Myanmar's heroin addicts resort to religion's help

Residents pass the time in a bamboo cell called the "Special Prayer Room", where they are locked in for their first week at the Youth for Christ Centre for heroin addicts, near Naung Chein in Myanmar's Kachin state July 5, 2013. Myanmar is the world's second-largest producer of opium after Afghanistan and use of its derivative, heroin, is widespread. The centre's popularity is a testament both to the severity of Myanmar's drug problem and the lack of options for users in a poor country where modern treatment programmes are rare. It offers a 40-day "course" of prayer, Bible study and devotional singing, with football and weightlifting for those strong enough. Detox begins in the Special Prayer Room, as the bamboo cell is called. New arrivals are locked in around the clock for seven to ten days. [Photo/Agencies]