First Aid’ for mental health
Meet Fairooz Faizah Beether, a young woman in Bangladesh who has transformed her battle with depression into a movement that is challenging deep rooted stigmas around mental health and giving thousands of young people access to help whenever they need.
Born and raised in Khulna, Fairooz was only 13 years old when her father was murdered. As an only child, she carried the trauma alone and her mother, recognising her daughter’s depression, got Fairooz the help she needed. Although ‘talk therapy’ was regarded as taboo in her country, the experience ignited a deep calling to raise awareness and help others who were struggling.
While studying at her local university, Fairooz was part of a group assignment that asked students to identify a social problem and design a solution. To tackle the issue of mental health, Fairooz and her peers created a simple online form to connect anonymous visitors with mental health counsellors, but struggled to find enough qualified professionals. Inspired by a term in psychology known as ‘para counsellors’, the team changed their strategy to a ‘first aid service' for mental health by empowering people to provide emergency mental support to others.
In 2018, Fairooz launched the Moner School: a youth-led mental health platform, providing education, para counselling workshops and a 24/7 online first-aid service, as well as contact with mental health professionals. To increase awareness, Fairooz has openly shared her struggles with depression and despite being initially shamed, the stigma in Bangladesh is beginning to fade. In 2021, the Moner School organised the country's biggest mental health workshop reaching 11,000 youth across Bangladesh.
Fairooz is now turning her focus to giving primary school children the same tools that helped her overcome tragedy in her early life. "We believe the experiences of early childhood can leave a more significant impact later in life. We want to reach every single school in Bangladesh to train them for mental health, body shaming, and bullying.
