SHILLONG: It was an emotional day at SAN-KER on Saturday as the pioneering institution for the mentally ill opened its daycare centre a few days before its 24th anniversary.
The Day Care Centre received a sanction of Rs 28 lakh from the Government of Meghalaya for its construction and Chief Minister Mukul Sangma officially opened the building accompanied by his wife and MLA Dikkanchi D Shira, Home Minister Roshan Warjri and Mawlai MLA Embhah Syiemlieh.
“We believe we are only agents of change,” Dr Sandi Syiem, founder of SAN-KER, said. “We can’t effect the change ourselves. The change that we see is something that is divine.”
He recounted the history of the institution, which started in converted cowsheds and has now grown to include inpatient and outpatient departments and beds for 90 patients.
With spending on mental health in the country averaging two percent of the healthcare budget, he described the situation as “ridiculous” given that up to seven percent of the population suffer from a mental disorder. Depression, he said, is the fourth most common cause of disability and will move to second by 2020. “One in five children under 18 in the world suffer from some mental illness.”
A short skit was performed by some of the daycare patients on the Khasi story of the rivers Iew and Ngot and Sangma, who also saw some of the handicrafts that the patients produce, said that he was “moved by all that I have seen. So many beautiful things are being done by the patients thanks to the commitment of the staff and their motivation and support.”
He also recognised that more needs to be done for the mentally ill.
“The lack of knowledge of these facilities causes many lives to be lost. Damage is also done to the family, causing them mental agony,” he said.
SAN-KER is partnering with Bethany Society and MLCU to work in rural areas and Sangma added that the government will provide the infrastructure in rural areas if the service is taken on by the partners. He also proposed to provide funds for SAN-KER to set up a full-fledged bakery, which the patients would work in.
Long a bone of contention for Dr Syiem has been the lack of mental health coverage under the Meghalaya Health Insurance Scheme, but Sangma said that provisions should be made under the MHIS for mental illness.