Jalandhar: Addicts find hope and new life in football sewing

Aakanksha N Bhardwaj

Jalandhar, June 25

A group of around 12 drug addicts gather in a room at the drug de-addiction rehabilitation centre situated at Sheaikhen village, where several footballs are kept. They all take their positions as instructed by their trainer. Some of them know what to do, while others have just started learning.

International day against drug abuse and illicit trafficking

As 23-year-old from Jalandhar settles on his seat, taking patches of football in his hands, he starts telling his story on how he got hooked to ‘chitta’. “I lost my father, and my sister who works in a parlour earns for my family. My friends first introduced me to the drugs, and I would fight with my family for money. I sold everything just to buy chitta,” he shares while he is concentrating hard on stitching together small patches of leather to create a football. His hands move with precision and he sews on.

As he is done sewing, he lifts his head and says: “Now I am done doing drugs and I want to earn by making footballs.”

NGO Sun Foundation is the partner of the rehabilitation centre and Rajya Sabha MP Vikramjit Singh Sahney is the Chairman of the NGO. The Sun Foundation has started this initiative to provide skill training to the addicts so that they could be taken out of the tangle of drugs. Until now, nearly 40 addicts, including OOAT patients, have been given training. Interestingly, Prem Pal from Basti Nau area in Jalandhar, who has been stitching footballs for the past 25 years, has been giving them training. “My father used to do this. Then I also got into this work and now my next generation is also into this. Teaching them is definitely a task and challenge as it takes efforts to make them sit. But when I talk to them politely, and motivate them, they listen and learn. Several young people who were admitted here have learned the skill and have now started earning too,” he said.

A 29-year-old from Sodal area of Jalandhar was a volleyball player in his school. He said he sold gold jewellery of his mother and would beat his parents just for the money for drugs. His wife died a month ago and now he only has his 5-year-old son and a mother. “Main apne enna hatha naal maarda hunda si apne baap nu (I used to beat my father up with these hands). Now that he is not in this world, I am dying to hear from him. I want to do something for my son now. So, I am trying to learn this technique of sewing football so that I can come out of the hands of this evil,” he says.

Others also have similar tales of how they ruined their lives and tortured their families because of the drugs. But now they wanted to restart their lives.

Sold jewellery of my mother

I sold gold jewellery of my mother and would beat my parents just for the money for drugs. Main apne enna hatha naal maarda hunda si apne baap nu (I used to beat my father up with these hands). Now that he is not in this world, I am dying to hear from him. A 29-year-old from Sodal area

Govt should provide funds

The Health Department teams are supporting us in the cause. Our aim is to uplift them. Also, since the government is providing funds for the de-addiction centres, they should also provide funds for the rehabilitation of those who are shifted to such centres. — Baljeet Kaur Johal, coordinator, sun foundation