Story highlights Former addict and ex-convict David Gordon is taking on Indonesia's drug problem

Gordon and his wife started a foundation to educate and rehabilitate addicts

They face challenges including lack of support from the addict's families and increasing drug use

(CNN) After 15 years of being addicted to drugs, David Gordon was ready to turn his life around, but he soon realized there were others that were still being controlled by addiction.

Having been through the cycle of jail and drugs, starting with marijuana and ending up with heroin, he decided to start his own rehabilitation center in Bogor, a city just south of Indonesia's capital Jakarta.

Now, 18 years later, he is the director of the Yakita Foundation , one of the only non-governmental drug rehabilitation services in the country with locations across in Indonesia.

Spreading drug problem

"I saw an article about the only drug recovery center in the country at that time, at the government hospital," explains Gordon. "I went over as a volunteer and saw the problem immediately. I sat with 22 young people, 21 were heroin addicts.

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