Interviewed by Akhlaqur Rahman Sachee, Team MBR

Moner Bondhu is a mental healthcare and well-being startup in Bangladesh. Its mission is to make professional counselling accessible and affordable for everyone. With the support of its counsellors, experts, psychologists, psychiatrists, and mental health workers, the organisation has impacted more than four million lives, working towards SDGs 3, 5, and 10. Moner Bondhu has provided professional counselling services (in person, online, and via mobile app) to more than 75,000 individuals and soft skill training to more than twelve hundred thousand people. The organisation firmly encourages and supports women’s empowerment. Moner Bondhu has also received investment from Startup Bangladesh Limited, the first venture capital company of the Government of Bangladesh. Team MBR was in a conversation with Ms. Tawhida Shiropa, Founder and CEO, Moner Bondhu, to learn about her inspirations and vision behind Moner Bondhu.

Akhlaqur Rahman Sachee: Moner Bondhu was started in 2016, and since then, it has been a platform for mental healthcare and well-being. What were your motivations behind taking this initiative?

Tawhida Shiropa: I have seen depression grasping people’s lives very closely, and I have always felt that a healthy mind brings all the things in life into alignment. I myself came up with the idea of this startup when I observed that this particular area of nurturing mental health is untapped and unnoticed by all. I wanted to make my surroundings and society aware of the importance of mental health and how we can take care of it. After seeing my mother suffer from severe depression and going through the experience as a family, I assembled a team of empathetic individuals who dearly believed in the need for mental healthcare in Bangladesh. My experience says that anyone who reaches and experiences proper professional mental healthcare services has managed to overcome their issues, just like my mother. My mother’s sufferings are not uncommon. According to the National Institute of Mental Health and Hospital, almost 20 million people in Bangladesh are suffering from mental health issues. According to their survey, in Dhaka, which is the capital city of Bangladesh, around 71% of people are suffering from depression. Mental health is one of the most neglected issues in Bangladesh, where people ignore mental illness and consequently suffer the effects of depression, stress, and trauma. And, for many who do consider mental health to be an important issue, poor mental health care services, societal taboos, and a lack of awareness have made professional mental health care services inaccessible to them. Hence, my main objective was to create a platform that eliminates any kind of fear or obstacle that comes with addressing mental health issues. It feels proud to be known as a platform that has provided services to almost 75,000 individuals. The number of people availing of our services is increasing day by day due to the quality of the services that we provide and the fact that they are affordable for everyone.

Akhlaqur Rahman Sachee: Even in the 21st century, there are still taboos in Bangladesh about mental healthcare. What can be done to change the perception of mental healthcare?

Tawhida Shiropa: Still, there are a lot of stigmas, feelings of shame, lack of awareness, and societal taboos about mental healthcare in Bangladesh. Because of these reasons, many people do not feel comfortable opening up their minds to go for professional counselling. In such a crisis, we are offering confidential, non[1]judgmental, and highly ethical one-stop services that are also easily accessible. Moner Bondhu is dedicated to offering professional mental healthcare and well[1]being services to millions, addressing such stigmas and crises, and supporting them. We are providing awareness sessions in various sectors of our country where the least possible thing that needs to be done is to create awareness about mental health well-being and its importance of it. That is why we focus on developing and promoting content in Bangla to make more people aware, break the stigma groups, work with them closely, and bring changes even in rural lives. Our contents are available on all of our social media platforms so that more people can reach us, learn more about mental wellness, and receive self-awareness. We have done and still do advocacy to bring about changes among people and create awareness about mental health in Dhaka and also outside of Dhaka.

Akhlaqur Rahman Sachee: According to a recent Dhaka Tribune report, 45 students committed suicide per month on average in Bangladesh in 2022. What factors, in your opinion, contribute to this undesirable scenario? How is Moner Bondhu addressing this issue?

