From Substance Abuse to Self-Respect
For Isla, who is embracing alcohol and drug rehabilitation, the Peace Education Program offered by The Prem Rawat Foundation is, “Like a dream come true.”
Around the world in 54 different rehabilitation facilities, this powerful program is changing lives. Currently, 7,100 participants in these settings have experienced its effects.
Many of these individuals say the Peace Education Program enables them to discover their inner-strength, have self-respect, feel empathy and accept responsibility. Consequently, they learn to see themselves and life in a whole new light.
In the video below, program participants – including Isla – at the TAG and Epilweni rehabilitation centers in South Africa share their remarkable experiences.
Click the links below to learn more about this unique Peace Education Program:
Peace Education Course Content Preview
Participants Inspiring Others
Amazed by the change in himself, Benin, a participant in the Peace Education Program at the TAG center felt moved to help facilitate the program for others. Mental Health professionals agree that the success of any rehabilitation is based on the results. Undoubtedly, this program’s success in changing lives and also inspiring a passion to help others do the same, are surely heart-warming results.
Program participants from Zonderwater, a mammoth, maximum security prison may not realize it, but their remarkable experiences are inspiring others too. Dezrita, a client of the TAG Rehabilitation Center beams as he identifies the “Zonderwater” video in the program as especially relatable and impactful. In the video, both participants and facilitators share their powerful experiences with the program.
“This programme has enlightened and empowered a lot of offenders to have peace within them and it also taught them to forgive other people. Some of them before the inception of the programme were always having conflict and anger within. After they attended the programme, they started to have peace.”
Head of Zonderwater Correctional Facility, Tivane Makasain praises the Peace Education Program in an official letter to The Prem Rawat Foundation
Self-Discovery Effects Change
One important part of this successful workshop series that is helping people rehabilitate from substance and alcohol use disorder is the integration of the self-reflection component. As a result, the program enables change to come from within and helps those who are shy, cynical or guarded to be self-guided towards seeing themselves in a whole new light.
“I’ve had a lot of questions that I would love to learn, like know from life, and I couldn’t just ask anyone. So, when it was introduced to me, it was like a dream come true.” – Isla, Peace Education Program participant at Epilweni Rehabilitation Center.
“To see a shift in a young person’s mind, from them not knowing who they are and to them finally discovering themselves and their innate tools, and being able to face and look at life in a different light has been one of the greatest things about facilitating.”
– Tumi Mahasha, facilitator, TAG and Epilweni Rehabilitation Centers.
The Ripple-Effects of Treatment Success
As more clients and facilitators around the world experience success incorporating this program into alcohol and drug treatment efforts, they reach out to others to bring hope and change.
Billa Nanra from Bradford, England, wound up in prison after his drug addiction lead to years as a drug dealer. One morning as he waited for his methadone treatment, he discovered the life-changing Peace Education Program.
“I saw a poster, the Peace Education Program, it caught my eye for some reason. It had words like, peace, dignity, inner-strength. I thought I’ll have a bit of that,” says Nanra.
Nanra describes the program as “very profound, deep and mind-blowing.” He says that it has changed his life in “ways I’d forgotten about how to live.”
“I remember coming out of prison on October 7, 2020. I didn’t even know where I was sleeping that night but I had the most important thing. I had myself, on point. And that was worth more than anything else,” he says.
Nanra has been drug-free for over 3 years now, and reconnected with his family. He has created a podcast to share his story, and he facilitates the Peace Education Program to help others overcome substance abuse and some of the same challenges he faced and find peace.
Watch the video below of Nanra sharing his inspiring journey out of his downward spiral of substance abuse.
For Billa Nanra’s podcast click here: “How I Slayed The Dragon”
In Pennsylvania, U.S., the James A. Casey House, like many substance and drug abuse treatment centers, uses methodology based on the TAP 19 manual developed by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.
However, James Casey, director of the treatment center emphasizes the success of the Peace Education Program as a complementary resource and explains that its effectiveness is spreading. “Those from the local A.A. and N.A. are now coming to us because they’ve heard so many amazing reports about the program.”
Moreover, Casey says that his team is blown away year after year by the effects of the program.
“It is the most significant tool that we have to give people who’ve lost their hope. I’m watching it and seeing it every day,” says Casey.
“We are seeing a success rate of well above 60% — and that’s incredible.” – James Casey
Watch a documentary about the Peace Education Program at the James A. Casey House.
Sobering Statistics in the U.S.
According to data from the U.S. National Center for Health Statistics,102,429 people died of a drug overdose in the 12-month period ending in July 2022.
Around 2 million people are currently incarcerated in the U.S.
The National Institute on Drug Abuse has documented that 85% of the prison population has an active substance use disorder or were incarcerated for a crime involving drugs or drug use.
While the U.S. has the highest incarceration rate on the planet, the world-wide crisis of drug and substance abuse is a universal, human problem. The Peace Education Program’s success is in addressing the human being, rather than just “the addict.”
Learn More About the Peace Education Program!
The Peace Education Program is an innovative series of video-based workshops that help people discover their own inner strength and personal peace. With over 300,000 participants and counting, The Prem Rawat Foundation provides access to the course materials to organizations and volunteers free of charge. The Peace Education Program is readily available to diverse populations in more than 80 countries and in 40 languages.
