Norman Wray
Encyclopedia
Norman Wray obtained his FSC from Saint Mary’s University
, Minnesota
, USA in 1946. He has given his life to missionary work in Sri Lanka
, India
, Guatemala
, and Pakistan
. There, he set up the St. Patrick's Technical School
in Karachi
and ran the program for 15 years. In 1982, he founded the Marie Adelaide Rehabilitation Center, a rehabilitation center where men with drug addictions seek professional help to rebuild their lives. When Brother Norman started the center, he worked with eight drug-dependent men; today the number has grown to over 120.
His mother was his role model for going out to the poor. During the depression in the 1930s his family saw kids eating out of the garbage and his mother would say, "that child could be you."
In 2003, Br. Norman celebrated his 80th birthday and the Diamond Jubilee of Religious life as a de La Salle
brother. He has also established a Rehabilitation Centre for drug and substance abusers in Sinjoro
in the Sindh
Province. He is a member of the Governing board of this centre known as the House of Hope. The project includes a Halfway House in Catholic Colony in Karachi to help recovering addicts make the transition to a normal life.
Alarmed that HIV infection is rapidly increasing among drug users in Karachi and has reached 9% in 2004–5, Br. Norman has stepped up his work with the Marie Adelaide Rehabilitation Center, with drug users by introducing harm reduction programmes in Karachi.
More recently a Drop-In Centre and a Mobile Clinic were also started by him to cater to the needs of those addicts who are on the streets because they don't have a place to stay.
The cost of running these programs is Rupees1 million per month for the Rehabilitation Centre in Sinjoro, the Half Way House, Drop-In Centre and Mobile Clinic in Karachi. Donations and patient fees cover around 50 percent of the expenses locally. The other 50 percent came from foreign donors.
Such is the influence of Brother Norman’s work that his spiritual and intellectual influence have been acknowledged even by staunch Muslims.
Saint Mary's University of Minnesota
Saint Mary's University of Minnesota is a private, comprehensive, coeducational university with an undergraduate campus in the city of Winona, Minnesota, United States...
, Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
, USA in 1946. He has given his life to missionary work in Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...
, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, Guatemala
Guatemala
Guatemala is a country in Central America bordered by Mexico to the north and west, the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, Belize to the northeast, the Caribbean to the east, and Honduras and El Salvador to the southeast...
, and Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
. There, he set up the St. Patrick's Technical School
St. Patrick's Technical School
St. Patrick's Technical School is an Institute of Science & Technology in Karachi, Pakistan.Brother Norman Wray, a de La Salle brother, set up the School in 1965 and was its Principal for 15 years. Since 1980, the principal of the school has been Brother George Abeyratne...
in Karachi
Karachi
Karachi is the largest city, main seaport and the main financial centre of Pakistan, as well as the capital of the province of Sindh. The city has an estimated population of 13 to 15 million, while the total metropolitan area has a population of over 18 million...
and ran the program for 15 years. In 1982, he founded the Marie Adelaide Rehabilitation Center, a rehabilitation center where men with drug addictions seek professional help to rebuild their lives. When Brother Norman started the center, he worked with eight drug-dependent men; today the number has grown to over 120.
His mother was his role model for going out to the poor. During the depression in the 1930s his family saw kids eating out of the garbage and his mother would say, "that child could be you."
In 2003, Br. Norman celebrated his 80th birthday and the Diamond Jubilee of Religious life as a de La Salle
De La Salle
De La Salle is the name of several educational institutions affiliated with the Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools, also known as the Lasallian Brothers, a Roman Catholic religious teaching order founded by French priest Saint Jean-Baptiste de la Salle:* Lasallian educational...
brother. He has also established a Rehabilitation Centre for drug and substance abusers in Sinjoro
Sinjoro
Sinjoro is a taluka, an administrative subdivision, of Sanghar District, Sindh, Pakistan. It is nearer to Sanghar then other Tehsils. The people are mainly are Sindhi....
in the Sindh
Sindh
Sindh historically referred to as Ba'ab-ul-Islam , is one of the four provinces of Pakistan and historically is home to the Sindhi people. It is also locally known as the "Mehran". Though Muslims form the largest religious group in Sindh, a good number of Christians, Zoroastrians and Hindus can...
Province. He is a member of the Governing board of this centre known as the House of Hope. The project includes a Halfway House in Catholic Colony in Karachi to help recovering addicts make the transition to a normal life.
Alarmed that HIV infection is rapidly increasing among drug users in Karachi and has reached 9% in 2004–5, Br. Norman has stepped up his work with the Marie Adelaide Rehabilitation Center, with drug users by introducing harm reduction programmes in Karachi.
More recently a Drop-In Centre and a Mobile Clinic were also started by him to cater to the needs of those addicts who are on the streets because they don't have a place to stay.
The cost of running these programs is Rupees1 million per month for the Rehabilitation Centre in Sinjoro, the Half Way House, Drop-In Centre and Mobile Clinic in Karachi. Donations and patient fees cover around 50 percent of the expenses locally. The other 50 percent came from foreign donors.
Such is the influence of Brother Norman’s work that his spiritual and intellectual influence have been acknowledged even by staunch Muslims.