‘From brokenness to wholeness to holiness’: addicts cured with yoga and faith by Catholic priest’s foundation

Bosco Dsouza was a hard-core alcoholic. He started drinking when he was 18 years old, while working as a bartender at an upscale hotel in Mumbai, India, and soon he was downing two bottles of whiskey a day.

“Working at a bar gave me easy access to alcohol. A few years later, as a manager in a construction company I was drinking with clients every night,” says Dsouza. The consequences for his health, relationships and life were disastrous. “I damaged my liver, used to have blackouts and my family and friends wrote me off.”

An ultimatum from his wife forced Dsouza, then aged 34, to seek help. That is when he stumbled upon the Kripa Foundation, a non-governmental organisation based in India that treats alcohol and substance addiction through traditional “de-addiction” methods – and yoga.

Now 61, Dsouza has been sober for 27 years. In return for giving him a new lease on life, he dedicated himself to Kripa. He is a poster boy for the group, earned an MBA in human resources in 2008, and now oversees its national operations. He was honoured with a national award for outstanding services in addiction prevention in 2014.

Catholic priest Father Joseph Pereira, fondly known as Father Joe, founded the group in Mumbai in 1981. Kripa (which means “Grace” in Sanskrit) has grown to a network of 77 counselling and addiction treatment facilities, including 26 rehabilitation centres across India, with collaborations across the world.