Sana) will also pair the graduates with “Sana kakis” – volunteer social workers who will befriend these persons in recovery and aid them in re-integration.
Minister of State for Home Affairs and National Development Muhammad Faishal Ibrahim attended the ceremony on Saturday at the Sana Step-up Centre @ Sengkang, where 17 former drug users celebrated their completion of the Case Management Services (CMS) rehabilitation programme.
Associate Professor Faishal noted that the road to recovery can be filled with many challenges, but said that former drug users possess the skills to overcome them.
Addressing the graduands, he said: “You will not walk this journey alone. Sana will be by your side as you continue on the road to recovery.”
Former abusers who have completed CMS and maintained a drug-free life can volunteer at Sana as peer leaders.
The event’s master of ceremony, Mr Mohammad Faizal Abdul Wahab, volunteered as a peer leader to give back to the programme that he underwent himself.
Mr Mohammad Faizal, 35, said he first experimented with drugs in 2015, which led to an addiction that lasted until 2021.
Sharing his struggles at the event, he recounted how it was only when he took part in the Sana programme that he turned his life around.
“One thing that I learnt from this experience, and would like to share with everyone, is that help is always there for those who need it,” said Mr Mohammad Faizal, who currently works as a guest experience executive at The Scarlet Singapore hotel.
He is also pursuing a degree in international tourism and hospitality management, which is fully paid for by a Yellow Ribbon fund bursary.
Master of ceremony Mohammad Faizal Abdul Wahab is a former drug addict who now volunteers as a Sana peer leader.
PHOTO: LIANHE ZAOBAO
Sana said 80 per cent of those who attend the CMS programme successfully complete it, adding that on average, about 320 referred offenders complete it each year.
They include drug offenders under the enhanced supervision scheme, and those serving their community-based programme. Sana said it typically handles offenders who are at low to moderate risk of reoffending.
Mr Andy Lee, Sana’s head of aftercare, said the ceremony on Saturday marks the beginning of a second life for the former inmates.
“It is a start, not the end of a programme. The point of the ceremony is to keep the clients and their families engaged with us, to let them know that there’s more to come in terms of support,” he added.
