Image via Dr. Florance Sinniah
The pandemic has caused a lot of uncertainties, which led to many people facing tremendous stress related to psychological, emotional, financial, and health issues. As a result, Malaysia has seen an increase in suicides and suicide attempts in the past year.
Despite this seemingly hopeless situation, no life should be lost by suicide because these people can be saved. And that’s what Dato Dr. Florance Sinniah, one of the unsung heroes in the DIGIyin Saathanai Hero-kkal campaign, believes. She’s the Founder and President of SNEHAM Malaysia, a non-governmental organisation that focuses on suicide prevention.
Before establishing SNEHAM in 2018, Dr. Florance was already actively involved in suicide prevention work since 2009, when she volunteered at Befrienders Penang. Not only did she serve as a volunteer, she was also instrumental in driving several innovative projects to raise awareness on the importance of mental health.
Image via Dr. Florance Sinniah
Wanting to do more for the cause, she started working diligently on SNEHAM—from inception to training volunteers, growing it into the fully-functioning NGO that it is today. The organisation is also widely received and supported by the community and mental health practitioners.
The word SNEHAM in Sanskrit means to extend friendship with care and concern, and to have love for the service. With this vision, the organisation hopes to alleviate misery, loneliness, despair, and depression by listening to the callers as a friend whenever they feel like they have no one else to turn to. The primary goal of SNEHAM is to serve as an avenue for those struggling with a personal crisis and approaching the danger of taking their own lives.
To achieve this goal, Dr. Florance formulated the following strategies:
- Tele-counselling via a toll-free helpline for the lonely, depressed or suicidal. The confidential calls are available in Tamil, Bahasa Malaysia and English.
- Advocacy by promoting and creating awareness on positive mental health and coping skills.
- Collaborating with government agencies and other NGOs on programmes related to mental health at the national level.
Image via Dr. Florance Sinniah
After several years of unofficial groundwork, Dr. Florance and her team were able to establish the first toll-free helpline in Malaysia, as well as the first private helpline conducted in Tamil and Bahasa Malaysia.
Since the pandemic and movement restrictions were enforced, SNEHAM changed their operation hours from four hours a day to a 24-hour helpline to give people a listening ear.
Image via Dr. Florance Sinniah
Last year, Dr. Florance was awarded the Stars of COVID Award for her contributions with SNEHAM to the community. She was one of the 100 award recipients out of over 1,600 nominees! The award was organised by World Humanitarian Drive, a global organisation based in London that appreciates extraordinary contributions of individuals during the pandemic.
And for her services in mental health and suicide prevention initiatives, SNEHAM is also proud to name her the Outstanding Community Leader, who has made a difference in so many lives through her passion and commitment.
Besides solidifying her efforts in this field, Dr. Florance also holds multiple other hats spanning decades of experience, such as the Board of Director of Penang Women Development Corporation (PWDC), Advisor for the Management Committee and Family Well-being Committee, motivational speaker, leadership coach, and management consultant to name a few.
Image via Dr. Florance Sinniah
Among other recognitions she’s received over the years include Outstanding CSR Leadership Award in 2012 at Intel, Global Volunteer Excellence Award in 2014 at AMD, World Women Leadership Award in 2015 at the World Women Leadership CSR Congress (WWLC), Lifetime Achievement Award in 2017 at the Golden Globe Tigers Award, and more.
What an achievement! We truly admire her drive and dedication, and we hope that she and SNEHAM will continue to help more people fight the darkness within them.
As part of the DIGIyin Saathanai Hero-kkal campaign, we’re constantly looking to share stories of Malaysian ‘superheroes’ that live amongst us.
If you know a hero or if you have an inspirational story about overcoming challenges, we’d love to hear from you. Just submit your story at RAAGA’s website or click the image above.