Greetings from Kathmandu, Nepal. Shalom and Namaste,

My name is Mei Quie Sherpa, and I am originally from Darjeeling a hill-station in India. Currently, I am pursuing my Master’s in Social Work (mental health) from Nepal. Nepal is a beautiful country and I find myself surrounded with serene geography and a community that is open and loving.

School was my favourite place while growing-up. I loved the space we got to learn and listen to stories, play different sports, reading in the library and to dwell in the presence of loving teachers. It was where I was introduced with the magic of storytelling, filling each one of us students, with inspiring imagination and the respect for other cultures. Today, I get to share with children through Glenn Family Foundation (GFF) Helps Nepal, as my professional platform what I valued most from my childhood of listening stories. Previously, I had engaged with a couple of projects on anti-child trafficking and another such research on online sexual exploitation of children, in India and Nepal respectively. This has helped me under the offensiveness children are exposed to on a daily basis both online and offline. Through storytelling awareness and preventive measures can be aptly implemented among the minds of the electronic younger generations.

I have come to learn from my current academic pursuit that mental health is an important aspect of our bio-psychosocial wellbeing. Unfortunately, during the time of the pandemic many of us including myself have undergone an unstable mental health. Signs and symptoms of mental illnesses such as distress, anxiety, panic attack, and addictions are some common terms, but more importantly the gateway to a long-term health issue. Being a part of GFF Helps Nepal I am motivated to seek on to pave way into the realm of community mental health in Nepal. As said by Glenn Close “What mental health needs is more sunlight, more candor, and more unashamed conversation.”