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Dr. Jegan is my uncle and one of my heroes. The NY Times recently wrote an article that highlighted his work as a government psychiatrist helping people with mental illness in war-torn Killinochchi, Sri Lanka.
My uncle has dedicated his life to helping those suffering from mental illness, and has helped Sri Lankans from all walks of life but focusing on the most vulnerable, going beyond the typical "medical model".
The long & brutal civil war has affected millions of Sri Lankans and the diaspora, including my family. Although, some of my family perished in the war, my parents left their beautiful paradise island in search of peace & safety in the early 1980s to Canada, a simultaneously warm and cold land, where I was lucky enough to be born and live among some of the most kind, friendly and generous people on the planet.
Dr. Jegan, who also had ample opportunity to rebuild elsewhere, has struggled tirelessly to focus on mental health issues in rural areas, and always felt this was his calling - an immense sacrifice for a highly trained doctor, whose resilience and compassion never cease to amaze me.
I met Dr. Jegan for the first time in 2013 after the war, when I felt it was time to visit Sri Lanka and my bullet-ridden ancestral home after years of personal internal struggle about this. During my trip there, he invited me to join him and his team on routine patient visits to rural villages just outside Colombo and I also accompanied him to a training session at the Nurses College in Jaffna in what should have been my hometown, if Montreal had not been a safe harbour for my folks. My experience helping him with his incredible work was both emotional & heart breaking but overall inspiring.
The path to healing from issues brought on from the war will be long and difficult for most, but Dr. Jegan is solely focused on mental health issues related to the war. For example, 75% of people with mental illness registered in Killinochchi don't sleep in beds. There are many reasons for this, and some are outlined below:
1. Poverty - Unfortunately, the war and loss of life have made it very difficult to rebuild and any money generally goes towards basic survival.
2. Discrimination - Unfortunately, family members of people with mental illness don't "justify" spending money on a "mad" person, as there is erroneously a strong stigma and shame associated with mental illness.
3. Habit - Many of his patients have always slept on the floor in public places or without having any permanent housing.
My mission (and possibly yours too, should you choose to accept it!) is to help raise money to provide a comfortable place for his patients to rest. A single mattress & rubber sheet (for sanitary reasons) totals only about $50. The rubber sheet alone is about $10, but any amount you can spare is appreciated.
I humbly ask you to please consider donating to this cause. I would love nothing more than to see a huge smile on my uncle's face and for him to know that his work on a tiny island in the Indian Ocean, is appreciated by so many around the world.
All donations will be sent to the Patient Welfare Society of District General Hospital Kilinochchi.
Thank you friends, family, colleagues, acquaintances and anyone who has somehow found this page and took the time to read this. Even if you are unable to donate, just reading this has raised awareness for the issue and please share this with your network.
Positive vibes to you and yours. Peace.
Original NY Times Article written by Mujib Mashal and all photos by Adam Dean
Sincerely,
Nilusha
My uncle has dedicated his life to helping those suffering from mental illness, and has helped Sri Lankans from all walks of life but focusing on the most vulnerable, going beyond the typical "medical model".
The long & brutal civil war has affected millions of Sri Lankans and the diaspora, including my family. Although, some of my family perished in the war, my parents left their beautiful paradise island in search of peace & safety in the early 1980s to Canada, a simultaneously warm and cold land, where I was lucky enough to be born and live among some of the most kind, friendly and generous people on the planet.
Dr. Jegan, who also had ample opportunity to rebuild elsewhere, has struggled tirelessly to focus on mental health issues in rural areas, and always felt this was his calling - an immense sacrifice for a highly trained doctor, whose resilience and compassion never cease to amaze me.
I met Dr. Jegan for the first time in 2013 after the war, when I felt it was time to visit Sri Lanka and my bullet-ridden ancestral home after years of personal internal struggle about this. During my trip there, he invited me to join him and his team on routine patient visits to rural villages just outside Colombo and I also accompanied him to a training session at the Nurses College in Jaffna in what should have been my hometown, if Montreal had not been a safe harbour for my folks. My experience helping him with his incredible work was both emotional & heart breaking but overall inspiring.
The path to healing from issues brought on from the war will be long and difficult for most, but Dr. Jegan is solely focused on mental health issues related to the war. For example, 75% of people with mental illness registered in Killinochchi don't sleep in beds. There are many reasons for this, and some are outlined below:
1. Poverty - Unfortunately, the war and loss of life have made it very difficult to rebuild and any money generally goes towards basic survival.
2. Discrimination - Unfortunately, family members of people with mental illness don't "justify" spending money on a "mad" person, as there is erroneously a strong stigma and shame associated with mental illness.
3. Habit - Many of his patients have always slept on the floor in public places or without having any permanent housing.
My mission (and possibly yours too, should you choose to accept it!) is to help raise money to provide a comfortable place for his patients to rest. A single mattress & rubber sheet (for sanitary reasons) totals only about $50. The rubber sheet alone is about $10, but any amount you can spare is appreciated.
I humbly ask you to please consider donating to this cause. I would love nothing more than to see a huge smile on my uncle's face and for him to know that his work on a tiny island in the Indian Ocean, is appreciated by so many around the world.
All donations will be sent to the Patient Welfare Society of District General Hospital Kilinochchi.
Thank you friends, family, colleagues, acquaintances and anyone who has somehow found this page and took the time to read this. Even if you are unable to donate, just reading this has raised awareness for the issue and please share this with your network.
Positive vibes to you and yours. Peace.
Original NY Times Article written by Mujib Mashal and all photos by Adam Dean
Sincerely,
Nilusha