What is KPR?
- Kaan Pete Roi (KPR) is Bangladesh’s first and only emotional support and suicide prevention helpline, staffed by trained volunteers, which people can call to receive immediate support. The mission of the helpline is to alleviate feelings of despair, isolation, distress through compassionate, open-minded listening. KPR opened its lines on April 28, 2013 and has operated uninterrupted since, celebrating more than a decade of supporting those in distress in 2023. During and after the COVID-19 pandemic, KPR’s operations have been supported by the SAJIDA Foundation, allowing immense growth and an expansion of the helpline to be available to callers for 12 hours every day.
- Such helplines exist in over 40 nations in the world and play an important role in suicide prevention and the promotion of mental health. Kaan Pete Roi is the first of its kind in Bangladesh and is a member of Befrienders Worldwide, a global authority on suicide prevention.
Features of Kaan Pete Roi
- Befriending
KPR is the only Bangladeshi member of ‘Befrienders Worldwide,’ a global authority on suicide prevention. Befrienders Worldwide consists of an international network of suicide prevention centers in about forty-five countries around the world.. The core tenet of “befriending” is the idea that open-minded, compassionate, and non-judgmental listening can help those who are isolated, distressed, or suicidal.
- Volunteer-staffed
Most crisis hotlines around the world are staffed by trained volunteers. Because volunteers are not paid for their time and are participating altruistically, the quality of the service is high. There is no shortage of volunteers because they are not required to have a specific background or training in any field.
- Accessibility
KPR is an extremely convenient way to reach help – the only thing necessary to reach the helpline is access to a phone.
- Anonymity
One of the main barriers to reaching out for mental health services is the stigma associated with doing so. At KPR, a caller is not required to share even his/her name if he/she does not want to. Their identity is completely protected; if an individual chooses to call a hotline, nobody will know except the individual his/herself.
- Confidentiality
KPR maintains complete confidentiality of its callers: volunteers do not share details of the callers with anyone outside of the organization.
Our Team
Yeshim Iqbal
Arun Das
Ashik Abdullah
Aysha Siddika
Labim Maliat
Jarin Sadia
Tahmid Anjum Nishat
Redwanul Alam Alif
Md. Jahid Hasan
Why is Kaan Pete Roi Necessary?
Crisis helplines are an established method of suicide prevention globally. Given that such telephone helplines are accessible during multiple points along the path to suicidal behavior and that they can provide an opportunity for people to access help when other resources might be unavailable, they play a prominent role in suicide prevention around the world. Emerging research has demonstrated the effectiveness of these services, and KPR has received more than fifty-six thousand calls even with extremely limited outreach.
Befriending Model
It was 1935 when Chad Varah attended the funeral of a local fourteen year old girl who had taken her own life as she had experienced her first menstrual cycle. Confused by this phenomenon, ashamed of her own body, and lacking someone to discuss this problem with, she committed suicide. Moved by this tragedy, Varah came to realize the need for open communication and the lack of it in society at that time.
As a priest with psycho-therapeutic training, he initially opened up his parish office to those who might need counselling. However, soon enough, he found that the church people who were there to keep company those who were waiting to speak with Varah were able to help them more. As they waited, they were served tea and listened to compassionately and respectfully as they talked about their issues. This immediate and caring response was usually all they needed, as a result of which, many would no longer require Varah’s personal services.
Varah took note of this and understood that even the average person without any professional training was able to be of significant help to others, simply by being an empathetic listener. And this idea of communicating with someone in a crisis and empathizing with them without any personal judgment, was the foundation on which the befriending model was built.
Years later in 1953, Chad Varah founded the Samaritans, a non-religious and philanthropic organization that aimed to help others through their volunteer-run programs, built on the befriending model. Initially, it was targeted specifically towards those with suicidal inclinations but it also generally been applied to overall emotional support. The befriending scheme remains their most important creation and has since expanded to almost 40 countries all over the world, including our very own Kaan Pete Roi which is the first of its kind here in Bangladesh.
Kaan Pete Roi is part of the Befrienders Worldwide and has been in place since the 28th of April in 2013. As an emotional support and suicide prevention helpline, Kaan Pete Roi uses the befriending model when engaging with callers so as to provide them with a safe space where they can share their burdens with our trained volunteers. Contrary to popular belief, we do not provide counseling or any form of psychotherapy. Instead, the main aspect of our work is that we practice active listening, where in we listen with an open mind, to try and understand the caller from an empathetic and nonjudgmental frame of mind. It utilizes the idea that anyone, regardless of professional background, can practice this and it is also emphasized that befriending is not necessarily an alternative to professional mental health services. We at Kaan Pete Roi, are here to provide immediate emotional support to the suicidal, depressed, lonely or any member of society going through a crisis in their lives and is in need of someone to talk to.
Source: History of Samaritans