Tawhida Shiropa: Youths and adolescents are having a hard time accommodating to the new normal, along with many challenges. It has been reported that, on average, 45 suicides occur among students each month. This is due to the education system, the personal problems that teenagers face, and all sorts of societal issues that take place in everyday life. Young people who used to earn their pocket money with tuition, part-time jobs, small businesses, or stores were forced to quit and stay at home. Social distancing, one of the key steps to controlling the spread of the virus, impacted negatively among young people. The regular interactions with friends, teachers, mentors, and supervisors were stopped. These critical situations have caused a series of interconnected mental health issues, such as screen addiction, fear, depression, frustration, intensified stress, lack of concentration, sleeping disorders, anxiety, panic attacks, paranoia, and the risk of self-harm. As a mental health service provider, we aim to keep the youths stress-free and provide a joyful life that will help them focus on their self-care and positive lifestyle. I also want to add that the internet has a vital role to play here. Since the youth have easy access to the internet, if we want, we can use it positively and create awareness through technology. Moner Bondhu has come forward to bring sustainable changes in society by providing mental healthcare services with attractive offers, especially for students. Not just that, we have worked together across Bangladesh with various schools, colleges, and universities to sensitise through awareness. We follow the national suicide prevention strategy according to WHO guidelines. If our client has any intention of self-harm or suicide, we immediately ask them to fill out the Contact Form to Prevent Suicidal Risk. Also, as per the instructions from the National Institute of Mental Health and Hospital, if we find any client or anyone trying to commit suicide or self-harm, we immediately call 999 to prevent the suicide or find the designated person to support them.

Akhlaqur Rahman Sachee: During the COVID-19 pandemic, a large number of people experienced stress, anxiety, and depression. Did Moner Bondhu experience any spike in requests for its services during that period? How did Moner Bondhu respond to this situation?

Tawhida Shiropa: Even though the pandemic is over, people still have a hard time getting used to the new normal while also dealing with other problems. During the COVID-19 pandemic, a huge number of people suffered a series of mental health crises. Thousands of people reached out to Moner Bondhu via Facebook messaging to express the tremendous traumas and panicked situations that they were dealing with. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Moner Bondhu provided free 24/7 video and tele counselling. From March 2020 to December 2020, we served over 18,000 calls from 52 districts in Bangladesh and 10 different countries. We have created the first-ever free online capacity-building certification course in Bangla on psychosocial health and behavioural skills. This was done with the support of UNDP under the COVID-19 Crisis Response Project, where Moner Bondhu was the implementing partner.

During the pandemic, people struggled to cope with the fear of the coronavirus. They also feared that they would carry the coronavirus back to their home and spread it to their family members. In the beginning, they felt too uncomfortable to open up and discuss their distress. During that time, people came across Moner Bondhu on Facebook. Moner Bondhu developed many materials, tools, and techniques to reduce the stress caused by the pandemic.

We arranged an international mental health conference in 2021. We received a good number of messages thanking us deeply from their hearts. We believe that after taking the counselling services from Moner Bondhu, many people slept soundly. Our helpline received a huge number of calls from clients thanking us. Because of our tremendous contribution during the COVID-19 pandemic, Moner Bondhu was rewarded with honours and prestigious acknowledgements. I was also recognised as a “COVID-19 Hero” in 2020.

Akhlaqur Rahman Sachee: How can someone avail of the services offered by Moner Bondhu? Would you kindly enlighten us about the ways in which the diversified services of Moner Bondhu are offered?

Tawhida Shiropa: Moner Bondhu feels privileged to be able to reach every corner of the country and provide services and bring changes to people’s lives. Our success lies in being available 24/7 for our clients at their convenience through our helpline number and taking appointments via our mobile app, website, LinkedIn, Instagram, and Facebook. Our official social media pages and 24/7 helpline are attended by our first responders, who are also enriched with psychosocial educational backgrounds. People can also avail of our services in person by visiting our office premises. To date, we have provided services to almost 75,000 individuals. The number of people availing of our services is increasing day by day due to the quality of the services that we provide and their affordability.

