June 3, 2025, Kathmandu – Saathi conducted a virtual session on Psychological First Aid (PFA) on 3rd June 2025 via Google Meet, engaging over 75 participants from shelters, safe houses, and rehabilitation centers across Nepal. The session was part of the GOAL Project (Generating Ownership, Awareness, and Liberty: From Harmful Gender Stereotypes and SGBV), supported by AEIN: Aide à l’Enfance de l’Inde et du Népal (AEIN), Luxembourg.
Facilitated by Sangita Poudel, the session focused on key mental health issues and the “3 Ls” approach – Look, Listen, Link, a foundational method in Psychological First Aid. Participants raised important concerns around referral mechanisms for mental health cases, care for newborns from SGBV incidents, and the need for stronger government accountability.
These issues were further addressed by Sapana Maharjan, Coordinator at Saathi, who emphasized the importance of collaboration and a survivor-centered approach. Although 60 participants joined individually, about 15 more joined collectively from shared devices due to space and technical limitations.
Participants expressed sincere appreciation to Saathi, organizing the timely and practical session, which also helped strengthen inter-organizational networks and referral coordination. The session was coordinated by the Shelter Network and concluded with a collective commitment to improving mental health support and services for survivors.
