Mental health problems such as depression, anxiety, schizophrenia and bipolar disorder exist in the South Asian community, just as with any other health condition. Such conditions are more common than you think. 1 in 4 of us may be affected in any year.

Mental health is often a taboo subject in the South Asian community. This stigma and discrimination prevents 9 out of 10 people with mental health problems from living their lives in full and doing everyday things like having relationships to looking for work.

Having a mental health problem is nothing to be ashamed of and talking about it helps tackle the stigma.

Join us at the City of London Police offices for making this a milestone year for tackling the stigma of mental health illness in the South Asian community.

The evening will consist of:

• Presentation by Dr Dinesh Bhugra, Professor at the Institute of Psychiatry, Chair of the Mental Health Foundation and President-Elect of the World Psychiatric Association (WPA) who will provide insight into mental health and the issues associated with stigma in South Asian Communities
• Various speakers giving first-hand accounts of their personal experiences of mental health illness.
• A documentary on the stigma on mental health in ethnic minorities.
• A Q&A panel session with the speakers and other mental health experts.

The event aims to raise awareness of and urge community leaders and attendees to tackle the prejudice and discrimination associated with mental health problems by introducing simple and workable strategies such as setting up help lines or nominating ‘mental health champions’ within communities.

There will also be an opportunity to network with other mental health professionals, carers, mental health service users and CHN members who have an interest in mental health. Canapes and refreshments will be served.

Date and timings: Thursday 25 April, 6.30pm – 8.30pm. Venue: City of London Police, Wood Street Police Station, 37 Wood Street, London, EC2P 2NQ (nearest tube station: St Pauls).  Further details: Register via Eventbrite here. Canapes and refreshments will be served.

Survey 

CHN is undertaking the following short survey on mental health illness. All responses are anonymous and will remain confidential:

http://www.cityhindusnetwork.org.uk/2013/02/21/chn-mental-health-survey/

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The City of London Police (CoLP) is the police force responsible for law enforcement within the City of London. CoLP work with the community, other organisations and agencies, to promote a safe, peaceful and crime free environment.

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Ayesha Mustafa is the Founder & Director of Fashion ComPassion, Ayesha started the company in November 2010, combining her two biggest passions of social development and fashion into one.  She was inspired by her internship at the Grameen Foundation at the age of 16, where she worked the Grameen Check, a project to revive the handloom industry of Bangladesh. She worked as a Retail Marketing Manager for Pepsi UK before starting Fashion ComPassion. She wanted to provide a platform for marginalised communities’ world over, creating fashionable goods that revived lost crafts while mixing it with a modern design sensibility, and in the process creating livelihoods and enriching communities. Fashion Compassion is a socially responsible fashion company that merges high-end design with ethical production practices, offering its customers some of the most eclectic accessories available in the world. Working closely with brands that employ marginalised communities and skilled artisans from India, Palestine, Lebanon, Jordan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan who work under the direct tutelage of some of the finest designers, Fashion Compassion provides a global platform where these groups can retail their creations. Fashion ComPassion’s collections have received acclaim from leading fashion magazines, such as British Vogue, Vogue.Com, Vogue Italia, Marie Claire Spain, Observer Magazine, Grazia and many more. Numerous celebrities like Livia Firth, Lily Cole, Eva Longoria, Anne Hathaway have also worn pieces from various collections and these pieces are being sold at high end retailers like Bloomingdales, S*uce and the British Museum in London. In 2012 Fashion ComPassion has partnered with the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) to create employability through vocational training among women and adolescent girls in the Neelum Valley in Pakistan.

Details for the networking dinner are as follows:

Please note, cancellations with less than 14 days’ notice will be charged a £5 cancellation fee, and cancellations with 3 days or less notice will be charged a 100% cancellation fee.

The post CHN Networking Dinner Series: Fashion ComPassion on Wednesday 1 May 2013, 6:30pm appeared first on City Hindus Network.

Today we celebrate the birthday of a great soul who lived 150 years ago. His messages reverberate throughout the world as if he was still here. He was a great practitioner, servant, and scholar of Hinduism. His name was Swami Vivekananda and he was a devout follower of his guru Sri Ramakrishna. From the Dharmic perspective he always spoke for the poor. Below are some excerpts from his speeches and teachings: My ideal, indeed, can be put into a few words, and that is: to preach unto mankind their divinity, and how to make it manifest in every movement of life. Education is the manifestation of the perfection already in man.

We want that education by which character is formed, strength of mind is increased, the intellect is expanded, and by which one can stand on one’s own feet. So long as the millions live in hunger and ignorance, I hold every man a traitor who, having been educated at their expense pays not the least heed to them. Whatever you think, that you will be. If you think yourselves weak, weak you will be; if you think yourselves strong, strong you will be. Strength, strength it is that we want so much in this life, for what we call sin and sorrow have all one cause, and that is our weakness. With weakness comes ignorance, and with ignorance comes misery. The older I grow, the more everything seems to me to lie in manliness.

This is my new Gospel. Purity, patience, and perseverance are the three essentials to success, and above all, love. Religion is realization; not talk, not doctrine, nor theories, however beautiful they may be. It is being and becoming, not hearing or acknowledging; it is the whole soul becoming changed into what it believes. Religion is the manifestation of the Divinity already in man. Teach yourselves, teach everyone his real nature, call upon the sleeping soul and see how it awakes. Power will come, glory will come, goodness will come, purity will come, and everything that is excellent will come when this sleeping soul is roused to self-conscious activity. They alone live who live for others, the rest are more dead than alive.

This is the gist of all worship – to be pure and to do good to others. It is love and love alone that I preach, and I base my teaching on the great Vedantic truth of the sameness and omnipresence of the Soul of the Universe.

