Rotary Club of Makati Chief of Staff president Senen ‘Bing’ Matoto (seated, sixth from left) poses with (from left) RC Makati chief of staff Ron Dotaro, Dr. Gina Atinaja, Ghie Malangis, Jean Goulbourn, Juliet Mejo, Nicky Matoto, Arlene Okuma and Rene Arambulo with Gen. Pio del Pilar National High School students who participated in the ‘SuPEER Heroes Training Program.’ The program trained the participants at being first responders to mental health concerns among their peers. photograph courtesy of Richard Manilag for RC Makati

Gen. Pio del Pilar NHS students empowered as mental health advocates

The initiative aims to equip the students with tools in being the first responders to mental health concerns among their peers

Published on:

24 Mar 2024, 16:03

In response to Rotary International president Gordon McInally’s call to action to prioritize mental health, RC Makati partnered with the Natasha Goulbourn Foundation to empower 60 student leaders and 10 educators from Gen. Pio del Pilar National High School in Makati.

This particular initiative aims to equip the students with tools and be the first responders to mental health concerns among their peers.

SuPEER Heroes

The program, named “SuPEER Heroes Training Program,” spanned four days, starting 9 March and continuing for two weekends.

Ten modules were featured, that is, Self-Awareness, Communication Skills, Goal Setting, Gratitude, Self-Care, Resilience, Basic Helping Skills, Love Languages, Mental Health First Aid and Mindfulness Therapy.

These modules were designed to help students understand themselves and others better, manage their relationships, lives, work, and learning more effectively, teach them how to effectively assist their peers in need, and develop more responsible students in the community.

The program will not end with just the 4-day training of the initial batch, as participants are requested to cascade their learning to other students.

Additional training

Additional training will be conducted if needed, with monitoring and progress reports transmitted to the club to check the effectiveness of the program.

RC Makati president Senen “Bing” Matoto, along with his son Nicky, past president JunJun Dayrit, district governor Nominee Reggie Nolido, president elect Keith Harrison, director Julian Lim, and Rotarians Boy Arteche, and Paolo Turno showed their support for the program, emphasizing the importance of mental health awareness and advocacy among young people.

The program was introduced to RC Makati through Jean Goulbourn, who was the guest speaker of the Club last 21 November 2023. This was followed by a series of meetings to determine the best ways the Club could support the program.

RC Makati committed P500,000 to support the program, in addition to providing meals and snacks for throughout the seminar.

This program exemplifies RC Makati’s commitment to making a positive impact in the community by empowering the youth to become advocates for mental health and well-being.