International Members of ISAAC, and guests, met together in the Village of Hope in Estonia, at the end of April with various representatives of several rehabilitation ministries from across the country.

Amongst the Estonian leaders there was the Chaplain General of Prisons Igor Miller, prison chaplains, former parliamentarian and promoter of rehabilitation Dr. Nilli Kalikova, and various workers related to this work.

David Partington, General Secretary of ISAAC, presented the vision and purpose of the ISAAC International network. David, who has worked in the area of substance abuse rehabilitation since 1980, stated that ISAAC was not an organization but a growing international network of world wide ministries working together and sharing information in a common cause to combat the growing global problem of drug and alcohol abuse around the world. “This is an opportunity that is offered to all“, stated David to those present.

The Village of Hope is a member of ISAAC. Märt, Alta, Andrew and Erica Vähi attended the 3rd ISAAC International Congress last October in Egypt, in which over 160 delegates from 30 countries were in attendance.

Ron Ross, author, instructor and founder of NET Training Institute and Ed Khouri, founder of ‘Equipping Hearts Ministry’, shared their experience in how a NET training school could be established at the Village of Hope. This would be a centre of learning; with certified addiction status, able to serve Christian addiction workers, not just from Estonia, but throughout northern Europe.

In the sessions which followed, serious plans were laid out to develop the curriculum which could be adapted to meet the needs in Estonia and northern Europe. Ed and Maritza Khouri will be instrumental developing plans on helping set up the school and develop curriculum related subjects.     

The historical meetings were the first of its kind in Estonia, which will no doubt have long lasting and far reaching effects into the future of the work of drug-alcohol rehabilitation in this part of the world.