With a committed core psychosocial team, Moner Bondhu provides in-person sessions, online one-to-one sessions, group counselling sessions, video and tele counselling sessions, workshops, and training. Moner Bondhu also produces many tools, contents, and awareness-building campaigns. In doing all these, we established community engagement, commitment, and positive pressure for change and affirmative impact. Our services are being recognised nationally and internationally. We have had an impact on 4 million people, both nationally and internationally. Moner Bondhu collects feedback, followed by professional counselling sessions. We were able to collect feedback from 85% of our clients through satisfaction surveys. This is a great achievement for us, where almost 100% of the clients who took psychosocial counselling services from Moner Bondhu expressed their high satisfaction with the quality of the counselling they received. Out of them, 49.25% said that the services were excellent and outstanding and that they were highly satisfied with them. We are proud to say that we are receiving abundant calls, texts, and appointments soon after launching our mobile app, which took place at the beginning of this year.

Akhlaqur Rahman Sachee: Counsellors are required to have relevant qualifications and expertise in this field. How does Moner Bondhu ensure the uncompromised professionalism and quality of its services?

Tawhida Shiropa: Moner Bondhu is built with an assembled team of empathetic individuals who dearly believe in the need for mental healthcare in Bangladesh. With a committed and dynamic core team of 55 people and more than 100 counsellors, mental health experts, advocates, psychologists, and psychiatrists, the mission of Moner Bondhu is to make professional counselling accessible, affordable, and convenient. Moner Bondhu’s counsellors, psychologists, and psychiatrists are strongly guided by our ethical code of conduct and UN-guided WEP’s principles, and they are constantly monitored by the Moner Bondhu managerial team for their successful accomplishments. Our startup is dedicated to working for mental healthcare promotion in Bangladesh in different areas. Our team consists of psychosocial counsellors who have expertise in this field. All of our recruited counsellors have educational qualifications in the field of psychology, and they also have firm professional backgrounds. They have acquired their graduation, post-graduation, and also higher studies in psychology. They have also attended various training and received supervision from the best advisors, experts, and supervisors all over the world. As we promise professionalism and confidentiality, we religiously maintain the practice of it by ensuring awareness within the premises and also outside of them. Mental health is an inseparable component and is strongly connected with physical health. Moner Bondhu has a referral system where, if necessary, our counsellors can connect the clients to other health providers. We also work with some hospitals and rehabilitation centres for our clients’ betterment and holistic services, if needed.

Akhlaqur Rahman Sachee: In January 2023, Moner Bondhu officially launched its app for smartphones. How useful is this app going to be for those looking for the services offered by Moner Bondhu?

Tawhida Shiropa: To date, more than 8,600 people have downloaded our app, and we have over 5,500 active users who regularly use our app not just for booking appointments but also to read and learn more about mental health, wellness and self-care. We have options like bedtime stories, music, tips and tricks, and meditations that meet the various purposes of the users. It feels good to see that a huge number of users are actually giving importance to their mental health and well-being. While designing the app, we made sure we highly maintained data and information confidentiality, just like we do in general while dealing with various clients on a day-to-day basis. We always keep in mind that we deal with one of the most sensitive issues in our society, which is mental health and well-being. People come to us to seek help with their most confidential issues. We make sure we respect and maintain that in order to create brand loyalty.

Akhlaqur Rahman Sachee: There are surely many aspiring women who want to follow in your footsteps. What suggestions do you have for those wanting to pursue their career in the field in which you operate your business?

Tawhida Shiropa: Having the aim of helping the ones who are most in need of any sort of mental health support should be one thing that has to be considered in the very first place. Considering the main goal, which is to create leadership qualities, resilience, and self-acceptance among the youths to become change agents in their community, it is very crucial to have strong self-esteem and be vocal to spread the wings and let everyone know how to bring the changes. In the very first place, we need to love ourselves. We cannot pour from an empty cup. In order to offer help to others, we first need to help ourselves to be happy, healthy, and content with ourselves. Self-love is the most vital kind of love that every woman should develop personally and professionally. I would personally suggest everyone spread the word and offer help to the community to build awareness of psychosocial needs and women’s empowerment.