In Manila, the fight against drugs is won through education

Illiteracy and drug addiction in the Philippines often go "hand in hand." That's why Divine Word Missionary Fr. Beltran for the past 5 years has started a program that is helping more than 1,000 former drug addicts to graduate from high school and become active members of the community again.

Manila (AsiaNews) - Helping former drug addicts who have dropped out of school to finish their studies, as an integral part of their rehabilitation program. In a country where the fight against drugs has been sadly marked by extrajudicial killings, the Divine Word Missionary priest Fr. Benigno P. Beltran is showing that betting on education is the only true path.

“We started this project within the Sacred Heart Parish in the Kamunging neighborhood of Manila, supported by the Department of the Interior and the Department of Education. The idea is to provide an educational opportunity to former drug addicts who have not finished high school,” he says.

The program was started five years ago with 30 participants and today it has over 1000 who also follow the lessons online: "We believe that education is the best way to give them a future and a job, as well as cultivating the hope that they are away from drugs", says Father Beltran, who is also a social worker in the center and executive director of the NGO Sandiwaan Center for Learning at Smokey Mountain in Manila which offers various training programs for these people.

“When they complete their education and obtain a qualification, they can contribute to the socio-economic development of the entire community,” explains Father Beltran.

According to the 2019 National Drug Use and Abuse Trends Survey, 4.7 million people between the ages of 10 and 69 have used drugs. However, only about 1.67 million people, or two out of 100 Filipinos, can be defined as “current drug users.”

The Philippine Department of Education estimates, on the other hand, that there are nearly seven million young people who do not attend school and are illiterate.

At the end of the training in the center of p. Beltran provides many former drug addicts with the equivalent of a high school diploma recognized by the ministry.

During the program, various courses are offered starting from basic literacy, but there are also proposals such as the "Alternative Learning Systems" which guarantees the possibility of learning in an informal and less scholastic way.

• Philippines
• drug addicts
• education
• school
• training
• work
• recovery