On 10^th September, 2023, which marked ‘Suicide Prevention Day’, ZTFI (the Zoroastrian Trust Funds of India), the community’s leading non-profit org., committed to various community causes for over 14 years now, organised the first chapter of its new event, ‘Chai Pe Charcha’ – an evening dedicated to the mental wellbeing of community members.

Held at Sethna Agairy Hall (Tardeo) for everyone to interact and share their thoughts and feelings, the event was a huge success, attended by over 140 community members. Yassmin Mistry, the dynamic trailblazer helming the ZTFI, welcomed everyone and shared a little information about how ZTFI’s various activities and its main aim of uniting community members, by bridging the gap between people who can donate towards those in need. Every month, ZTFI supports over 300 individuals.

She gracefully and emphatically spoke on the importance of mental wellbeing and how it gets compromised in today’s fast-paced life, about how to overcome the challenge of reaching out for support and helping one’s own self. Yassmin then invited the group to share their thoughts on how they deal with the lows, and received various answers from the audience.

Yassmin spoke on the importance of valuing one’s life and living life to its full. She emphasized on asking for help when needed. “We readily go to get physical ailments treated by doctors, so why not ask for help for our Mental Well-Being? Life is full of ups and downs and sometimes the downs get too challenging to overcome on our own. That’s when you don’t give in to resignation and reach out for help. We all need to have Gratitude – for being alive and healthy! Don’t get overwhelmed with negative thoughts, be grateful for what you have and feel good about yourself. Voice your feelings, speak to someone!” she insisted.

A few activities and exercises were also conducted like deep-breathing and focused meditation. Mantras were shared by groups on how to remain happy and group activities were conducted teaching to ‘let go’. Guest speaker, Psychotherapist – Dr. Farookh Buchia, Chairman and Managing Trustee of The Vahishta Foundation, which promotes Mental Health Awareness and supports the underprivileged, said, “It’s alright to share how you’re feeling, you have a right to every feeling. But you don’t have a right to hurt yourself or someone else. Your feelings that keep you alive, so feel for yourself and for others. No feeling is bad.” He addressed a number of questions related to self-harm and dealing with the loss of close ones.

Mental Health Practitioner, Kaynaz Mehta, shared, “You are your own healer and you should ask for help, take help and help yourselves. You can be low and still be strong, you can be sad and still be strong. You are in charge of your own emotions and it is essential that you reach out for help.”

Kerfegar Eduljee, a prominent member of Team ZTFI added, “We all have been through ups and downs, we all have been through battles of life, we all have been scarred and we have been stitched and we all have come out of it. It’s about being resilient, it is mental tenacity, not just mental strength – tenacity and patience. If anyone has to heal, take your time, never hurry the healing process because you don’t owe it to anyone.”

Singer Naynaz Munsif regaled everyone with her melodious songs and got the audience to join in as well! Arnavaz Jal Mistry, Trustee – ZTFI, gave the closing note, saying how proud she was of her daughter Yassmin and Team ZTFI, for this meaningful and successful event.

The audience also shared glowing feedback for the event – they learnt much and also enjoyed participating in the programme, and relished the music, games and snacks. Kudos to Team ZTFI for having organised yet another thoughtful and extremely important event in ‘Chai Pe Charcha’. Here’s looking to another chapter soon!