Subair Kunju Foundation (SKF), a Trivandrum based charitable trust is enlisted in the NGO Marketplace of the United Nations Office of Drugs and Crimes in recognition of the uninterrupted fight against substance abuse at an international level through the Riyadh Initiative against Substance Abuse -RISA campaign. The SKF also got enrolled in the United Nations integrated Civil Society Database since November 2020. The organization is the first one of its kind from Kerala and the 16th from India among the 362 registered organizations worldwide in the Marketplace platform of UNODC. The “Marketplace”, a joint United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and Vienna NGO Committee (VNGOC) project, is an innovative online platform that gives non-governmental organizations (NGOs) the opportunity to present their work, exchange expertise, network, and raise awareness about their work in the field of drug policy.
The membership in the platform gives ample opportunity to share our activities as well as to gain knowledge from different organizations worldwide: said Dr. Abdul Azeez Subair Kunju, the Chairman and Program convener of RISA. We are on the way to further strengthen our resource team so as to intensify our ongoing school-based Training of Trainer Program (TOT) in KSA and other middle-east countries: he added.
Meantime, the foundation is organizing an online TOT session on 19th Dec. The Ambassador of India Dr. Ausaf Sayeed is inaugurating the function. Thousands of students and teachers from various international Indian schools from middle- east and India are expected to participate in the free Webinar.
RISA consultant Dr. Bharathan A V announced the new achievement in a special zoom meeting arranged in Riyadh. RISA Kerala coordinator Karunakaran Pilla, Mrs. Meera Rahman, Mrs. Padmini U Nair (school activity coordinators), publicity convener Nisar Kallara, Jubail zonal leader Shameer Yusaf was among the team members who attended the meeting.
The foundation has conducted more than 90 programs under various settings such as schools, polyclinics, shopping malls, labor camps, and community gatherings etc. since the beginning of the campaign in 2012 and the activity got the official permission of the National Committee for Narcotics Control, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia since 2013.