Daijiworld Media Network - Mangalore (GA)
Mangalore, Aug 24: Link De-addiction Centre will be celebrating its 16th anniversary on Saturday August 25 at Link Centre, Bolar with a “Festival of sobriety”.
Maheshwar Rao, deputy dommissionor will be the chief guest on the occasion. Dr Olinda Pereira, vice-president will preside over the meeting. Adolph Washington, senior journalist and social activist, Bangalore and Fr Jose Valiaparambil, parish priest, Blessed Alphonsa Church, Kankanady will grace the occasion. The programme is scheduled at 11. A.M. which will include honoring outstanding de-addicts, testimonies by recovering alcoholics, sports and games. The Agency will be releasing a survey report on Tobacco addiction among autorikshaw, bus and rruck drivers in Mangalore on the occasion.
Link De-addiction and Rehabilitation Centre is a voluntary agency managed by Link Anti-Addiction Citizens Committee, a registered charitable organization and led by a dedicated team of professionals and social workers, working in the field of prevention and management of substance abuse, HIV/AIDS and community development.
The organization which was launched on August 25, 1991 initially as a students movement at School of Social Work, Roshni Nilaya, Mangalore under the initiative of T S Thomas, a social work student has now taken deep root as a peoples’ movement comprising motivated citizens and volunteers from all walks of life and disciplines. The organization is registered as a charitable society and recognized and aided by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, Government of India.
The Agency is managing a 20-bedded de-addiction Centre at Janatha Kendra, Bolar which is recognized and partially aided by the government of India. Besides the institutional care of patients, the centre also has a community-based de-addiction project through which centre organizes community-based de-addiction camps, massive awareness and prevention programmes, training and capacity building of NGOs and volunteers etc. It has treated and rehabilitated nearly 8,000 people in the past through our over 70 community-based de-addiction camps and institutional care.