The Helping Hand - Uniquely Singapore Experience

“Welcome! Please take a seat”, said a man in a very humble voice dressed up very simply in a white Helping Hand T-Shirt and a pair of blue jeans as we entered the main convention hall of the organization. “You are late” , he continued as he briefed us the portion of the talk we missed. We were given a magazine of the foundation and a handout of the talk by a boy sitting outside the hall who was in his teenage and probably a former drug-addict as was any other volunteer working in that organization . The man, Mr. Robert, was somewhere in his middle age and as he mentioned, had spent a better part of his life, an astonishing period of 24 years of his life, in prison!

The organization building was originally a school which was donated for this cause. The talk being given to us was on different types of drugs available and its various affects on human body and brain. It was indeed very informative and shocking at the same time how these drugs worked and why are they so addicting to people. He told us about the deadliest of the drugs the heroin, cannabis, cocaine, ecstasy, rohypnol, upjohn, ice, inhalants et cetera et cetera. It was indeed very saddening to know that these drugs are freely available in the night party circuit.

People who are not able to get these drugs in Singapore due to legal restrictions easily get these in the neighboring countries like Malaysia and Hong Kong, where the laws are much more relaxed. As Mr. Robert told us the scene in the hallowed lanes where it is very common to find drugs, we were terrified. As mentioned, even the police feared going to those lanes. They feared getting deadly diseases which might spread to them if they go close to the drug abusers.

The people there are all drowned in various moods of euphoria experiencing a high, taking more and more injections unknowingly ruining their own lives. It is a terrifying scene. But then many of these people are not blessed with a loving and caring family like most others. Like Mr. Robert himself told us the prime reason for people taking up drugs is to cope up with their stress . Such people are also prone to committing crimes to fulfill their needs which are always increasing.

Robert himself told us he was a gangster before joining the Helping Hand foundation and tried drugs just for the kick it gave him of getting a new high. The same old cigarette didn’t seem to work anymore. He needed something more strong,powerful,something that could make him feel good about himself. In short, he needed drugs and it all started with a cigarette.

I think psychedelics play a major part in what we do, but having said that, I feel that if somebody's going to experiment with those things they really need to educate themselves about them. People just taking the chemicals and diving in without having any kind of preparation about what they're about to experience tend to have no frame of reference, so they're missing everything flying by and all these new perspectives. It's just a waste. They reach a little bit of spiritual enlightenment, but they end up going, 'Well, now I need that drug to get back there again.' The trick is to use the drugs once to get there, and maybe spend the next ten years trying to get back there without the drug.

The Helping Hand has been working for about 21 years now. It has been in inception since 1987.

It is primarily a self-help organization where the drug abusers help each other get rid of this habit. They organization the sports themselves, various social activities, celebrate various festivals and do trips for fun. They also help the organization raise funds by doing various chores like making furniture, picture frames and house removal/relocation and moving services. As Robert showed us around the place, we were literally awed by the amazing work that the people there have been doing. This was what is called living with a pride. Though we were not allowed to meet any of the persons/ex-criminals going through rehabilitation, we could well sense the pride in their eyes as we saw them work. People seemed far happier. Residents are taught to earn an honest living with the use of their hands. Their hands once used to harm themselves and others, are now offered as useful instruments of work in various services.

Residents are given spiritual knowledge so that they can identify themselves to their inner being and open eyes to God, get morally oriented which I think is quite useful when a person is under deep stress and has to deal with the pressures of the society, their family and others. Helping Hand being a half-way Christian organization teaches Christianity i.e. the bible mainly and practices prayers in churches.

Inhabitants are also encouraged to have some sort of physical activity while they’re staying there in the form of various sports, each day. They even hold various competitions amongst themselves .This keeps them pumped up throughout the day and helps them deal with the rehabilitation in a better way as by the time they seek rehabilitation help, they have already done a lot of damage to their body and immune system.

The other major problem faced by the organization is the reabsorbance of the residents back into the society. During the tough times that they had faced, many of them tend to become anti-social and find it difficult later on after the program to get absorbed back into the society. Some who are lucky enough to change themselves may even find problems getting absorbed into the society because many a times the society due to its narrow mindedness or fear may abandon such people and isolate them. In either case, the person has an increased tendency to go back to drugs once again. To take care of this aspect, residents are encouraged to take up social activities like volunteering, going to social gatherings, making friends, and taking up jobs and other such activities so that they can easily open up to society and vice versa.

After all the discussion, I really found a change in my attitude towards these needy men. They had nothing in common but ill-fate. There is a need to help these people get out of this trap and become law-abiding citizens of Singapore and become fruitful to the nation as well as themselves and their families. More and more talks should be held with the community leaders to seek additional views to improve the situation among the respective community groups. Such sessions will allow leaders to come together and discuss ways to bring down the level of drug-abuse in their communities. Such meetings have given fruitful results so far.

