NEWS AND VIEWS

First Light Partners - Zorya continues programs in Ukraine

by Ted Hicks

EUGENE, Ore. - Throughout Ukraine, nearly100 percent of the people who seek relief from the ravages of alcoholism show up at the doors of existing treatment centers. Sadly, archaic ideas and the lack of 12-step-based selfhelp treatment methods means that virtually none of the tens of thousands who seek treatment each year can ever hope to recover. To be an alcoholic in Ukraine today is to die.

However, professionals, and the country itself, stand at a turning point. The motivation is there and the infrastructure is in place, yet basic resources and information that could change the situation forever are still missing.

In cooperation with the Ministry of Health of Ukraine, the Academy of Sciences and others, First Light Partners - Zorya, a U.S. non-profit organization has designed a modern, relevant training program and accompanying treatment model. We have implemented a series of intensive hands-on training programs for health care professionals working to confront the disease of alcoholism. The change is systemic, the project finite, the results permanent. We are looking for a few individuals who would like to be involved in this vital project.

The second of these programs will begin in late 1997 or possible early 1998, and will last approximately four months. After a very successful first program, we are again looking for a few well-qualified people who can convey the essentials of our well-designed, culturally applicable training and treatment model. They will be instructing approximately 30 dedicated and very well educated health care professionals whose lives are dedicated to treating the disease of alcoholism.

Volunteers must have a passport; They will receive airfare, visas, housing, and a stipend for food and expenses. Volunteers need not speak Ukrainian or Russian. We would prefer that volunteers be in recovery personally for several reasons, not the least of which is that we must continuously make an effort to humanize the disease and to provide "living" proof, as it were.

Volunteers will receive one week of specific training about our model and Ukraine since it is essential to understand the nature of the project, and the vital importance of consistency in our training approach and model. Interested men and women should contact: First Light Partners, Ted Hicks - Executive Director, 2680 McMillan St., Eugene, OR 97405; telephone, (541) 341-6447. Those responding should include a one- or two-page letter explaining why they want to make this contribution, and a short resume.

Copyright © The Ukrainian Weekly, July 27, 1997, No. 30, Vol. LXV

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