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The patients are different, and so are their addictions. But when a dozen addiction treatment specialists came to a clinic in Upper Marlboro on March 23, they realized Afghanistan, Kenya and the United States have one thing in common — many of their addicted mothers don't get the care they need.

The five-day visit to Mellwood House, a center run by the nonprofit Second Genesis, was sponsored by the U.S. Department of State and the International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Bureau with the goal of giving the foreign specialists pointers on caring for addicted women and their children.

"We want to see how [Mellwood House] runs," said Jennifer Kimani, director of the National Campaign Against Drug Abuse Authority in Kenya. "The scenario in Kenya is that women do not get treatment."

Mellwood client Denise B., who is receiving treatment for alcohol and crack addictions, said she understands the challenges the Kenyan and Afghan delegates are facing. Her family has stood by her even though she has stolen money from them, but many addicted women find themselves alone, she said.

Denise — Second Genesis staff asked that her last name not be used — said she hopes the visit will improve treatment in Afghanistan and Kenya. But the tour has done almost as much for the American patients, she said.

"We all really have the same problems," she said. "[The visit] makes me realize why I'm here. I'm here for help, but maybe I can help somebody else."

Dr. Toorpaikay Zazai, who works at a clinic in Kabul, Afghanistan, and was one of the doctors who visited Mellwood House, said social stigmas prevent many women from seeking treatment.

"Some women are not coming to our center because they [are] ashamed," Zazai said. "[Their husbands] are ashamed."

Many mothers do not get treatment because their husbands died in wars with Russia and the United States, leaving no one else to look after their children. Women take opium for pain management, often during pregnancy, and some give it to their children to make them easier to manage.

The United Nations estimates that in Afghanistan there were 120,000 women and 60,000 children addicted to drugs in 2005.

"Some family coming with five, seven children, coming with drug addiction," Zazai said.

Zazai said she likes the fact that staff at Second Genesis holds daily meetings and she is impressed by the nonprofit's child care program and support groups. She wants to bring similar programs to her clinic in Kabul, she said.

Mellwood House lets children live with addicted parents when they come in for treatment, which usually lasts for six or nine months. Second Genesis staff members say they try to treat addiction in the context of women's families.

The foreign delegates sat in on group therapy sessions, saw how mothers are encouraged to interact with their children and watched clients receive job training. Second Genesis also gave them books outlining proper clinical procedures and pointers on administration and fundraising.

Kimani, one of the two Kenyan delegates, said the tour has given her a better understanding of how to ask for donations from the Kenyan government and private foundations. Kenya does not provide public funding for addiction treatment, she said.

Kimani also hopes the visit will strengthen her hand when she returns to Kenya. If she can convince the government that Second Genesis' program is successful, she might get enough funding to start a small clinic as a pilot program, she said.

"This strengthens our case," she said. "We have treatment centers [in Kenya]. But you have to pay—and pay handsomely."

E-mail Greg Holzheimer at gholzheimer@gazette.net.