On 22nd April 2018 I will be travelling to Sri Lanka for 6 weeks, to undertake a voluntary Mental Health Placement with SLV.GLOBAL.

This placement will involve working one day a week in a Psychiatric Unit/Mental Health Care Home, where I will be running therapeutic activities in the wards with the patients. For the rest of the week I will be teaching English to young adults and children within the local communities, as well as working with individuals with special needs.

Sri Lanka is a country that is still recovering from a 25-year civil war, and from the 2004 tsunami, which devastated the country. The country only has a few psychologists in residence, and lacks formally qualified mental health professionals. I will be working with SLV, which aims to provide help and support to some of the most vulnerable people in Sri Lanka, by strengthening their existing resources.

As this is completely voluntary, I will be running a sponsored 10km on April 1st (Easter Sunday) in Regents Park, London. This will be to raise funds for part of the placement fee, which is a total of £1,400 (not including flights, entry visa or vaccinations). The fee includes training to equip me with the skills needed to work at the different project. It also goes towards the SLV.Global Mental Health Fund, to allow the charity organisation to carry on its amazing work, and provide necessary mental health support.

If you are able to sponsor me, I would be most grateful. This will help me contribute towards aiding the country’s mental health system, and ultimately improve the quality of life for residents of Sri Lanka who are in need of support.

Any size donations would be gratefully received – Thank you so much!

Poppy xxx