Groundbreaking rehab centre in Oman on the brink for lack of funds

 A government accredited, 24-hour drug rehabilitation centre may soon be forced to close its doors – after successfully treating addicts for two years.

Shuroq Al Amal Al Alamia, the Rise of Hope International, needs OMR10,000 a month to stay afloat and treat drug addicts in Oman. 

It’s believed to be the only government accredited, privately funded rehab in the Sultanate, and the only money they receive is through donations.

It costs OMR300 a month to stay there and receive treatment.

“The majority of the beneficiaries that stay with us stay for free. Not everyone can afford these prices - not even their families. The reason I decided to let them stay is because I knew exactly where they would go if we kicked them out, and they might never came back (alive),” Dr Zahra Al Harmali, founder and CEO, said.

Shuroq Al Amal Al Alamia, translated into the Rise of Hope International, started operations two years ago. Since then, 159 addicts have been treated at the facility and 38 have fully recovered and remained sober to this day.

Although treatment is supplied, the organisation is having difficulty paying for necessities such as rent, food and salaries.

According to Dr Harmali, it costs OMR500 a month to house a patient, but they are only charging OMR300 to try to make it affordable. Addicts are asked to stay a minimum of six months to fully recover, but not everyone can afford the costs - including Dr Harmali.

“I’ve been selling things and have received donations to stay afloat. I was going to shut down the rehab three months ago, but my cousin was kind enough to donate enough to keep me open for three more months. One lady donated OMR5,000 which was enough for a whole month. Our electric bill is at OMR800 and we are expecting it to be shut at any minute,” she said.

Tucked away in North al Hail, Shurooq al Amal has 10 bedrooms and 30 beds. Currently, there are 20 beneficiaries in the rehab, all with under less than seven months sobriety.

“Every time we looked for a rental building, we were refused because we would be housing addicts. When it came time to register the organisation’s name, I was asked to choose between Oman, Gulf or International. I was laughed at for thinking that my rehab could be international. But within that same month of registering the name, I had my first non-Omani patient,” Dr Harmali said.

Dr Harmali started her career in drug rehabilitation nine years ago. She volunteered in a cancer treatment facility at Sultan Qaboos University Hospital that was being run by the late Dr. Msellem Abuali.

Through that experience, she realised the power of personal touch to relieve pain. Later on, she would sit in on a lecture on addiction and saw the opportunity to apply herself to relieve addiction pain.

“I was surprised that there were addicts in Oman. I thought, they needed our help, their world is different, and it’s not like cancer. Nobody seemed to be helping them and I knew I had to go back and study addiction,” she said.

She trained in therapy in different areas of drug addiction and mood changes. She obtained professional degrees at Masters and PhD levels from Cairo University under a training program administered by MIFTC (Manhattan International Foundation Training and Consulting). Dr Harmali would spent the next seven years working at different organisations in Bahrain, Egypt, Pemba (Tanzania), and Indonesia.

In 2010, she started transporting patients from Oman to rehab facilities in Bahrain and Kuwait. Dr Harmali became the first non Egyptian researcher at the Abou El Azayem Hospital for Psychiatry in Egypt; as a result of her research she found that the best place to treat addiction is in the same environment it started.

Saud Al Maamari, recovering addict and therapist at the center, spent six years of his life battling drugs and knows how important people, places and things are when it comes to abstaining from drugs.

“By the time somebody lands in the airport and drives home, he or she has already passed by many points on the way that could have triggered a relapse. A lot of people still have issues with their family, or can’t remember the last time they entered the house sober, or spoke to their mother sober. When you are treated in the country, you are able to tackle these issues and can continue to live in recovery,” Maamari said.

The rehab centre offers their beneficiaries the chance to return home during recovery, with or without facility companion, to experience their old environment with new eyes.

“This is usually done after the Friday prayer, and we give them until around till sunset. Even though they have a six hour window to spend outside the facility, a lot of them come back in less than two hours because they are so overwhelmed. If they ask us, we go with them for support,” Maamari said.

Yousef Al Balushi, another recovering addict and therapist, has been sober for two years and three months and strongly advocates for healthy and sober friendships within the community.

“While they are here, we introduce them to Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) and Narcotics Anonymous (NA) programs outside of the centre so they can meet others in recovery. This helps them to make new friends and acquaintances and by the time they graduate, they will have a proper support system from their peers to carry them on through life,” Balushi said.

For more information on the centre call +968 99381997 or 91147919

Source: Timesofoman