Mental Health Nepal Project #41577

Trauma Informed Care Trainings in Nepal

by Healing Together

Project Report | Nov 13, 2020
Addressing the mental health pandemic in Nepal

By Amy Paulson | Co-Founder & CEO

Celebrating our mental health advocates in Nepal

"In this pandemic situation, many people are having mental problems. Most of the people feel ashamed to share. Don't be ashamed of that, the more you share more you will feel better."

- Jyoti, Teacher, Psychology student, and Healing Advocate

* * * * * * * * *

As the number of COVID cases spikes in Nepal to more than 200,000, the impact is taking a toll both economically as well as socially, with strict lockdowns still in place across much of the country.

With in-person gatherings still deemed unsafe, our local Nepali Healing Advocates are using the power of social media and podcasts to share stories, break mental health stigma, and educate the country about the importance of healing trauma to break cycles of trauma and violence and build community resilience.

Thanks to your generous support, we have reached 90,000 people since the lockdown started in March.

In a country where suicide is the leading cause of death among females aged 15-49, yet where there is only 1 mental health professional per nearly 670,000 people, we are leveraging our peer-based mental health model to spread the message that mental health matters - and that everyone can learn to heal.

"There’s one thing we forget - that’s to check on our mental health. Mental health is equally as important as physical health. It is very important at every stage of our life, from childhood to adulthood." - Teacher & Healing Advocate

"I express through art: Be it in the form of music or painting or writing or dancing or simply talking. I am vulnerably honest which requires a lot of courage. And I encourage others to do the same." - Medical doctor, Healing Advocate

“Physical exercise helps us release toxicity from our body - sharing helps us to release our confusion, hurt, and pain.” - Healing Advocate

* * * * * * * * *

Our local team has also been busy building an online-based version of our mental health trainings that will be delivered via short downloadable videos, paired with worksheets, quizzes, and discussion boards - so that Nepali community leaders can access mental health resources in a post-COVID world.

Thank you for your investment in peer-based, survivor-led healing, as we navigate the dual pandemics of COVID-19 and a global mental health crisis - together.

With gratitude,

Gratitude Alliance Nepal

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Jul 14, 2020
Addressing the COVID mental health crisis in Nepal

By Amy Paulson | Co-Founder & CEO

Healing Advocate emotional support group via Zoom

Namaste!

As COVID-19 continues to fuel a mental health crisis across the globe, our team in Nepal has been working hard to quickly respond to the urgent need for resources and support.

To date, Nepal has reported over 16,000 cases of COVID-19. The country remains under strict lockdown while suffering from a lack of public health infrastructure and a stark rise in cases of gender violence and deaths by suicide since shelter-in-place went into effect in March.

With your generous support, our team of passionate Healing Advocates quickly mobilized to address the urgent need for mental health resources - creating educational videos and social media content to help local citizens learn how to cope with stress, provide emotional first aid, and address trauma in their families and community. Since March, our mental health videos and posts have over 25,000 views.

We've also hosted online emotional support calls and continue to offer mental health webinars to local educational institutions and businesses to equip folks with tangible tools to alleviate toxic stress, build resilience, dispel the stigma of mental health, and create a culture and community of care.

As we look ahead to creating online versions of our extensive in-person Healing Advocacy workshops to help broaden access to mental health resources, we thank you for your ongoing support for and belief in the ripple effect of this work. Although it's true that "hurt people hurt people" - we've also seen that "healed people heal people". And an investment in just one Healing Advocate can bring healing to an entire community - for generations.

Best wishes for the safety, health, and protection of you and your loved ones during these difficult times.

Gratefully yours,
Gratitude Alliance

School principals learn the science of trauma

Video about coping with anxiety and stress

Links:

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Mar 10, 2020
How one person can create a ripple of change

By Amy Paulson | Co-Founder & CEO

Meet Suresh...

Meet Suresh.

I first met Suresh in 2015, when he attended our trauma healing workshop as a school teacher in Nepal.

Today, Suresh serves as the country manager of Gratitude Alliance Nepal.

Here is his story, as only he can tell it.

* * * * * *

Namaste!

I am Suresh from the Himalayan country Nepal.

I have survived a traumatic childhood, multiple experiences of sexual abuse, poverty, malnutrition, disease, and bullying because of my skin color.

I was less compassionate and less kind. I rarely used to cry. I was hurting myself and hurting people close to me.

Eventually, I opened a school to help many children… but I could not find peace because I still had to make peace with my past.

Then in 2015, I got this amazing trauma healing training from Gratitude Alliance, which completely shook my being, and my perspective towards life was changed. For the first time in life, I began to find the keys to happiness for myself, I became mindful of my life, and I truly started to feel myself.

I also became a youth mentor of Gratitude Alliance’s Life Skills & Leadership Program. The students are now more empathetic, they know how to heal their sad emotions, they share their stories, they listen to each other, and they act with love.

The program also grew in me. I am now more compassionate, I can feel the pain and happiness of others, I know what I am feeling and why, and what I need to do to make myself happy, so I can help others too.

I want to bring this training to communities all over Nepal, to help children, leaders, adults, parents, and each and every person to be a better person. To find healing and to stop abuse, like I experienced as a young boy.

* * * * * *

Suresh recently shared his story as a survivor of sexual abuse on Facebook - a profoundly courageous move to break the stigma of trauma in his country.

He’s starting a Nepali podcast to share stories of healing. And, he’s now teaching leaders all over the country to heal themselves and their communities.

Suresh is living proof that it only takes one person to spark a ripple of healing for thousands of survivors.

Because when you invest in revolutionary leaders like Suresh, you're helping to heal cycles of trauma and harm for hundreds of leaders like him, who impact thousands of survivors in their communities.

Thank you for your generosity, support, and advocacy for survivors.

With gratitude,
Gratitude Alliance

Suresh as a young boy

Suresh as a healing mentor to students

Suresh as a healing advocate for trauma survivors

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