The Malay community, for example, wants to intensify efforts to reach out to high-risk Malay students. They call for the introduction of religious studies in schools and more active role for mosques in the anti-drug efforts. There is a strong support for tougher punitive measures for drug abusers. They also suggest that inmates on the Day Release Scheme should do community work in mosques. On the other hand, the Indian leaders want anti-drug messages to be included in the religious preaching at Hindu temples. The abuse of "Ecstasy" pills is noted to be predominantly a problem for the Chinese. Here, the strategy is to de-glamorize the drug and highlight the foolishness and futility of taking these pills.

The analysis of the suggestions clearly highlights the wishes of the different communities for greater involvement in the fight against drug abuse.

The Helping Hand is unique in the sense that everyone, from Executive Director right down to the Residents, is an ex-addict. As such, they understand the problems that are involved . They constantly strive to address these issues as effectively as they can. Their foundation is their strong Christian beliefs and the transforming power of their lord and saviour,Jesus Christ . A measure of their success would be to see their residents finish their programme and go out into the world, successful in what they want to do, happy in life and walking closely with God.

I would like to end this paper with the following quote which beholds a message for today’s youth :

“Today’s students can put dope in their veins or hope in their brains .It’s their choice. If they can conceive it and believe it, they can achieve it. They must know it’s not their aptitude but their attitude that will determine their altitude. “

---- Jesse Jackson, American Civil-Rights Leader, Baptist Minister, Politician

How to conquer the world in two easy steps !

So finally I'm back with my latest blog post after about an year . Couldn't really find much convincing things to write about all this time . Anyways , here it goes.

This blog post will teach you how to conquer the world(yes , you heard that right !) in two easy-to-understand and easy-to-follow steps.

Fact : Everybody has weaknesses .

Step 1 : Identify that weakness .

Step 2 : Exploit it .

Now that you know the divine secret , I expect all to use this methodology with utmost care because as they say " With great power,comes great responsibility ".

Samosas & me!

17th June 2007
Kharagpur,India
2:00 A.M.

Reader warning: This is a general account of events that happened with me on the date mentioned.Any resemblance with any person living or dead,or any samosa,eaten or uneaten will be considered as mere coincidence.Reader discretion is adviced.


Trrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrriiiiinnnnnnnnnnngggggggg!
Damn tht alarm clock!
Ahh!nice! It was raining outside.I had just got up from sleep.It was 5 o'clock in the evening.Slept at 5'o clock in the morning after watching two great movies.This week is going great,no work.Moreover,I'll get to go early,a week before.Now,I'll have a full month of enjoyment at Delhi,yess!

I was feeling hungry,feeling hungry for samosas to be precise,after all those images of those mouth-watering samosas I used to have in delhi every few days,were popping up in my brain since past few rainy days,and to top it all,this rainy weather of Kharagpur had further wetted my appetite for them!
Last night,I had reached late at the sweets shop,about 9:30,there the shopwala bhaiya told me that the samosas don't last beyond 8 in the evening!
I had to go home with hungry and desparate eyes , cursing the shopowners."Gosh! Can't they keep it a little longer!"

Today I was determined,no matter what,I have to eat samosas....as many as I could!
A quick gaze at my watch told me it was 5:30 in the evening.It had stopped pouring,but still there was a slight drizzle....but nothing could come my way today.
Oh damn! i remembered,I had an appointment with th hairdresser at six.That stupid fellow didn't do my hair properly,the day before,so we decided for a second session today evening.
"Fine!Its cool!He won't take much time....and afterall,the samosas last till eight",I said consoling myself of the excruciating "wait for the samosas" that was unavoidable and lay ahead!

I got up in a hurry,brushed my teeth,had a nice warm bath ,got ready with my hair shampooed and well-combed and bingo! I was ready for a date with my dearly samosas....

By the time,I reached the hairdresser,it was 6:15.I parked my cycle,entered the salon,took my raincoat off and went in.It was somebody else today at his place.On asking,i came to know that the original guy had caught cold and was down with fever.That was strange.This new man was stout,slumpy with short hair and a small,but well maintained moustache.He seemed to be in his early 40s,with a bidi hanging from his mouth,just trying to balance itself amongst his two big,plumpy lips!
This new guy was very slow,it took him nearly about an hour for what his counterparts could finish off in about an half!
Anyways,all the time,I was hallucinating the smell of hot,oven-fresh samosas kept right in front of me,near the comb and the scissors."Gosh!I don't think I'm that desparate"
I suddenly realised,it is in such circumstances that the "Theory of Relativity" by our great Einstein, starts finding a sudden relevance....a theory which nobody even thinks about otherwise.

