The Other Story

This is the fourth time I met Lama Shenphen Zangpo in Thimphu. He is the source of hope and inspiration to many. A philanthropic and generous by nature, he is a person who is living his life for the well being of others. He visits clubs and bars every night in a hope to search and rescue the drugs and alcohol addicts. Drugs and alcohol related diseases and deaths are projected as the one of the highest causes that has led to death in the country.He has the mission to find the drug and alcohols addicts and awake them into the real world, which is free of drugs and alcohol. He has been successful in transforming many addicts into sober lives, for which some of them are peer counselors now. 

Thimphu now faces increasing number of drugs and alcohol related diseases and problems, thereto the rate of depression and anxiety are increasing drastically. Happiness is slowly drifting apart. World recognizes Bhutan as one of happiest country in the world.

Lama now has helped many youths and still he walks the same path. On the fourth meet, he gifted me a book “A Cry of the Heart”, which is a collection of stories by the recovered addicts. It was after going through the book that I am aware of the darkness in the lives the drugs and alcohol has brought in Bhutan. Most of the addicts writes how misery and hopeless their lives were when they were into drugs and alcohol. Most of the youths are led to addiction due to various root causes such as poor family background, peer pressure, family problems, etc.

In fact they find the life without drugs and alcohol far better than the lives with drugs and alcohol. After the recovery, their lives have changed and they are free, they are not scared of police anymore, they are socially accepted and they are regaining the trusts of their parents and relatives. For most of them it all happened because of the persistent help of Her Royal Highness Ashi Kezang and Lama Shenphen and their selfless actions in rehabilitation.

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