After months of weekly meetings and innumerable hours of researching and planning, Harveen and I finally arrived in Punjab to execute a binary project focused on drug abuse in the state of Punjab. Our project is divided into two parts. The first part is composed of workshops with 8th-10th grade students about drug addiction. The second part is a research study focused on de-addiction centers in Punjab, particularly in Amritsar.
On the first and second day at the Guru Harkrishan School in Chone, we interacted with the students and played games with them to break some ice and develop a relationship with them. We were surprised by the amount of respect and attention we received from them. When we told them that we will be coming every day, their happy faces warmed our hearts.
On the third day, we surveyed each grade to understand what they already know about addiction, drugs, peer pressure, and proper communication. We will survey them again at the end of the month to see what they have learned from our workshops and to evaluate our impact.
Other than working at the school, we also spent several hours in Amritsar visiting a well-known de-addiction center run by Dr. JPS Bhatia. After talking to Dr. Bhatia, who has over twenty years of experience in working with drug addicts, we obtained permission to attend weekly seminars in which family members of drug addicts and former drug addicts themselves share their inspirational stories to help other people currently struggling with addiction or post-addiction circumstances. Attending one of these seminars gave us valuable insight into the experiences of people who have dealt with or continue to deal with the addiction.
Although our work has just begun, we have already had to make changes to our planned research methodology. We foresee the difficulty of talking to people in de-addiction centers and trying to get to know the absolute true causes of the high percentage of drug abuse among youth in Punjab. Despite the new challenges that only the first week has thrown our way, we are ready to learn, adapt, and repeat.
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