SLV. Global Sri Lanka Mental Health Placement

Rosemary Hummerstone Start Date: Oct 8, 2017 - End Date: Jul 20, 2018
  • Sri Lanka

My Travel Story

by: Rosemary Hummerstone Start Date: Oct 8, 2017 - End Date: Jul 20, 2018
SLV. Global is a graduate led project which was founded in 2010. A group of psychology students travelled to Sri Lanka, where there is limited resources and facilities for mental health. Currently, there are only five psychologists in the whole of Sri Lanka, which instantly goes to show how insufficient the services are.

I have been offered an astonishing, once in a lifetime opportunity to volunteer for five weeks in Sri Lanka on the Level One Mental Health Placement. This will provide me with experience which will not only help my career and achieve my dream goal, but also hopefully make a positive impact on the wider community.

Whilst volunteering in Sri Lanka, I will be taking part in a variety of activities. Once a week, I will be working in a Psychiatric Unit and a Mental Health Care Home, where I will be expected to be creative and really think about how I could best help the patients who are at varying stages of their recovery. Also, I will be teaching English to the wider community, from a really young age to people over forty, which boosts their confidence as English is a commodity in Sri Lanka. Additionally, I will be working in schools providing extracurricular activities and being a role model for the children who often suffer from poverty. Lastly, alongside the clinical setting, I will be involved in special needs work as some inpatients suffer from overlapping additional needs.

Sri Lanka is a beautiful country, but that is just the tip of the iceberg. Underneath lies the stigma of mental health, subsequently leading to the restricted resources. I want to spread awareness of global mental health and make an impact in Sri Lanka. 

I have uploaded videos which describe what the services are like in Sri Lanka, what I will be getting up to on a day to day basis, and finally, a video showing the beautiful country where I will be volunteering.

Any donation will be much appreciated. Thank you.
  • Sri Lanka