Girls for Girls Club – Mental Wellbeing for Girls

This week, the TISB Girls for Girls club, led by Camelia from Grade 11, has been busy organising and carrying out a mental wellbeing session with two guest speakers: Dr. Prasanna CS and Ms Raina Jane D’Mello. Although targeting young people, the session was not limited to adolescents alone, due to the important and life-long significance of mental wellbeing. We reached out to Camelia to learn more about the session, the overall purpose of the Girls for Girls club and plans for the future.  

One of our visions for the Girls for Girls club is to create a space where teenagers can freely talk about their mental health – Camelia, Grade 11  

The grounds that the Girls for Girls club stands on is to create a space where young people can freely talk about their experiences and mental health without being judged or topics being stigmatised. “During this pandemic, as school is online, we have decided to start with an online session by two mental health professionals as a part of this initiative”, explains Camelia, who, along with her team members, were pleased to have found Dr Prasanna CS and Ms Raina Jane D’Mello to join them. Being really good practitioners in child and adolescent psychiatry in Bangalore, the speakers offered a great contribution to the webinar.  

The general purpose of the Girls for Girls club is to empower girls through a threefold approach: taking care of mental health, educating minors in orphanages about sexual abuse, and to raise funds to provide the basic needs and rights for the minors in orphanages. Girls for Girls are also passionate about exploring how art and creativity may help wellbeing. “We would like to have a session regarding the relation between mental health and music”, says Camelia, whose team is looking at organising fund-raising events, selling products from women-led small businesses, where profits going to orphanages. “In this way we can help the women with their product selling and also the orphanages with their basic needs”, explains Camelia, adding that there is a clothing drive in the plans. 

The Girls for Girls club is open and welcomes contributions and ideas from all over the school. Creating a sustainable platform is at the heart of the club, offering opportunities for juniors to take over efforts after current leadership graduates and moves on. “Any idea is welcome if it is related to women’s empowerment, from taking care of their basic needs - as I believe education can't be done in an empty stomach - to inspiring them to take up STEM”, says Camelia. “If you are passionate about this, please join us. Together we can make this world a better place.”