Secretary of Society of Mental Health in LAMIC (SoMHiL), Dr. Bornali Das was invited to speak on a Facebook Live session for the World Suicide Prevention Day on 10th September organised by Manauta.

Project MANAUTA is a humble initiation by a group of young enthusiasts from Darjeeling hills. This project was conceived to cater to mental health issues, provide support and encourage wellbeing amidst the COVID 19 pandemic. While the physical health is vulnerable, the fear of getting infected coupled with restricted social movement has taken a toll on mental health as well. Darjeeling hills, synonimical for its tea and tourism is highly
depends on revenue generated by tourists and tea export, however with the lockdown brought in by the pandemic both the industries are facing a stalemate, severely effecting the livelihood of it residents.

With no general health care support let alone any mental health care facility in Darjeeling, the need for mental health care support rose exponentially during such times and had to be addressed during such times. Thus, keeping in mind the need of hour, this project was
formulated with help of professional social workers, mental health counsellors and medical professionals. Finally the fuel to run this project was provided by Edwards Foundation who generously funded the project.

Project MANAUTA is dedicates itself to provide free Tele-counselling and Tele-medicine services across Darjeeling hills. But it does not limit to just these two services, various workshops and tailored IEC materials has been a crucial in addressing mental health stigmas and distress among the public and frontline workers. With rising cases of COVID 19 and the uncertainty laced with it, the need for such initiation is more than ever. As addressing the wellbeing and cater positive mental health can be a catalyst in recovery of the patients and the wellbeing of the community.