Phew!Finally,it was over much before than what I had expected!
A look at my watch,the time was 6:55. I caught hold of my raincoat,unlocked my cycle which was completely wet by now(thanks to the drizzle outside) but,nonetheless,that determination to eat samosas was still there.
The sweets shop,was situated about 10 minutes away at the far end of the Technology Market,IIT Kharagpur.I checked my cycle tyres for any air-leakage which may have been the work of some masked men conspiring to not let me reach the shop on time.To my relief,the tyres were okay.
I raced like anything.I bet had I been participating in some cycle race,I wouldn't have gone without recognition of winning the race with a margin,that could be mind-boggling enough to create tsunamis in the history of cycle races(:),:P)


"Oye! Kahan jaa raha hai bhaga bhaga?"....called a shreiking voice from behind.It was Ravi,my friend from IITKGP and labmates for the common MEMS Laboratory.
"Yaar! Kuchh important kaam tha.Jaldi me hun.Phir ghar bhi call karna hai",came a quick reply from my side,trying to discourage him from anything remotely related to chatting and talking.I was afraid,he might not start to chat again.
"Chal thik hai baad me milte hain,anyways Mukhia sir was askin for you,meet him tomorrow positively".
"Sure,I'll meet him...bye".....and I raced again with a sigh of relief.

However,I reached the shop on time,it was 7:05 by my watch.I was kind of proud of me to make it up on time besides all the conspiracies!
I was at the shop looking for the thing I came here for.
"Bhaiya! samose hain?",I enquired the shopkeeper,with my fingers X-ed.
"Dada! aakhri lot bacha hai" ,informed the shopkeeper.
"Bhaiya! Tumne to kal kaha tha ki 8 baje tak samose milte hain??" asked I in amusement.
"Dada,tumko kal batana bhul gaya tha.Sunday ko sirf7-7:15 tak hi milte hain"
"Ohhhhhh.........",came the biggest ohh from my mouth,"Just on time",and felt assured and happy,that atleast I got here in time.Had i got even a few minutes late,I would've lost the battle.
I thought at first,I'll but the whole basket,who knows "Kal ye shop band ho jaaye!Why take risks!".But being a bit realistic,I asked him to pack 8 samosas.Of those 8,I ate 2 at the shop itself thinking "Yaar,itni der wait karne ka tempo kiske paas hai,ab room jaane tak kaun rukega!"
I paid at the counter and flooded to my room where the other samosas were destined to go inside my belly one by one...huhuhuhahahaha(read as devil grin)

The people,on the road,and on my way to the room,seemed to be like hungry monsters,lurking for my innocent samosas. It seemed as if I was carrying a board with myself,with written on it in big bold letters that " THIS MAN IS CARRYING SIX EXTREMELY MOUTH-WATERING,CRISPY,SPICY,OVENFRESH SAMOSAS.BEWARE.CATCH HIM,SUE HIM AND TAKE ALL HIS SAMOSAS AWAY."
It seemed as if people were jealous-how could this man enjoy the company of six samosas in a no man's land(read IITKGP) where all there is to enjoy,are the forests around and the shrilling voice of the ever passing trains from the kharagpur station nearby,and where people are no less than machines,don't know how to enjoy life and are made sure they have some reason or the other which pisses them off!

I dont know what crap I was thinking all way.But,I was so damn excited that I could hardly remember anything on my way except that it still hadn't stopped drizzling,which further added to my excitement.

Ahh! finally I was in my room after rushing through the hostel corridors and saving my samosas from this cruel world that lay there looking for a moment to relish my samosas.
There was nothing between me and my beloved six samosas,and ,of course,the rain outside,which also made me feel a little cold.
I felt the samosas,they were still hot.I took out the tangy red chutney accompanying it in a bowl.
And ,the time was now,that moment had finally arrived for which I was waiting for about past three hours."Who needs a girl!",I wondered "When you have 6 samosas all at your disposal".Me sitting alone in my room,with six,mouth-watering,oven-fresh,samosas and the accompanying tangy red chutney that accentuated the whole ensemble.The rain outside,in the moonlit night made the moment even more eventful,not to mention,the happiness of a week long holiday and the recent permission by my internship guide to go home early.

Now there was nothing that could stop this divine reunion of man with his samosas,with the blessings of the Gods,and the whole cosmos of heavenly bodies,the angels ,the fairies,spectating this grand event.
I took them one-by-one...It seemed as if each one of'em was crying "Please eat me,o'my wonderful,kind-hearted and benevolent lord!"....
And I gulped them....and gulped and gulped......
And went to sleep with music in my ears,my belly full and my soul content. :)