1 July 2024

We’re excited to introduce our newest member to the LLI network; Kaan Pete Roi (KPR). As Bangladesh’s first and only emotional support and suicide prevention helpline, KPR provides an anonymous, confidential support helpline, available 7 days a week for 12 hours a day, staffed by trained volunteers. Their mission is to alleviate feelings of despair, isolation and distress, through compassionate, open-minded listening.

Kaan Pete Roi provides a safe space through its helpline, where counsellors offer non-judgemental support to callers experiencing emotional crises. 

In Bangladesh, “it is difficult to access accurate data due to stigma and misreporting, the suicide rate is thought to be high, and almost every family has personal experience with someone who has attempted or died by suicide” explains KPR’s Founder and Director, Yeshim Iqbal.

Many of their volunteers are university students, and Yeshim acknowledges how difficult this period can be; “university can be a particularly challenging time – juggling academic pressures and new relationships in addition to completely new environments for many. Unfortunately, it is altogether too common for university students to attempt to take their lives. Each of these suicides feel like a friend for our volunteers, who are very much part of the same community.”

To help with pressures like this within their own community, Kaan Pete Roi also runs skill-building workshops and events at academic institutions, workplaces and festivals to foster understanding of mental health, share coping strategies, and build resilience.  Research initiatives help Kaan Pete Roi stay informed and adapt to evolving mental health needs in their community, while their collaborations with international networks help to amplify their impact and reach.

“Membership into LifeLine International is a huge step for us – we’ve been working in Bangladesh for over a decade now, but our resources and relationships have mostly been domestic. We’re most looking forward to learning from the experiences of other centres across the world – we face many challenges in what we do, which are unlikely to be unique – and we’re excited to see how others have faced them in the past. It’s good to not be alone” explains Yeshim.

Together, let’s support Kaan Pete Roi’s vital work and break down barriers around mental health. For more information please visit Kaan Pete Roi’s website here : Kaan Pete Roi-Bangladesh’s first and only emotional support and suicide prevention helpline

#KaanPeteRoi #MentalHealthMatters