Not Alone

The third edition of ‘Not alone’ is all set to commence this month, organised by the Whispers of Serenity. The team of professionals will be at various wilayats to have a conversation and reach out with various topics on mental health.

Under the campaign, sessions would be conducted at various venues ranging from forts, beaches, university campuses, Omani Women Association branches and malls. ‘Not Alone’ is a campaign that has creativity and closeness.

“It is not part of any study; we do it to get closer to people and talk about mental health. So this is our main goal. Through this campaign, we also go to forts, and we get to see places in this beautiful Sultanate of Oman. In a way, this drive has tourism potential as well, and when we move around, we document everything during our previous visits.

On the other hand, what people share is kept with complete confidentiality. The main reason the campaign is in November is that it is the month of National Day.

“The sense of belonging is essential for every human being. And if you don’t have a sense of belonging, then quite often, it is also associated with poor mental health. Also, people who live with us in the Sultanate of Oman will be part of this campaign because we believe we have people from diverse countries with us, which also makes the Not Alone campaign a unique experience. ‘Not Alone’ is with everyone who lives on this land. And that is what the Sultanate of Oman is known for - its friendliness. We are also hoping that when other countries see us, they will follow suit,” explained HH Sayyida Basma al Said, founder of the ‘Not Alone’ campaign and Whispers of Serenity.

They have already received queries from Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Jordan and London. The journey to each wilayat will occur every two weeks.

mental health

HH Sayyida Thagreed al Said, the founder of Learn and Inspire and member of the ‘Not Alone’ team, said, “We are reaching out to people with creative ideas. We hope once we cover the Sultanate of Oman, we will move on to the Gulf countries, Arab countries and then the world. We speak heart-to-heart with people. We make sure we are not lecturing; instead, it is dealt with in a way where people with different educational levels feel connected. The relationship between belonging and mental health is a very important need to be fulfilled after meeting physiological needs and the sense of security; then, it is the sense of belonging. The feeling of being related to the country and wanting to give back to the society hold a lot of value.”

The campaign will start with the first session in Muttrah. In this edition, the ‘Not Alone’ campaign will visit Ibra, Ibri, Al Rustaq, Nakhl, Samayil, Al Jabal al Akhdhar and Duqm.

“Each speaker will talk about different topics, and then the audience will interact, followed by discussion. So it is conducted in a chilled-out atmosphere but is very informative. What has been fascinating is that wherever we went in the past, the people would tell us what they could do for us.”

@lakshmioman