Dear Friend,

As you probably know, this year I am commemorating a very special birthday. In December I’ll be turning 70, and to be honest I am not sure how time could fly so quickly!

As the world is faced with crisis after crisis and we wonder where the humanity in all of us is, I feel incredibly privileged to be surrounded by family, friends, colleagues and many others who I know have their hearts in the right place. They and you are the living proof that, despite all suffering and uncertainty around us, there is goodness in the world, there is empathy and that, if we join our hands together, we can build a better future for us, our children, and many generations to come.

You might also remember that I am a volunteer at an organisation that is very close to my heart. Jaya Mental Health is an incredible organisation that offers free mental health support to vulnerable people living in remote parts of the world who have no one to turn to for help.

Over the past few years, I’ve been travelling to Nepal regularly and taking part in a range of volunteering activities, from training counsellors and therapists on how to work with children been victims of human trafficking and sexual abuse, to supporting the setting up of free-of-charge mental health clinics for people at risk of suicide and living in remote mountainous areas of the Himalayas.

But after a brutal pandemic and the recent economic and social challenges experienced in the UK and beyond, our small NGO is struggling to keep its head above water.

Every minute, somewhere in the world, 1 person ends their own life.

That is 80 people every hour, 1,926 every day, 700,000 every year. Of these, 77% live in a low- and middle-income country like Nepal, and for most, there is no help in sight.

On this very special birthday and with Christmas just around the corner, I am asking my friends, family and colleagues to support my work with Jaya and to join me on a journey to improve the lives of some of the world’s most vulnerable communities.

By the time you finish reading this message, another person will have ended their life.

We can’t sort everything in the world, but we can start from somewhere.

Please donate now, share my justgiving page with others, and spread the word.

No matter how much you can give, you will be helping our organisation to survive these turbulent times. Above all, you will be enabling conversations that will change someone’s life forever.

Thank you, Muito Obrigada and Merry Christmas!

Tereza x