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There are more than 3 million drug users in the Philippines today and the number is growing. Even more frightening is that 65 to 70 percent of reported crimes are drug related.

But all is not lost. In the "Wild West" of the Philippines, Masbate, drug users, alcoholics and gamblers are being tamed in an unusual farm handled by former volunteer-addicts--Fazenda da Esperanca or Farm of Hope. Fresh from Brazil, Germany and Switzerland, the volunteers took on the gargantuan task of rehabilitating Filipino addicts without knowing how to speak English and Filipino.

Unlike other rehabilitation centers where patients are kept in rooms or cells and where relatives have to pay for the rehabilitation of their loved one, wards of the Fazenda da Esperanca roam free in the 352 hectares of the farm. It is open and free to addicts who willingly give themselves to be rehabilitated.

Set among the rolling hills of Masbate, wards are treated to the hard and often challenging life of running a farm--growing vegetables, herding and milking cows and selling their produce in the local market. The staff of Fazenda and the wards only eat what they grow. Fazenda believes that their wards can overcome addiction by giving them work on the farm and guiding them spiritually.

Even more inspiring in this unique rehabilitation center are the stories of the former volunteer-addicts and the wards. There is a Brazilian banker, Mauricio Bovo, who was addicted to cocaine. After being rehabilitated in a Fazenda Center in Brazil, he sold his possessions and took his family to the Philippines to live and volunteer in the Fazenda in Masbate.

And then there is Nonoy, a 14 year old orphan hooked on rugby. Fazenda took him in and introduced him to farm life. Nonoy has successfully kicked his addiction with the help Mauricio and his wife Karla, who have become the former rugby boy's surrogate parents.

Probe reporter, Cheche Lazaro visits and experiences life in the Farm of Hope during their preparation for Christmas. From the volunteers and wards, she feels the true message of this season: there is a brighter side to everything bad, all we need is to give hope and love to those around us.

NOTE: This documentary was aired on December 22, 2005 over ABS-CBN.

Bukid ng Pag-asa Part 1 of 4

Bukid ng Pag-asa Part 2 of 4

Bukid ng Pag-asa Part 3 of 4

Bukid ng Pag-asa Part 4 of 4

A short film about Fazenda da Esperança and it's founder, Fr Hans, from "Opuz Price foundation"

Fazenda Masbate, from RB Canapi