Deepika Gandhi (Mental Health Coordinator) and Anjali Sood (Sr. Mental Health Coordinator) created activities for the kids to celebrate World Mental Health Day, October 10th. Read this blog they wrote to see the informative and engaging activities they put together for the kids.

“Mann ki takat hi hume girne par fir se uthati hain.” (The power of strong mind helps us to arise again when we fall.)
–One of the kids supported by Miracle Foundation

Every year on October 10th, the global community celebrates World Mental Health Day. This day is all about highlighting outreach, education & advocacy efforts around the world aimed at reducing mental health related stigmas… Empowering people suffering from mental health issues by encouraging them to open up and seek support.

This year, the kids supported by Miracle Foundation celebrated World Mental Health Day in full force! The theme for this year’s World Mental Health Day was “Young People & Mental Health, in a Changing World.”

The theme focused on awareness and better understanding of early warning signs of mental illnesses seen among youth and young adults today. And so, it was important to begin the conversations with the kids around what they need in order to grow up healthy, happy and resilient!

Mr. Ashok Jhadav, one of the Mental Health Resource Team Members working with the kids in India expressed, “Miracle Foundation’s work focuses on sustaining mental health by doing in-depth work with children. Their effort to provide for children emotionally, physically, and intellectually at all times is consistent. The work of the organization is indeed appreciated. Their method of working, planning and timely guidance to the children gives them a new direction.”

Here are some of the activities the children participated in to celebrate World Mental Health Day:

‘Good Touch & Bad Touch’
An activity for children between ages 6-8
We know that by this age it is vital for a child to differentiate between good touch and bad touch, for preventing any kind of abuse and learning about reporting any misconduct. This interactive activity taught them all about it.

‘Poster Making’
An activity for children ages 9-12
Through this activity, the kids made posters illustrating the emotions they feel living away from their families or in a children’s home. This covered their daily life, activities like study time, weekends, vacations, play time and more.

‘Talk to Me Box’
An activity for children ages 13 and above
Children anonymously wrote about a problem they experienced on a piece of paper and dropped it in a box, which was then opened by an experienced Mental Health Resource Team Member or Social Worker. The group then discussed positive ways to express emotions about these problems and ways to get support.

To raise awareness about child abuse, the kids participated in skits. This helped children gain awareness on what defines abuse, its various forms, recognizing warning signs, reporting abuse and adverse effects of non-reporting on their health and well-being.

Living apart from your family is traumatic. And many of the children we support have experienced additional distress, like abuse or neglect. All children deserve the opportunity to work through their emotions. We teach kids ways to cope with their grief, fear and anger so they can thrive and become the successful adults they were meant to be. How? By making professional counseling available to every child in our care. You can support the mental health of a child for a full month with just Rs. 300. Give Rs. 3000 to change 10 lives today.