Volunteering in Indonesia - Mental Health Placement

Maariyah Naseem Start Date: Apr 29, 2017 - End Date: Aug 28, 2017
  • Educational/Research Trip
  • TEFL/Teach Abroad
  • Volunteer Trip
  • Indonesia

My Travel Story

by: Maariyah Naseem Start Date: Apr 29, 2017 - End Date: Aug 28, 2017
  • Educational/Research Trip
  • TEFL/Teach Abroad
  • Volunteer Trip
Hi, my name is Maariyah, I am currently a third year psychology student and have been accepted to join other students/graduates to volunteer in Indonesia. 

SLV is a voluntary organisation which started in 2010, it is the brainchild of Lucy Nightingale, a psychology graduate from the University of Manchester and Yasintha Rathnayake, a youth worker in Sri Lanka. SLV runs projects to help the local community while simultaneously helping students and graduates to gain valuable experience in a totally different culture.

Mental health is something very personal to me and, in Indonesia they do not have the help available to them that The Western World does. In Bali alone, there is only one psychiatric facility whereby people can gain professional help. So, I’ll be loaning my skills to this organisation and am really looking forward to getting stuck in to a new culture. I’m fundraising, as I’ll be joining SLV in Indonesia for 4 weeks from September to October on the mental health placement. 

For some parts of the volunteering, I will be working in a clinical setting; an Indonesian psychatric hospital, where I will be providing support to individuals who suffer with mental health issues. I’ll be running activities for patients, who are all at different levels of recovery, to best suit their needs. 

In addition to these projects I’ll also be working with individuals with special needs and teaching English to children and to young people on vocational courses, allowing them to gain better career prospects and confidence in themselves. I’ll be using my skills to work with those who may be marginalized in Indonesian society. I’ll be living with other volunteers and with a Balinese family as well. 

For each week that I am in Indonesia, I will be participating in mental health workshops which are psychologically based, in order to gain a detailed insight into global approaches to mental health. This will enable me to see where I best fit in to help in the future, and where. 

For those of you who donate I’ll let you follow my journey in Indonesia through social media, show you my utmost gratitude and share any delicious recipes I come across.  Thank you in advance for your generosity and support.

Remember, 'there is no health without mental health' - World Health Organisation.
  • Indonesia