Seela, a 39-year-old woman, works as farmer with her family consisting of husband and four children. They used to be a happy family until her husband returned from migrant work. He had been away for many years and Seela noticed a change in his behaviour.
The husband would wander around the villages, neglect his responsibilities, and even mistreat his family members. This caused Seela to worry about her husband’s behaviour and she didn’t know how to handle the situation. Her young children were also affected, and she didn’t know how to support them either. Eventually, community members noticed her husband’s behaviour too, but the husband’s health continued deteriorating. Seela felt helpless and didn’t know what to do. Despite performing numerous religious rituals and seeking help from traditional healers, nothing seemed to work, and Seela became disappointed and depressed herself.
One day, the psychosocial worker of PRABARDHAN project by CMC-Nepal, funded by Felm, came to Seela’s area, and became the formation of a self-help group for migrant worker families in her community. She received information, and decided to seek mental health treatment services for her husband in a local health facility where there was a trained health worker, supported by the same mental health project.
Seela received counselling and support from the mental health worker who helped her understand her husband’s condition and provided them with strategies on how to cope with the situation. After the medication and counselling service at health facility, Seela was able to support her husband and her children better. She also learned how to take care of her own mental health.
Currently, she is leading a self-help group in Salyan district. The group has also supported her with a financial aid of NRs. 20,000/- for livelihood support from revolving fund supported by the project, and the family has been able to purchase some goats to support their livelihood.
Overall, the mental health services provided by CMC-Nepal have helped Seela and her family cope with the challenging times: “Happiness has returned to my family after 5 years”, she shares.