UNODC is cosponsor of the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS - UNAIDS
Obituary: Remembering Dicky
Dicky Donkupar Kharakor
Mr. Dicky Donkupar Kharakor was born on the 3rd of December 1966. He was a pioneer working with drug addicts in Meghalaya and suddenly passed away on the night of 17th of May 2007.
He was a person in recovery since April 2001 and was the founder member of Manbha Foundation (an NGO working in Meghalaya, India with Drug/HIV affected people), and was the general Secretary of the foundation. He initiated Narcotics Anonymous (NA) in Meghalaya in 2006 and was a member of Meghalaya AA. Recently, he initiated the formation of Meghalaya Users Network in April 2007. He was the team leader of the UNODC
project H13 - "Prevention of Transmission of HIV among Drug Users in SAARC Countries" since 2005.
During his long association with the NE office of the UNODC he worked tirelessly for the upliftment of the marginalized group of Drug users and HIV affected and infected people. During this time he brought out a large number of drug addicts from the darkness into light and on the path of recovery through rehabilitation. His personal experiences with drugs gave him a deep insight into the mind of an addict and he used innovative techniques in motivating them into recovery and maintaining sobriety. To these people he was a friend, mentor and role model. He has inspired many, both users and non-users in the society to take up the challenge of motivating people into recovery and thereafter reintegrating them into society by placing them in appropriate jobs.
Our deepest condolences go out to his wife Dr. Rica Lamar, their two children, the entire family and the extended family of people in recovery in the North East of India. He was always an enthusiastic supporter of all public events organized under the auspices of UNODC. We will miss his dynamism, commitment, warmth and concern for all those people whose lives he touched. May God grant eternal peace to the departed soul.
Dicky Donkupar Kharakor