It takes a village to fight Mental Illness.

I remember my sister Rizza as a beautiful, kind, loving, intelligent individual. She is confident and had lots of friends. Then came a relationship breakdown, followed by the failure of a promising job overseas. She returned home pregnant - with nothing but a suitcase and a broken spirit. It went downhill from there. I remember speaking to her over the phone one afternoon, she was frightened and in a panic - “..the devil is chasing me”, she said. There were days spent crying, other days screaming in anger. And also moments when she was just herself - feeling like a complete failure.

Rizza spent a few months in a mental facility after an incident where she was so violent that our mother feared for their safety. She was diagnosed with severe clinical depression and bipolar disorder and will most likely be on medication for the rest of her life, we were told.

My sister left the facility a new person - she was happy again and looking forward to better days ahead. Soon after she had a 2nd child, found a job teaching English from home and ran a small business on the side. Things were looking up for Rizza.

Fast forward a few years and our mother became gravely ill. Rizza cared for her until she passed away. Unsurprisingly, this has had a huge impact on her mental health and without our mother by her side Rizza started experiencing major psychiatric episodes of mania and hallucinations. She also started developing a tumour in her ovaries.

One early morning in October 2020, with COVID-19 rife in the community, Rizza left the house and didn’t come back. Finding a missing person in Manila is like looking for a needle in a haystack. It’s overpopulated, impoverished and the police system is lacking. We feared the absolute worst.

My sister Rizza reappeared out of nowhere August of this year. It turns out she was incarcerated for nearly 10 months after breaking into a private property looking for shelter in November last year. She was gaunt, her tumour has grown significantly but otherwise safe as can be.

Rizza needs to be cared for in a mental facility where they can ensure regular medication and her safety. The medical system in the Philippines is a shambles and there is no provision for mental health. My sister lives with her two boys and our aging father in a dilapidated house in Manila. They are poor and extremely incapable of giving her the care that she desperately needs. It will cost at least $1500 a month for Rizza to be cared for in a mental facility - it covers her accommodation and medical costs.

I am asking for your help to raise money so we can give Rizza a chance to get better and hopefully give their mother back to her children. When her mental state is better we can also have the tumour in her uterus removed.