He fled rehab centres 42 times, now he runs one

Wangkheimayum Ole helps people overcome addiction to drugs, liquor and phone

Wangkheimayum Ole had drug addicts in mind when his parents and relatives provided the fund to set up a rehabilitation centre in 2018. In less than four years, the centre has graduated to treating alcoholics and mobile phone addicts.

An ex-addict who had escaped from Manipur’s drug deaddiction centres 42 times before changing for the better, Mr. Ole claims to be one of the most qualified persons in the State to run a rehab. But he did not know what to do when a man deposited his teenage son – a Class 10 student – at the Realize Rehabilitation Centre (RRC) about eight months ago.

RRC is at Mongjam Chingjin, a village about 13 km north from the State capital Imphal.  

“The father would not take no for an answer when we told him we handle drug addicts and some alcoholics. We took the boy in and treated him like other drug addicts in our centre,” he told The Hindu. A mix of tried-and-tested therapy and digital learning helped RRC “cure” the boy of his addiction – called nomophobia or the fear of living without a mobile phone – in about two months.

Pumpkins, gourds as fee

The RRC has been following up with the boy’s parents to ensure its efforts have not gone in vain.

The centre currently has 45 addicts undergoing various stages of rehabilitation. They include a 70-year-old former hardcore member of the extremist People’s Liberation Army, who became an alcoholic after leaving the outfit.