The Last Chance
Drug Rehabilitation Centre,
Wat Thamkrabok Monastery, Thailand
L
ocated in the mountains around 150 Km
from Thailand’s capital, Bangkok, the
temple of Wat Thamkrabok Monastery offers
a detoxification and rehabilitation program
under the name of “The Last Chance” to those
addicted to drugs and alcohol.
The monastery was founded in 1957 by
Buddhist nun Mian Parnchand (generally
known as Luang Poh Yaai) and her two
nephews, Chamroon and Charoen Parnchand.
Only 2 years later, after its foundation in
1959, the detoxification and rehabilitation
program began in the monastery with the
prime objective to treat the Hmong, a hill-
tribe well-known for opium cultivation and
supply. During the first 5 years, the program
was a big success as thousands of Hmong
cultivators left the hills to join the program,
which ultimately led to the downfall in the
opium supplies.
Since then, more than 100,000 drug addicts
have been treated and rehabilitated with a
success rate of 70%, making this program the
most successful in the world.
The Thamkrabok rehabilitation program
commences by undertaking SAJJA - a
sacred vow - never to touch drugs again.
Thamkrabok’s Sajja is not simply a vow to
stop taking intoxicating substance, it is much
more than that. It is a commitment to starting
a new life, embracing truth, loyalty, purity
and honesty. Sajja is taken by everybody and
is not limited to any specific religion or belief
system. Sajja is perhaps the most effective part
of the treatment and also the most difficult
one where the patient has to keep the vow for
the rest of their life, else they will be back on
the old path which will lead them to their end
this time.
The Sajja is supported by Thamkrabok’s
unique herbal medicine which is given to
clients(every drug addict who enters the
monastery is called a client) to induce massive
"cleansing" fits of vomiting. This medicine is
made by mixing more than 50 different kinds
of herbs and plants that generate a very real
and very rapid detoxification. The mixtures’
ingredients are kept secret to avoid possible
market exploitation.
Each client has the right to enter the program
only once hence taking the name “The Last
Chance”. If they break their Sajja, they cannot
Andreas Vassiliou
Photographer
undergo a second treatment. They must have
a strong belief in their Sajja which is of the
utmost importance. If the addict has no
desire to beat his or her addiction they are not
welcome at Thamkrabok.
The monk and director Chamroon Parnchant
(now deceased) explains this tough decision
which he had to take: “Before a client enters
the program, he/she is obliged to vow full
abstinence from any kind of drugs resulting
in the dependence on the God he/she might
believe in”.In 1975, the monk Chamroon
(Abbot of Thamkrabok) was presented with
the Ramon Magsaysay Award for his services
towards the community which is equivalent
to the Nobel Prize for the Asian countries.
Once a client enters the program, their
rehabilitation may last from 40 days to as
long as 6 months, depending on the will
of the client. During the first five days, the
clients stay in room No 5 and have to take
the “the herbal medicine” twice a day. When
the first period is passed, they move to room
No. 4 where they stay until the rehabilitation
finishes. During this period, the “medicine”
is taken once a day and the clients have to