Make Me Whole Again
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Dates2014 - 2014
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Author
- Topics Portrait, Editorial, Documentary
"Make Me Whole Again" tells the emotional and spiritual journey of a group of boys going through rehabilitation for drug-addiction in rural Colombia.
Colombia is widely known as the largest exporter of cocaine in the world but less well known is that one-fifth of the cocaine produced is being consumed domestically - the highest percentage of which, is by children aged under 24.
A couple of hours down a pot-holed road on the outskirts of Santiago de Cali you come across a centre, nestled into the side of a valley. In it lives 96 boys, the youngest, the eldest 18 and the youngest 6 years-old. Unlike most rehabilitation centres the boys are going through abstinence-based treatment and are required to practice meditation and yoga-twice daily. Some court-ordered, some give themselves in voluntarily - they stay anywhere between 9 months and 3 years and those who manage to endure the excruciating withdrawal symptoms, often experience profound self-reflection and transformation by the time they are ready to go back to their communities.