HOW IT BEGAN

Mothers Against Drugs (M.A.D.) is a non-governmental organization based in Minsk, the capital city of Belarus. The initiative to set up a group to unite mothers of drugs' victims came initially in April, 2000 from Belarus Branch of the International Association Against Narcotics and Narcotics Trafficking. M. A. D. was established in October 2000 by a group of Belarusian citizens (parents of drug addicts, former drug users, educators, police officers, and businessmen). Elena Pisarenko, 45, professional educator, was elected Director of the organization.

CHIEF GOAL

The chief goal of M. A. D. is to mobilize parents (and especially mothers), educators, and community leaders to prevent their children from getting into the terrible tragedy of drug addiction, which today affects one fifth of all Belarusian families.

MAJOR AREAS OF WORK

1. Education: holding seminars and conferences for parents, teachers, students, and community leaders in schools and other public places; developing and distributing educational materials such as videos, pamphlets, books.

2. Referral: providing referral information about effective treatment, rehabilitation and counseling facilities operated by non-government and government organizations.

3. Self-Support Groups: establishing self-support groups of mothers and relatives of drug addicts (based on the Tough Love 12-Step Program).

4. Multiplication: establishing affiliates of the organization in all the major cities of Belarus.

ABOUT M. A. D.'S EDUCATIONAL PROGRAM

The organization's major activity in the area of education is presenting its educational drug abuse prevention program, Don't Let It Kill You, to students, educators, and parents in grade schools, high schools, trade-schools, colleges, and universities in Minsk and other cities. The format of this 45 minute program varies depending on the type of audience, but always consists of following three parts.

1. A 10-15 minute introductory talk given by Elena Pisarenko, Director of M.A.D. in which she introduces the problem, presents statistical data on drug use extent among young people in Belarus, describes factors influencing young people to start using drugs, and urges the students to make the decision to stay drug-free.

2. Showing of the Masquerade video (10-15 min.).

3. A 10-15 minute talk given by Victor Molodykh, 22, former drug addict, in which he shares his personal experience of getting into addiction, the horrible consequences leading to a suicide attempt, and the difficult way to become drug-free.

As of today (October 2002), this program has been successfully presented to over 60,000 students in over 1200 public schools, colleges and universities in more than 15 cities all over Belarus.

ABOUT MASQUERADE VIDEO

The video was developed by Focus On the Family, USA, Colorado Springs. The popular American youth speaker Milton Creagh, blows the cover off many popular myths about drugs. His unique balance of tough love and encouragement through down-to-earth, honest dialogue motivates parents to raise drug-resistant children and urges young people to choose drug-free lives.

AFFILIATES OF M. A. D.

Since the establishment of the organization in Minsk in 2000, citizens in several other cities decided to follow the example. Today M. A. D. has regional representatives in over 10 Belarusian cities.

Some cities have groups of highly motivated mothers of addicts, physicians, and educators - legally established affiliates of M. A. D. (Baranovichy and Zhlobin). Several have groups that are now working on becoming full affiliates (Soligorsk and Slonim). In other cities, M. A. D. has local volunteers who are establishing regional groups (Gomel, Bobruisk, Mogilev, Vitebsk, Svetlogorsk, Volkovysk, and Lepel). All the members of the regional groups are working in the three main areas of M. A. D.: Education, Referral, and Self-Support Groups.