Some years ago Sri Lanka had the highest suicide rate in the world. Today this number has gone down and Sri Lanka now ranks ninth, a substantial decrease and one that will hopefully continue declining.

There are a number of factors which contributed to this high suicide rate among those who are economically disadvantaged, poor and jobless with little or no social life. Then there are those with broken love affairs and suffering from depression.

Unfortunately there is a huge stigma surrounding mental illnesses here. But this is reducing thanks to the awareness of organizations such as BasicNeeds, an NGO which works in raising awareness about the mentally ill, helping them recover and assisting them to reintegrate back into the community.

 BasicNeeds is a UK based organization that was brought to Sri Lanka in 2000 by a man named Chris Underhill, who founded the program together with Chinta Moonasinghe, who is the current chair person of the organization. Due to the poor provision of mental health infrastructure in most areas in Sri Lanka when BasicNeeds came here, it had a lot of ground to cover.

The project’s aim was to ensure social integration of people with mental illnesses, addressing their basic needs, satisfying their basic rights and also to provide awareness and involve the community while at the same time combating the stigma surrounding such illnesses.

 Part of the reintegration program involves working in horticulture which is a way for those being helped to start a business and generate their own income, making them self sufficient. Budgeting, money management, and saving are all areas which are covered in order to ensure the best possible outcome.

The people work together, helping each other out. Once they have made a profit and can sustain themselves the initial loan is passed on to another person. That way everyone looks out for each other and the loan circulates, helping numerous people to find their feet.

 Every six months an evaluation session is organized where patients, family members, careers, volunteers, public health representatives, community members, medical doctors and people from the NGO all meet to review the last six months; both the positive and the negative aspects are equally dealt with.

Everyone is given a chance to air their thoughts and to have a say, something which is greatly appreciated particularly by the patients who feel a sense of recognition in their involvement.

It is the women who more often look for help. With mental illnesses of this kind, the first and most important step is to recognize your illness, accept it and then to seek help. According to the WHO 35% of people the afflicted come for treatment, admitting they need help, while the other 65% are lost.

At the evaluation session that we attended the patients, volunteers and doctors mingled easily with each other, it was nice to see how open and unreserved these people were and how easily they talked about their problems and experiences.

I spoke to a woman at the evaluation, Naleni de Silva, who was there as a result of her eldest daughter’s depression and traumatic reaction in the aftermath of the tsunami. She told me a harrowing story of how it had affected her family and changed their lives forever. In the aftermath of the tsunami many more people became ill due to the trauma and mental stress the disaster created. There are many people like Naleni who have volunteered to help those who have suffered mental ill-health as a result.

I spoke to two doctors at the medical camp we visited, Dr. Chittahari Abeynayaka and Dr Thilini Abeywardana, who both said that predominantly women come to the camps many of whom are housewives. These women have a very isolated and lonely life and often have no one to talk to. They spend their lives cooking, cleaning, and looking after their husbands and children and at the end of the day they have no female friends to unburden themselves to; so many of them come to the camps merely to talk about their problems.

"They feel free to talk to us," stated Dr. Chittahari; sometimes merely being listened to is a form of therapy. In many families there are problems of domestic violence, child abuse and alcoholic husbands, the wife is often at a loss as to what to do and have limited options. Unfortunately, as Dr. Chittahari told me, in some areas of Sri Lanka men still believe they are invincible and can do what they please and have whatever women they want. Many of them become angry when confronted about this behaviour. It is sad and also frightening that this sort of mentality still exist in this day and age.

 The issue of mental illness is a very important issue and one that should be better addressed. Organizations like BasicNeeds have made great headway in raising awareness and helping these people but there is still a long way to go. Involving the community and creating a network of support for these people is essential and highly beneficial in helping them to come to terms with and combat their illnesses.