Category: Group’s biographies

Hello everyone and welcome to our harbour2harbour blog.
My name is Fatimah Alfaraj, a Saudi Foundation year medical student at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland. I am extremely happy that I got the chance to take part of the harbour2harbour elective. It is giving us the opportunity to learn about mental health from nation wide known organisation such as JIGSAW and Aware. Taking care of one’s mental health is as essential as taking care of their physical health if not more important. Unfortunately, not many people realise that. The community still have a lot of stigma especially regarding mental illnesses. People need to be more educated about how to maintain their own mental well being, and also be more aware about the various aspects of mental health and mental illness. This is the sole reason that I am excited about being a part of this elective; by raising awareness and helping to raise funds for people who are battling depression we are looking forward to making a change in our society.

I am Afnan Alfarsi, an Omani medical student in RCSI. I am happy that I got the chance to participate in Harbour2Harbour walk. I believe that Mental Health is a significant topic that should be understood and discussed among people. I think that people in general and students face a lot of difficulties that could lead to further issues which may affect their Mental Health. For this reason, it is important to know some strategies to help us overcome the difficulties that we face, and to improve our Mental health to avoid any issues in the future. I also believe that participating in Harbour2Harbour walk is giving me the opportunity to learn about Mental Health and share my knowledge among my family and friends.

My name is Ahmad Abu Rezq, a Kuwaiti medical student in RCSI. During the last two years that I have spent in Ireland, I recognized how Ireland is in the process of improving the healthcare and health awareness through several initiatives, such as Healthy Ireland initiative. That have inspired me to be more engaged and to learn more through participating in some of these initiatives and other events that can raise awareness.

Mental health awarenss is one of the most important issues that we need to focus more on it. Several people suffers from depression and stress but they tend to hide their feelings. Some of them unfortunately ends up with suicide. For that reason, today , my group and me, have participated in harbour to harbour in order to help raising awareness of mental health and to show some support for those who are suffering alone. 

We think that mental health awareness is a big part of our community, that sadly doesn’t get as much attention. As humans we all have our own personal challenges and struggles that we don’t show. We tend to hide our feelings and emotions and bottle it all up. Depending on what one’s personality is, each person has their own way of dealing with their crisis. However, one thing we as a community can offer to each other is love and support. As simple as a smile could make a difference in someone’s life.

We are Danah Ammar and Alyaa Aldokhi, FYmed students in RCSI participating in the Harbour2harbour walk in order to raise awareness for mental-health illness. We’d like to convey a message that says, “ you’re not alone”. We feel that with age you come to discover the importance of being there for each other. By providing a chance to celebrate accomplishments and milestones towards the path of positive thinking, gives people that are suffering with mental health, HOPE!