Light a lantern that lights a life a sprited soul

MANILA, Philippines - There are countless Christmas trees being lit around the country this month.

The symbol of lighting up a tree is one of bringing forth joy and cheer and all other positive things that the LIGHT represents: health, prosperity, openness, abundance. It is, after all, the season of cheer! An 18-foot spiral Christmas tree adorned by tiny lights and 600 capiz lanterns shines brightly at the atrium of Greenbelt 5 in Makati City. This is a joint commitment of the Natasha Goulbourn Foundation in partnership with the Ayala Malls as they “Light up a Life.”

Their goal: to drumbeat awareness about depression and move people to donate a lantern to this tree worth P500 each to bring to light a sad truth. Aside from all the outward merrymaking, there are the heart-wrenching stories of families separated by distance because parents have to go abroad to earn a living. Every year, thousands of children are left behind and separated from their parents. The separation results in the breaking up and disruption of the family structure that leads to dysfunctional coping on both sides.    

The Natasha Goulbourn Foundation (NGF) has embraced the task of teaching people about depression as a medical condition. Their fundraising effort this Christmas is specifically focused on raising awareness for depression and suicide prevention especially to the children of disadvantaged OFWs. The problems never seem to end: drop outs from school, early pregnancies, drug abuse are prevalent as the children try to cope with their emptiness and longings. NGF focuses its programs and services to communities with the highest concentration of disadvantaged families of OFWs through public lectures and seminars specific to preventing depression, basic counseling workshops for church and community leaders and counseling services. Key to what NGF is doing is also to break the stigma of depression as being a disease and that it is treatable and preventable.

Christmas tree lighting symbolizes good health, prosperity, openness, abundance.

Depression is a common mental issue because so many people can actually be called depressed based on symptoms such as: low mood or “down” feeling, lack of appetite or eating disorder, fatigue and loss of energy and restlessness, intense anxiety, agitation and inner tension; and worst, withdrawal from normal company of family, friends and co-workers. The 2002 World Health Organization study (I wonder if eight years have made statistics change dramatically) has shown that the Philippines had the highest incidence of depression in all of Southeast Asia with 4.5 million cases recorded. Three percent of Filipinos are clinically diagnosed as depressed. Only a fraction of this will seek help while majority will suffer in silence, not knowing what is wrong with them.

Depression can be treated and it can be cured. In this advocacy work that the NGF and all its partners push forward, there is the clear message that information must be disseminated and the network of doctors, psychiatrists, therapies and other healing modalities be shared with many. A healthy balance diet, supportive community network, mental healthcare services, religious and spiritual values that can be taught or shared, crisis hotlines for help — all these are available for depressed or suicidal people to change their lives. The NGF programs are aligned with the Department of National Health Center for Disease Prevention and Control, the Ugnayan at Tulong Para sa Maralitang Pamilya (UGAT Foundation), Center for Family Ministry (CEFAM), Crisis Line (In Touch Community), Dial-a-Friend (Foundation for Adolescent Development) among others.

The point is, depression hits all ages and all societal levels, rich or poor. Anyone can be depressed, and not just OFWs! In 2011, NGF, in partnership with ECHOyoga, will offer alternative therapies that can help people combat or even prevent depression. Starting January, ECHOyoga will be offering workshops on Yoga Therapy for Depression with the proceeds going to the NGF’s programs.

If you know people who are depressed, or if you think you checked “yes” to all the symptoms — call the NGF for help, light a lantern, come attend a yoga therapy workshop. The mental state you save may be your own!

There are many ways to donate to the NGF locally, as well as from abroad through the Ayala Foundation. NGF is a SEC-registered non-profit organization and is certified by the Philippine Council for NGO certification. All donations are issued official receipts; certificates of donation are issued upon request. You may also contact the NGF office at (632) 897-2217 or (632) 586-5599.

(For ECHOyoga’s fundraising partnership with NGF through Yoga Therapy for Depression workshops starting January 2011, check out www.echoyoga.echostore.ph for schedules.)