It’s hard to find support for something that isn’t entirely recognized as a priority. In Pakistan, the “mental health gap” or, as our doctor friends call it, the MH-gap, is not something that gets a lot of attention. We wanted to start bridging this for a particularly vulnerable group of people – children in slum areas, who work and play and survive in tough cities.

So, Islamabad isn’t a tough city for a lot of people. But children on the streets are at risk of physical, mental and sexual abuse; exploitation by adults they work with, or by criminal gangs who want to work through them; and exhibit knowledge of substances like “chars” (marijuana) and “pawder” (cocaine) at an alarmingly young age. There are a range of risks that they are exposed to, and this affects how they think and behave. So we’re starting with Islamabad, which has some of the fastest growing slums in the country.

Within Islamabad, we’re starting our work with the Pehli Kiran School System. In schools across the spectrum, mental health issues and learning disabilities often go unnoticed. Our mission is to change that, and to do this, the first step is getting teachers on board.

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