Columban Eamon Sheridan with the Rebirth Centre football team. Photo: Fr Eamon Sheridan SSC
It would be easy and understandable to give way to hopelessness at the ever-increasing crisis that has engulfed Myanmar. The coup, which happened over four years ago now, gave rise to a bloody ongoing civil war and an economic collapse that has plunged the country into a humanitarian crisis, as hundreds of thousands of people have had to leave their homes. Spiralling inflation means that millions have fallen into poverty and food insecurity. Then came the earthquake on March 28, 2025.
However, one crisis that is not mentioned much is the rapid rise in drug use. In 2024, Myanmar took over from Afghanistan as the biggest producer of heroin. I would guess that it is also the biggest consumer. It is ironic that while the price of everything else in Myanmar has skyrocketed, the price of heroin has dropped. You can buy it on almost every street corner in Myitkyina and younger and younger teenagers are becoming addicted.
A local Kachin leader told me recently that it's part of the war plan of the military to flood the area with heroin and get 80% of young Kachins addicted. I don’t know whether that is true, but it certainly feels like it.
Nonetheless, there are signs of hope. More and more people are recovering at the Rebirth Rehabilitation Centre, where I work with 13 other staff members. The 12-step programs of Alcoholics Anonymous (AA)and Narcotics Anonymous (NA) are at the heart of their recovery. An increasing number are embracing the principles of these programs and sharing their recovery stories with newcomers.
We have a halfway house in Myitkyina where people who finish the program can come for support and to attend daily NA/AA meetings. We have also set up a vocational training program and have opened three carpenter shops and one barber shop. Metal grill work and aluminium work are also done at the centre. These shops are employing 12 people. It may seem small, but it is life-changing for those who are involved.
I entered the Columban seminary in Dalgan, Ireland, in 1978. That was the year the Columbans from what was then called Burma began returning home. They spoke often of the Kachin people they worked with in Burma - of their generosity and resilience. I never in my wildest dreams thought that I would one day work with them myself and experience first-hand that resilience and generosity shining through in the most difficult of circumstances. I am so grateful to God to be here in Kachin land at this stage of my life.
I am grateful to be with a small group of Columban Missionaries who are working with the same faith and fortitude that the early Columbans here displayed. These younger Columbans, lay and ordained, along with the Kachin people, inspire me to be a better missionary.
The Kachin people still have much to teach me and I am a willing student.
Columban Fr Eamon Sheridan lives and works in Myanmar.
Related links
- Read more from The Far East - July 2026
