There were 31 new mentors who had joined Sugun Thomas Foundation in the year 2021-2022 and the Mentoring Head Ms. Sashi Rekha organized a virtual meeting to catch up with each other on mentorship and guide and support each other.

Among the 31 new mentors, there were 10 overseas mentors from the US, California, Malaysia, New Jessy, Hongkong, London, and Sweden, while 3 mentors were from Pune, Bangalore, and Trivandrum and the rest of the 18 were from Chennai.

Grief therapy
Counseling for 29 covid victims with Ms. Rachel Mathew and meeting with their mentors

Brief Note:

Sugun Thomas Foundation had referred 29 students who are receiving scholarships from their foundation for grief counseling and mental health check-up to Rachel Mathew who is a psychotherapist and specializes in grief therapy. These students have lost one or both parents mainly to Covid and one to a tragic accident. For all the families concerned they have lost the main breadwinner which has changed their lives dramatically and has compounded the loss of their parent/parents. The therapist has met with the students for over two months and with one student twice over zoom. All the students have the therapist’s phone number and have been told that they can call to set up subsequent sessions if they would like to. Some have communicated through WhatsApp text messages. The therapist has checked in and will do so with every student she has met with already, to follow up on how they are faring and if they would like to set up further appointments.

The therapist observed that the students who lost their parents in 2020 seem to be coping better at this point. For the students who lost their parent/parents last year, the grief is still rather fresh, but each one of them has found ways of carrying out their daily responsibilities to the best of their abilities.

Mentors of the covid students Meet with Ms. Rachel Mathew – The Therapist – Session 1

A meeting with the mentors of covid victims was arranged in two batches – one was on March 27, 2022, and the other was on May 19, 2022. The various challenges faced by the mentors with their mentees were discussed and the therapist gave them solutions for tackling them.
Session on March 27, 2022

Session on May 19, 2022

Group Therapy – with Ms. Rachel Mathew