What is CMS doing?  The big picture

CMS is working with an extensive network of anti-drug organisations across the world, each 'setting captives free' by drawing on the experience of a liberating encounter with Christ.

1 HONG KONG
St Stephen's Society, led by Jackie Pullinger: members of the society reach out to addicts on the streets and are housing up to 300 people at any one time, helping them to kick the habit.

Scores of staff and volunteers care for the tremendous needs of the residents of the 'half-way house', where hope is restored and faith shared.

2 RUSSIA
Old World Centre, Moscow: one of very few Russian Orthodox drug rehabilitation centres, which is situated in the outskirts of Moscow.   It recognises a healthy balance between healing prayer and professional medical intervention as part of the rehabilitation process.

Another part of the project focuses specifically on the rehabilitation of female sex-workers.  It grew fast from a basic help-line to a residential home in Moscow, where the women are given counselling and pastoral support.

After a period of rehabilitation, the project releases women into the outside world with their social links restored and new skills developed, which enables them to serve society for the Kingdom of God.

3 RUSSIA
Izhod (Exodus) Drug Rehab Projects, Krasnodar and other locations: an estimated 500-700 recovering addicts are being cared for at any time in more than 20 centres, now including some in the USA and UK.

Each centre costs about £25,000 a year to run.  CMS helps to train future leaders of projects, including by arranging exchange visits.  The project leaders are Sergei Oshchepkov and Dmitri Klushin, who oversee the pastoral and managerial sides of Izhod's work respectively.

CMS has also helped Izhod to develop a fundraising programme, which now attracts help from trusts and churches around the world for other areas of Izhod's work.

4 ROMANIA
St Panteleimon Alchohol and Drugs Rehabilitation, Cluj: begun by an American Orthodox called to work with addicts in Romania and supported by local nuns, this project has a unique missionary ethos and a healthy blend of internationally diverse Orthodox spirituality.

5 PAKISTAN
Drugs and Aids Workers Network (DAWN): this network of Christian drug-rehabilitation projects in Pakistan runs conferences and training programmes with an emphasis on training workers to an internationally acceptable level.  CMS has helped workers to attend ISAAC network conferences (DAWN is a member of the ISAAC network) and helped to establish distance-learning groups and centres in Karachi, Peshawar, Lahore and Islamabad.

6 PAKISTAN
Islamabad Christians Against Narcotics (ICAN) ICAN is an ecumenical, Christian drug-rehabilitation programme, and does outreach on the streets as well as running a residential centre for up to 27 people.

CMS people in mission Carol and Roger Smith are working with ICAN in training and support.  Led by Aamir Shahzad, ICAN,

by the Rev Graham Burton, a CMS mission partner formerly based in Islamabad.  ICAN also helps former addicts to build new lives through setting up small businesses.

7 PAKISTAN
Ibtida, Karachi: 'Ibtida' means 'beginnings' and CMS helped to birth Ibtida, now run by the Diocese of Karachi. Over the past 20 years it has been helping people to 'detox' as well as providing support for addicts' families, and three sets of CMS mission partners have worked at the project.

8 KAZAKHSTAN
Teen Challenge: Teen Challenge Kazakhstan is a major drug-rehabilitation project with over 10 centres.  CMS grants have enabled them to participate in the drug counsellors' training programme of ISAAC and in training new leaders.

9 AFGHANISTAN - Nejat drugs project (Afghanistan)

Capacity building for the staff of the Afghan-run NEJAT drug-rehabilitation project based in Peshawar, Pakistan, and operating in Afghanistan. Ahmad Shah Habib (a CMS Interchange Visitor to the UK) is facilitating this Staff Training and Development programme.

10 TAJIKISTAN — ORA Tajikistan Drug Prevention
CMS supports local workers in the Orphan Refugees and Aid (ORA) 'Drug and Aids Awareness Education' programme, led by Dr Meshach Chujor (also supported by CMS).  This team delivers a series of lectures and training modules in various schools and colleges.

11 EGYPT - Freedom Centre
The Freedom Centre's main rehabilitation programme is Christ-centred, integrating modern psychotherapy and the principles of Biblical discipleship.  It also runs a programme suitable for non-Christians.  'Detox' and 'rehab' are offered free to those who cannot afford to pay.  A social club, offering a safe, edifying environment for recovering addicts, is open 24 hours a day.

The centre also runs training seminars for community and church leaders.

INTERNATIONAL — ISAAC
International Substance Abuse and Addiction Coalition: CMS mission partners were founder members of this coalition, which now has 400 individual and project members in 47 countries.

Experience shows how vital it is to link committed yet isolated organisations and individuals into a supportive network, which can equip and encourage them for the task.

Now CMS is helping ISAAC's expansion in Russia and Central Asia by forging links between drug projects, and developing outreach in Africa, where Christian rehabilitation is rare.

The Rev Joshua Omungo from Nairobi was one of 20 delegates whom CMS sponsored to attend an ISAAC conference in Madrid.  He was among the first-ever Africans to do so.  As he left he told us he was delighted to be taking away "important contacts, ideas, plenty of faith and a vision".

Another CMS-supported delegate, Canon Alfred Kweteisa from Kampala, said, "I am taking away a vision to start a drug-addict counselling group and to mobilise churches to do likewise."  CMS staff are on the board and reference group of ISAAC.

12 PEOPLE IN MISSION
Alison Giblett is based in Kiev and helps to run the All-Ukraine Christian Rehabilitation Centres Association on behalf of ISAAC.  Alison worked for several years with Izhod in southern Russia.  Dr Meshach Chujor (see 10 on the map) represents a pioneering link-up between the Church of Nigeria (where he is from), CMS and ORA International.  He is doing vital work in the drugs awareness and AIDS education programme.

Carol and Roger Smith, ICAN (see 6 on the map.)  Despite being of retirement age, Carol and Roger are sharing useful skills with ICAN in staff training and IT and web support.