Befrienders (Mauritius) is an NGO founded in 1995 and is engaged in Developing Volunteer Action to Prevent Suicide.  We are affiliated to and work in close collaboration with Befrienders Worldwide and Samaritans UK. We operate from 09h00 to 21h00 daily 7 days a week. 

Our Vision is to reach out to the population in order to decrease the alarming increase in the number of suicide cases in Mauritius.

OBJECTIVES

• To reduce the number of suicides or attempted suicides.
• Make people have more resilience to tackle life’s problems
• To sensitise the population at large about the causes, signs and symptoms of suicides.
• To eliminate the taboo surrounding suicide issues, depression and mental problems at large
• To inform the population that Befrienders exists and they can contact us when they feel cornered and have no one to confide in
• To bring emotional support and accompany people in distress.
• To those who can’t afford a private Psychologist or who don’t go to Public hospitals for various reasons

• To diminish the feeling of solitude and abandonment which people in such places feel.
  
  

OUR SERVICES/ACTIVITIES

• Awareness Sessions, Talks & information on Suicide Prevention

• Active Listening, Counselling by phone & Face to Face Sessions

• Visits to bring Emotional Support and Counselling in places where people are prone to suffer from emotional distress, such as prisons, colleges,Homes,institutions and Company.

• Bringing quality of life to solitary and abandoned persons.

  Make them feel that they are not alone

• More comfort and acceptation of their situation. Our visits are expected & this brings hope and motivation to live.

PROJECTS

• Running cost of our office to main our services, which amounts to an average of  Rs 30,000 per month (utilities, rent and maintenance).  
• Transport expenses and stipends for our Resource Persons for night shift services & when doing Awareness sessions and talks in Colleges, Institutions and other various places where our services are requested. Visits to places where persons have attempted suicide and need counselling. These services are free and Befrienders bears all the costs. Estimate : Rs 10,000 per month.
• Refresher Courses, & Capacity Building of Members. Rs 10,000
• A 30 hours Training Sessions scheduled on 10 days, for Potential Volunteers who are expected to enhance our services and bring more professional help to persons in distress and all those who appeal to us.   
• Expenses incurred: Location of Hall, fees for Resource Persons, stationery and other sundry expenses. Cost: Rs 50,000
• Financial means to enable Befrienders to attach the services of Professionals and Resource Persons in order to offer a better service to the public.
• An Overhead projector.  Rs 15,000

Amount requested: Rs 500,000

Time frame: September 2020 – March 2021

Justification:

Depression has always been a major cause of stress and suicide, especially in our present time after the Covid 19 pandemic.

Your donations will help us maintain our activities in offering an Active Listening and Counselling to all those who can’t afford the services of a Psychologist as our services are FREE OF CHARGE. We consider our mission as complementary to the health sector.

"Se retrouver en détresse avec un mur devant soi peut arriver à n’importe qui. Et chacun aimerait bien avoir quelqu’un en qui se confier en toute confidentialité et sans jugement et ne pas se sentir seul"

Goal breakdown:

Our project is a holistic one with sub sections. Be assured that any amount received can and will be used to realise one of our goals as set out above.

Thank You. Your contribution will help save a life.