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| TELL is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to providing world-class, effective support and counseling services to Japan’s international community as well as helping to address the country’s growing mental health care needs. (photo credits to Official Facebook page of TELL.) |
Hi guys!
I know it has been awhile again and I'm sorry for that but I've actually had a lot of different realizations over these past few weeks. I guess the time off school really gave me a chance to think about the content I want to put out on this blog and I've also had the chance to really look back and read through my previous blog posts and what I've realized is that almost everything I've posted in my blog is about me.
And I know that makes no sense since it is my blog and on some levels, it should be about me but with the fear of being deemed as too self-absorbed, I made the conscious decision to not let my blog be just about and because of that, I want my blog to be able to put information or help for those who might need it. I also want my blog to reflect on who I am at a much deeper level.
Since we are on that topic, one of things I'm deeply passionate about is helping other people. Now more than ever, I think. I've started volunteering on Hands On Tokyo last year and it's really been life changing but aside from that I'm also looking into donating on some charities. Now, most people think that donating means that it has to be huge amounts of money but it's not. It can be old clothes that you don't wear anymore or your old school books, etc. Fortunately, I am aware that I am not the only one who's interested about doing this so I want to be able to use my blog to share information regarding charities and/or causes that you might be interested in.
On that note, I've been coming up with ideas about how I can introduce different causes or charities on this blog that you can donate on if you're interested and like fate, I have stumbled upon an organization that has helped me truly when I personally needed it and now, they are going through some rough patch that I hope some of you can help them with.
Before anything else, let me tell you about them. TELL is a non-profit organization dedicated to helping, supporting and providing counselling services to the international community of Japan.
I, for myself, believe that having them present in today's world is important. There are a lot of foreigners migrating to Japan and some of them are not as ready as they think they are to actually adapt to the major changes of moving into a different country. I know this because I went through that phase, too. It was a really difficult and depressing time for me and I felt alone and isolated specially in school, in the mall or just literally everywhere. I moved here with my family roughly 6 years ago and to this day, I'm still struggling with all the changes. Crazy, right? 6 years and yet I still get culture shock!
Anyway, my point is that it's nice and reassuring to have someone (or in this case, a whole lot of people.) who can understand you and help you to actually get through all that anxiety especially when moving to a country that doesn't have English as one of their main languages.
TELL has been around for years. Even before me! They've been around since 1973. Imagine how much people they've already helped. In TELL's own words, "In the first eight months of TELL’s operation we answered just over 1,000 calls. By contrast in 2013—the year of our 40th anniversary—that number had risen almost seven fold. And of course the nature of those calls has changed significantly. In this Internet age there are far fewer “information calls” and many more demands on our volunteers to help people deal with depression, anxiety, and a host of other issues. Consequently our training program for volunteers has evolved accordingly."
TELL also is very up to date in informing and educating people about mental health care which I think is a huge problem in Japan because mental illnesses are heavily stigmatized in here. And as much as it pains me, it doesn't look like it's going to change in these coming years and that is exactly why we need to have dedicated organizations like TELL to help fight the stigma against mental health in one of the highest suicide rated country in the world.
Right now, TELL faces financial difficulties that puts the whole organization in jeopardy and they are asking for your help. There is lots of ways that you can extend your hand to them, first you can go this page for more information about money donations and you can also go to http://www.donatetotell.com/ to read real life inspiring stories about how TELL has helped people all over Japan. Secondly, read through this article pertaining to the help that TELL needs and also for more details about the Town Hall event that will be held at the Tokyo Union Church on April 4th (Wednesday).
Lastly, share this blog post or browse TELL's website and see for yourself why you should help save them like how they help save lots of people every day.
Anyway, my point is that it's nice and reassuring to have someone (or in this case, a whole lot of people.) who can understand you and help you to actually get through all that anxiety especially when moving to a country that doesn't have English as one of their main languages.
TELL has been around for years. Even before me! They've been around since 1973. Imagine how much people they've already helped. In TELL's own words, "In the first eight months of TELL’s operation we answered just over 1,000 calls. By contrast in 2013—the year of our 40th anniversary—that number had risen almost seven fold. And of course the nature of those calls has changed significantly. In this Internet age there are far fewer “information calls” and many more demands on our volunteers to help people deal with depression, anxiety, and a host of other issues. Consequently our training program for volunteers has evolved accordingly."
TELL also is very up to date in informing and educating people about mental health care which I think is a huge problem in Japan because mental illnesses are heavily stigmatized in here. And as much as it pains me, it doesn't look like it's going to change in these coming years and that is exactly why we need to have dedicated organizations like TELL to help fight the stigma against mental health in one of the highest suicide rated country in the world.
Right now, TELL faces financial difficulties that puts the whole organization in jeopardy and they are asking for your help. There is lots of ways that you can extend your hand to them, first you can go this page for more information about money donations and you can also go to http://www.donatetotell.com/ to read real life inspiring stories about how TELL has helped people all over Japan. Secondly, read through this article pertaining to the help that TELL needs and also for more details about the Town Hall event that will be held at the Tokyo Union Church on April 4th (Wednesday).
Lastly, share this blog post or browse TELL's website and see for yourself why you should help save them like how they help save lots of people every day.
"We will emerge from this a stronger and better organization. But we need your support so we can better support you, and those who live in the shade of anxiety." ーTELL Japan
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