Happy 150th Birthday to Swami Vivekananda, We still have a long way to fulfil your ambitions today we celebrate your short life full of selfless service.

Hemal Randerwala

The post Blog: Happy 150th Birthday to Swami Vivekananda appeared first on City Hindus Network.

Namaste, Indian philosophy thought is often heavily scrutinized in the modern world for being outdated with regards to social issues. Discriminatory on the basis of gender, caste, economic position and so on but does this the only world view? The Mahabharata and many other texts display another view which has a very different focus, one that is dedicated to the spiritual nature of every living being. In this world view sectarian walls come down in the face of common identity, class, race, and gender are all to be regarded as temporary. This then becomes the base motive for change; there are many examples in the modern world with very Dharmic individuals utilizing these beliefs to legitimate opposition to colonial, social, sexual and economic oppression. Seeing the divine within every living being coupled with the Bhagavad Gita’s call to act for the welfare of the world one can decide where to start. There are not strict commandments for what you should do; however there are Meta-ethics which are promoted.

The Gita lists the following at the beginning of chapter 16. Fearlessness, purification of one’s heart, cultivation of spiritual knowledge, charity, self-control, sacrifice, study of the Vedas, austerity and simplicity; nonviolence, truthfulness, freedom from anger; renunciation, tranquillity, aversion to fault-finding, compassion and freedom from covetousness; gentleness, modesty and steady determination; vigour, forgiveness, fortitude, cleanliness, freedom from envy and the passion for honour These kind of inner values are not just for a certain religious group or private club, they are largely secular in nature and acting with them in mind, with the divinity of every living being in mind. Like the Gita say’s to act for the benefit of the world, this is what Dharma is to me.

Peace and Love, Hemal Randerwala

The post Blog: How should I act? appeared first on City Hindus Network.

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It’s coming to a week since I moved back to Delhi from London. I’m asked the inevitable by anyone I meet ‘how I feel’ being back after 8 years in London. An honest answer to that question swings like a pendulum.

As an eighteen year old when I moved to the UK, the idea of a culture shock eluded me. I settled in comfortably as if I always belonged there. I don’t remember feeling that anything was strikingly different to the way things were in Delhi. If anyone asked me then, my instant remark as a proud Delhiite was to run to its defence with “Delhi is as modern as London.”

There is not a shadow of doubt that Delhi is modern, but the good old Indian ways of doing things are prevalent and pervasive. Now that I am not used to the latter or maybe the memory of these have effaced, I find them rather amusing. I’m woken up by the screaming of vegetable vendors on the streets –the most cost efficient advertising known to man I suppose. The newspaper delivery boys hurl newspapers like javelins, never missing their target. The barking of the stray dogs adds to the morning madness. I’ll confess that I only knew one neighbour in London from my building that housed at least 50 flats. Vis a vis, meet the Indians  who live by the “love thy neighbour” policy. Everyone knows everyone and it is not unusual to do yoga or go for morning walks together.  A perfect medium to keep the neighbourhood gossip thriving.

The roads are an epitome of chaos. I’m convinced that the hearing power of Indians ought to be lacking somewhere, given the constant screeching noise of the horn we are subjected to on the roads. I’m mentally so attuned to the lane driving system that my mind almost plays Tetris here, stacking the vehicles in a neat, British order. Sadly there is none to be found. The other day I took a rickshaw, but little did I know that the rickshaw would cross a double carriageway smack in the middle of heavy traffic nowhere near a zebra crossing. I quite literally squealed with fear.

The city offers comforts in its own way. For instance, opening an account in Britain would mean going to a branch and queuing up. But in Delhi, a relationship manager comes home with forms and explains the formalities.

Going to the doctor doesn’t necessarily imply seeking an appointment beforehand. There is a better chance if one walks in to the clinic unannounced; patients with appointments have to wait longer for some peculiar reason.

Despite of the irregularities and irrationalities, the city is still amazing. A land where you can devour fresh, authentic samosas has to be. It is a drastic change of scenery for me but with hand on my heart I can say this that it is not disconcerting. I suppose it can never be; at the end of the day it is home and as they say there is no place like home.

Devika Srimal is a member of the CHN who recently gave up her professional career in London to move back to Delhi. You can sign up to be a member or find out more about the CHN at www.cityhindusnetwork.org.uk.

The post ‘The CHN View’: No place like home appeared first on City Hindus Network.

We have partnered with Asian Voice and Gujarat Samachar to organise a Youth Conference, taking place at SOAS University on Saturday 23^rd March 11am – 4pm at SOAS (full details here). The conference is in its third year and is set to be the best and most anticipated so far. The conference is open to anyone aged between 16-25 and is free to attend. It will feature leading professionals from various professional backgrounds, who will share their personal experiences and offer practical advice on how young people can get ahead and fulfil their aspirations.

The conference features some excellent panel speakers, including:

• Alok Sharma MP: Appointed by the Prime Minister as Vice Chairman of the Conservative Party.
• Geeta Sidhu Robb: Multi-award winning entrepreneur, CEO and Founder of Nosh Detox.
• Navin Kundra:  Well known award-winning British India singer, who has performed with some of the biggest artists in Asian music.
• Monica Juneja: Senior Manager at the consultancy firm Accenture, with over nine years experience of working in the Banking sector.
• Shekhar Bhatia: Newspaper journalist and a documentary maker that has produced several high profile BBC documentaries.

The conference will also include interactive sessions, run by professional consultants and the opportunity to network with various senior professionals. It will also feature a competition for the attendees with some excellent prizes (including a holiday to Spain sponsored by Brightsun Travels, tea at the House of Lords with a respected Peer and restaurant vouchers).

If you would like to attend, please email rupanjana.dutta@abplgroup.com by cop Thursday 21^st March. Full details are on the flyer here.

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