Woken by the loss of close ones to self-harm, Kiwi entrepreneur Mustafa (Mussie) Sheikh has started a new project that aims to boost the mental health of children.
Founder of the Bread Charity Foundation and honours in chemistry graduate from Auckland University, Mussie says this new project deals with checking mental health issues amongst school-going children. Mussie has experience in research and was awarded a research scholarship, which was pertinent to the project. He took input from medical specialists from AUT and developed a solution to identify and have an early intervention.
The result, ClickCheck for Children, an email function was launched earlier this week designed to identify and support children's mental health issues and their wellbeing.
"Our research and developments on neurotransmitters will redefine the wellbeing space," Mussie told The Indian Weekender.
The outcome of the research focuses on giving children proactive support which is key to the prevention of bullying and promotion of mental wellbeing.
"Youth suicide is a growing concern.
"We want to help kids in New Zealand become more comfortable with speaking up and seeking support. We've developed something amazing that works so want to share it with those who need it most.
"Previous support systems have been too passive, we've flipped the script and created a pro-active approach which regularly checks up on your children. It shows them someone cares and it's ok to speak up, we're here to help," Mussie said.
The trigger behind the project was Mussie's personal experience losing family members and a friend to suicide. Asking himself what he could have done motivated him to work on the project to prevent self-harm incidents in the community.
"We do this for the parents of New Zealand, to look after their kids and make sure they are doing well. I'll never get to see them again. I'll never get to tell them how much they mean to me. But we have done create a revolutionary tool to look after others," Mussie added.
Speaking on how does the tool work, the check-in system designed to assist children/young adults, questions created in assistance from medical experts.
The schools have to sign up with ClickCheck for students. They will send a survey or set of questions through ClickCheck to every student, at least once a fortnight.
Based on the answers supplied, ClickCheck will alert with the student's teacher for assistance.
Celebrities have come forward in support of this project, highlighting the stigma of mental health issues, even amongst children and how can they access help.
Amongst the supporters of this campaign are singer-actor and TV personality Stan Walker, professional boxer Joseph Parker, NBA Player for Miami Heat Kendrick Nunn, Olympic Sprinter Yohan Blake, and rugby legend Ma'a Nonu.
"I showed them what we were doing, and they were more than happy to jump on board, and I am grateful to have their support," Mussie said.
The project will be rolled out to schools two weeks after the campaign ends and the goal is to work closely with schools and children to provide as much support as possible.
Mussie also launched a fundraising drive via Pledge Me with the aim to collect at least $250,000 for the wellbeing system of 200,000+ students.
"I urge everyone to check what we're doing, it's really something special," Mussie appealed.
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