The Hindu : Kerala / Kochi News : Reaching out to people in distress

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Wednesday, Sep 12, 2007
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Kerala - Kochi

Reaching out to people in distress

Staff Reporter

The timely intervention of Maitri has helped save many lives before they took the extreme step.

KOCHI: Maitri, a non-Government organisation, has been carrying out a campaign against suicide for the last 12 years. It has helped people in distress and instilled in them confidence to face the challenges in life.

The timely intervention of the organisation has helped save many lives before they took the extreme step.

The organisation observed World Suicide Prevention Day on Monday, an annual event sponsored by the International Association for Suicide Prevention in collaboration with the World Health Organisation.

A seminar was conducted on ‘Suicide Prevention across the Life Span,’ which was the theme for this year. The former Chief Justice of Kerala High Court K.K. Usha inaugurated the seminar. Deputy Director of Education Murali presided. Psychiatrist C.J. John conducted a class on suicide prevention.

“The selection of the theme was based on the realisation that people from all age groups, from children to old-aged, committed suicide,” M.M. Manuel, Director of Maitri, said.

Mr. Manuel says there has been a drop in the suicide rate in Ernakulam district. “We believe that our organisation has played a major role in achieving this,” he said.

He said during the 12-hour operation, the organisation had not failed to operate even for a single day. “We functioned braving bandhs and hartals,” he said. The working time of the organisation is 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.

The organisation works within the framework of Befrienders International, an NGO with presence in about 40 countries.

The centre at Kochi is the oldest in the State.

The Kochi centre has the service of 42 volunteers comprising people from various professions. Those in need of help can either visit the centre in person, or make a phone call or write a letter.

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