The Health | MAy, 2019
14
ISSUE: MENTAL HEALTH
The cooking classes for the mentally
disabled at MHF aims to instill
valuable skills in them to support
their livelihood.
Training to rejoin society
The Mental Health Foundation
provides a safe space for the
mentally unwell to reenter the
society through therapy and
cooking
T
he Malaysian Mental Health Founda-
tion (MHF) is a non-profit organisation
supporting individuals in Malaysia with
mental health issues. The organisation is
relatively new, operating for around 20
years now.
The co-founder and Director of MHF, Datuk Dr
Abdul Aziz Abdullah tells that the role of MHF is
two-fold. “The MHF’s function is one, to promote the
issues relating to mental health in the community. This
include issues from how to maintain our mental well-
ness to how the public can be more accepting towards
the mentally disabled.”
“The second function of MHF is to support the
mentally disabled through psychosocial rehabilitation,”
Dr Abdul Aziz adds.
Not well-accepted
Dr Abdul Aziz stresses the ever-present stigma
towards people living with mental illnesses, as well as
the individuals with milder mental health issues. He
says that for most, they are not well-accepted by their
community.
“This is why we believe it is important to have reha-
bilitation programs. It is a way for them to become a
contributing member of society.”
Having said that, the awareness and acceptance
of people with mental health issues has definitely
improved over the years. He believes that Malaysians
are more accepting and empathetic since the country’s
first exposure to mental health issues and illnesses.
The training to improve
The MHF admittedly hasn’t been as active in mental
health related activities as they want to be. The organ-
isation has been working towards creating better
awareness and support for themselves just as much as
the affected individuals they fight for.
Yet the work they have done has definitely improved
the lives of many.
“The main training program we are continuously
organising is in culinary. This is where we provide them
with the skills to cook and bake, and have them create
valuable contribution to society,” Dr Abdul Aziz says.
The culinary training program involves three to four
Datuk Dr Abdul Aziz says that the MHF’s roles are
mainly to promote better mental health, better
acceptance of the public towards the mentally
ill, and to support the mentally disabled through
training programs.
The main training
program we are
continuously
organising is in
culinary. This is
where we provide
them with the skills
to cook and bake,
and have them
create valuable
contribution to
society.”
months of cooking and baking classes held at MHF
headquarters in Ampang. The program is joined by
eager hands, as most of the participants have strong
desire to become better at what they do as well as to be
accepted by the general public.
“We see most if not all of the participants able to
improve themselves after going for the training. Some
even managed to acquire jobs after the program. We
want to promote the fact that the people who are
affected by mental illnesses can still be a contribut-
ing factor in society, and should not be discriminated
against,” he tells.
Other means of support
The MHF doesn’t only provide training for the affected.
They also assist other organisations wanting to pro-
mote mental health awareness around Malaysia. “We
continue to become the supporting hand for others to
spread the awareness of mental health issues,” says Dr
Abdul Aziz.
MHF was one of the main authoritative bodies
to organise the World Mental Health Day in Malay-
sia last year. The foundation moreover, engages
patients getting treatment from various hospitals
around the country to various sporting events, which
saw more than 700 participants joining them last year
as well.
“This has been our main activities for the last 10
years or so,” he promotes. — The Health