Moner Bondhu launches mobile app

Tawhida Shiropa, Founder and CEO of Moner Bondhu is a brave young mind. She decided to stand apart from any taboo surrounding mental health in Bangladesh and extend a helping hand to whoever is in need. Moner Bondhu started its journey in January 2016 intending to provide accessible and affordable mental health and well-being services to the people of Bangladesh. Slowly this small initiative grew into something much larger, contributing to the lives of thousands of people.

On 10 January, 2023, Moner Bondhu crossed another milestone with the official launch of its mobile app.

Honourable MP Zunaid Ahmed Palak, State Minister, Information and Communication Technology (ICT), was one of the distinguished guests in attendance at the event.

While sharing his thoughts on mental peace and happiness, he said "The key to happiness is satisfaction. Once you're satisfied, you'll realize that you have also become happier."

Renowned Psychiatrist Dr Helal Uddin Ahmed stressed that keeping your mental health in check is essential for your overall well-being.

"Your heart and mind also need to be fed just like your body," he said, "Moner Bondhu is a safe place where you confide your fears and they give you the much-needed support."

Renowned Actress Aupee Karim added her thoughts saying, "A friend has no substitute, but it is not necessary that the friend be physically present in your life. Moner Bondhu is the friend we all need at some point in our lives."

Mental health is something that rarely gets focused among people of our country. In fact, we have witnessed a time when seeking professional help for problems like anxiety or depression was frowned upon by many. Not being able to discuss certain traumatic or triggering events has had detrimental impacts on many lives.

Over the course of six years, Moner Bondhu has changed the lives of 800,000 individuals through online counselling on different platforms and another 100,000 through various offline events. They have worked with educational institutions within and outside Dhaka, assisting more than 18,000 young minds. Their parenting workshops also helped raise awareness among parents on the importance of being more emotionally engaged with children.

Moner Bondhu is the first institution of its kind to reach out to the workers of RMG sector of Bangladesh. By partnering with BGMEA, Moner Bondhu provided counselling to more than 37,000 workers across 75 factories.

Moner Bondhu today is the result of endless hours of effort by a team of enthusiastic professionals who have always been huge advocates of mental health and well-being. With Moner Bondhu app, they are closer than ever to help anytime with whatever may be troubling you.

For more information, check out their website: monerbondhu.org