Deepika to launch awareness campaign for depression
Bollywood star Deepika Padukone is set to launch an awareness campaign, taking forward her fight against depression. Padukone, 30, who had come out openly last year about her struggle with depression is set to launch a year-long awareness campaign 'You Are Not Alone'. The campaign is set to cover over 200 schools and to raise awareness, sensitise students and teachers against depression.
Mijwan Welfare Society (MWS) is an NGO founded by Shabana Azmi's father in 1993 and is now managed by the actor herself. The MWS works towards the empowerment of villagers in a small village, Mijwan in Azamgarh UP which has now become a model village. The society runs a Kaifi Azmi High School, inter school, computer training center and a sewing and tailoring center.
In November 2004, Aishwarya Rai founded the Aishwarya Rai Foundation to help the poor and needy people in India. In 2009, Aishwarya Rai Foundation partnered with Smile Train, a charitable organization that works worldwide to help children with cleft lip. Aishwarya, the charity's goodwill ambassador aims to help Smile Train provide free cleft surgery to children in at least 76 developing countries.
In 2007, Rahul Bose started his non-profit organization, The Foundation dedicated to the eradication of "discrimination from all walks of life." In 2009, Bose launched an initiative on climate change which emphasized on government policy supporting advocacy from international bodies such as the UN. The 2nd initiative Planet Alert organized 'Green Runs' in India, along with college interactions and mass media campaigns.
Being Human, an initiative by The Salman Khan Foundation is a registered charitable trust that was started by the actor in 2007. The Foundation works to provide "education and healthcare for the underprivileged." The initiative has worked on drought relief initiative In Maharashtra, organized free eye camps, and provided relief for J&K flood victims. It also provides aids to schools and career development centers.
Deepika Padukone is no stranger to depression; she had come out in the open and talked about her problems with anxiety and depression. She had begun to suffer from acute depression in early 2014 while shooting for the movie 'Happy New Year'. Padukone said that she felt 'empty' and 'directionless' at that time. It was then that she took help from counseling and medication.
Amitabh Bachchan lauded Deepika's efforts to make people aware of depression saying: "I think it is very honest and daring of her to talk about it not so much to gain from it, but to make people aware of it."
Deepika Padukone launched the logo of her 'The Live Love Laugh' foundation on Twitter. The foundation's logo professes hope and freedom. Deepika Padukone started her non-profit organization for addressing the issue of mental health in India in March 2015. The organizations' primary aim is to discover the cause of mental problems, get information and then find the right kind of 'professional' help.
