VDM motivates alcoholics to give up their addiction in Visakhapatnam

Visakhapatnam: Is it possible to make an entire village addiction-free? Yes, says life teacher and founder-chairman of Hyderabad-based Viswa Dharma Mandiram (VDM) Ajit Kumar, through multiple interventions.

When Ajit Kumar visited Vepalagadda village, Kothagudem mandal in Khammam district along with his team, a couple of decades ago, he was shocked to see the villagers, both men and women, consuming 'gudumba' liberally. He observed that they call themselves poor but invest in drinking gudumba that costs Rs 30 a litre then.

"However, it took all of few months to help them kick the habit and lead a meaningful life through various interventions," Ajit Kumar told The Hans India when he was in Visakhapatnam to address students in various educational institutions.

From a poverty-stricken sleepy little village to an addiction-free hamlet, Vepalagadda village went through a transformation after the VDM team spent a few months with locals, engaging them in yoga, meditation, motivational talk, music and other allied skills.

"That's what our organisation does visiting villages across India, adopting them for a few months, hosting customised workshops, diverting alcoholics and smokers attention towards a healthier life and also show them a path for sustainable living," elaborates the VDM's founder-chairman, who is also known as Acharya Ajit Kumar.

Today, barring a few relapses, Ajit Kumar says that he is glad that people in the adopted hamlets lead far better lives than ever before. Centred on rejuvenating communities, empowering people from underprivileged sections through tailor-made skill development programmes, making them self-reliant, encouraging the youth to be goal-oriented and prepare them to face failure, VDM has come a long way in the past 25 years.

"We have empowered three lakh youngsters apart from scores of women and rural communities through our initiatives. We plan to do much more," says Ajit Kumar. With the primary objective of re-engineering the approach towards life, VDM that has an army of 5,000 team members spread over three official chapters in Chittoor, Hyderabad and Bengaluru revolves around promoting cleanliness, greenery and skill development and uniting communities through a common thread 'India on the move.'

"The idea behind establishing Viswa (universe) Dharma (righteousness) Mandiram (temple) is to bring change from within as it can put an end to most of our miseries," he explains.

While transforming communities is one part of the VDM's initiatives, visiting educational institutions, identifying skills of students and women at workplaces and honing them further is another major endeavour the organisation focuses on.