Friday, March 16, 2012

Sunil

Sunil was three years old when his father was abducted by the government during the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) uprising. His father was never seen again, leaving the family in a state of shock, grief and uncertainty.
"My mother couldn't even find the body." - Sunil 
In the midst of her grief and without help or any stable income, Sunil's mother struggled to take care of Sunil and his older sister. Poor and unstable, she had no other choice than to sell their property in Kandy to move to Colombo in order to meet the needs of her family

The greater tragedy of the loss of his father, though, was the bareness it left in Sunil. Sunil missed out on the simple joys between father and son; joys that others take for granted.  Although nothing could replace his father, he needed something to fill the hollowness he felt.
"This emptiness in my life led me to a search for fulfillment. During this search I traveled down many roads which almost led me to total ruin." - Sunil
The road that led him closest to ruin began at age 13 when he began smoking and drinking heavily. It was only a matter of time before his road led him to illegal drugs and eventually to an addiction of the maestro drug of them all, heroin.
It made me easy to forget who I was and I would gain a sense of satisfaction and fulfillment. – Sunil

His life was engulfed by heroin. As with heroin addiction, he needed more and more to live in the addiction’s creation of reality and to feel this fictitious sense of wholeness. He was taking up to four doses a day – and living in a culture where the drug is everywhere and priced to sell to the lowest of classes, it was never hard to find his next fix. But with every manifested fulfillment came an equal and existent emotional and physical plummet. The effects of heroin were taking a violent toll on Sunil’s body, causing physical pain whenever the drug left his system.
I couldn’t eat or drink or sleep without heroin. As a result my entire life was torn apart – I was a complete wreck. – Sunil

At his lowest, Sunil attempted suicide.
"Life was just not worth it. – Sunil

Sunil was desperate. He knew his life needed to change but didn’t know the road to take. One day Sunil visited his mother to ask for money. Her reply to his request was a plead for him to stop using drugs.
She stared at me as though I was a dead man. – Sunil

Sunil admitted his desire to get out of his situation but was lost as to how. His mother became his reason, his support and his compass –she led him to Power House.

He was in Power House for six months where the emptiness that had consumed him was filled with love and support.

After his rehabilitation period was done and Sunil was released, he stayed with Power House to help other men like him. It has been 19 years since he was admitted to Power House, and he’s been clean every day of it.

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