Recent Visits
A Journal of Recent Site Visits


May 2006 | Back

Jake Epperly with the Recovering Group Staff

On May 27th 2006, Recovery Beyond Borders members Jake Epperly, Executive Director, and Lee Fitzgerald, Volunteer, traveled back to Nepal. They continued to work with The Recovering Group Treatment Center and also presented a two day workshop for recovering women in Nepal. Lee Fitzgerald led the workshop which covered two areas: 1.) Women and Addictions and 2.) Women and Recovery. Nepal has little existing support for substance abusing women. Social stigma, a lack of treatment resources and an extremely high unemployment rate contribute to the devastation that drug addicted and alcoholic women face. Through RBB contacts with TRG as well as other services in Nepal, Jake and Lee were able to find about fifteen or sixteen women that had experienced a substantial amount of time abstinent from their drug of choice.

Lee Fitzherald with members of a Nepalese Women's Group

While in Nepal, RBB was able to locate a small program for women entering recovery called Jyoti. Jyoti is a small residential program for women that was established by nine socially conscious women in Kathmandu. They recognized the plight of the female alcoholic / addict and, through local donations, started Jyoti. The program is currently housed in a small building still under construction on the outskirts of Kathmandu. RBB members met with some Jyoti board members, and, as a result, decided that ongoing support from RBB would be beneficial to Jyoti. RBB was able to make an initial donation to keep the program running. RBB will continue to assist Jyoti financially and will also provide counselor training and develop marketing materials.Three women in recovery who had attended the RBB workshop later met with Jake to explain their need for a “drop in center” (DIC) for substance abusing women in Kathmandu. The purpose of the DIC would be to provide a safe place for women to share their experiences and receive information about recovery. The DIC would be named Sarathi, a Hindu, Sanskrit expression meaning "timeless eternal charioteer." Upon presentation and review of the plan presented by the women, RBB agreed to provide financial support of this new program. RBB's initial donation, allowed them to lease a small accessible meeting room in Kathmandu for one year.During this trip, Jake continued to work with TRG, providing two days of training on counseling techniques and documentation. RBB also made an additional financial donation to TRG for general use.At the end of August, Jake and RBB volunteers will travel back to Nepal to continue working with TRG, Jyoti and Sarathi. They will lead another free two day addiction counseling workshop.

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