I'm trying to raise money for my 5 week mental health placement over in Sri Lanka with SLV Global. Here I will be working in a psychiatric facility, assisting those learning to cope with a mental disorder in a rural environment, with very little resources and knowledge available.

Sri Lanka has the fourth highest suicide rates in the world at 28.8 per 100,000 (male rate - 46.4 per 100,000 ; female rate - 12.8 per 100,000). However, the country also has an extreme deficit of mental healthcare professionals with just 0.36 psychiatrists per 100,000 people, this shows that resources are extremely limited within the Sri Lankan mental health system.

SLV.Global currently work with over 140 projects, which include diverse, distinct client groups across a variety of settings, including community initiatives, schools and inpatient psychiatric facilities. SLV.Global aim to reduce stigma by working closely with individuals, and populations, often ostracised from the community due to lack of understanding around mental illness and disability.

SLV.Global began working in Sri Lanka in 2010 and was fully operational by 2012. The main area of SLV.Global’s work is promoting positive mental health, “it was estimated that a fifth of the people affected by the 2004 tsunami would develop moderate mental health disorders, and a small number developed severe depression and post-traumatic stress disorder. The civil conflict also added to this trauma.

As a result there are many people in Sri Lanka suffering with mental health concerns without access to suitable care or are excluded or stigmatised within society for their condition.

Your donations will enable me to get to Sri Lanka and assist these people in a struggling environment

I would be grateful for any amount donated or even just the time you have taken to read my crowdfunding cause.

Thank you, Gemma.