CNS： Sunshine Project - a Solution to Three Challenges in Narcotics Control (2)

According to statistics, Guizhou has completed 86 centralized job placement enterprises (bases) as of July 2012 and offered more than 13,000 jobs to the rehabilitated drug users via a variety of channels. Xiaoxia is a beneficiary of community-based detoxification and treatment who had lost and experienced tortuous times because of taking drugs, said that it was just like living in the hell where it was dark everywhere, everyone she cared about left her and what she got in the public was nothing but cold eyes. The involvement in the Sunshine Project has changed her life. She wrote a line saying that “I appreciate the governmental organs for the stages they’ve built for us to restart our lives and the opportunity they’ve offered to me to fulfill the value of my life.”

“Sunshine Project” has also drawn attentions from foreigners. Peter Santos, an American who used to be a drug user wrote to us after reading the report on the project. He said that “I know it’s very hard to fight against drugs addiction and it’s impossible to overcome it without external support. I couldn't help being delighted when I came across the report on the 'Sunshine Project' as I sensed the tremendous effort that Guizhou has been paying to get people to break away from drugs and reintegrate into the society. What I appreciate more is that they encourage enterprises to recruit such people because laziness is truly the favored enemy of rehabilitation.”

Yu An, professor of the School of Public Policy & Management Tsinghua University, said “Guizhou’s employment-based policy executed in the ‘Sunshine Project’ is a new trend for China’s anti-drug management. Guizhou’s initiative to guide and support job placement of the rehabilitated is an important breakthrough in traditional administrative policies on narcotics control, for addressing the relapse after compulsory detoxification and the barriers in social inclusion. It opens a new channel by establishing such a physical platform for people's return to society by virtue of focusing on their career development.” As believed by Wang Lirong, professor of Southwest University of Political Science & Law, the implementation experience of and the rational orientation and steps in rehabilitation mechanism taken by Guizhou’s “Sunshine Project” are much more in focus and targeted.

According to Cui Yadong, it is planned to complete 100 centralized job placement sites by end of 2012 to accommodate 16,000 people in total via various means, thus realizing a “full coverage” of job placement for all the drug users rehabilitated from community-based treatment. (By Zhang Wei, Sept. 1, 2012)