The Department of Youth and Sports under education ministry has restarted Nazhoen Helpline 214 to counsel youth with social problems. The help was suspended in 2012, two years after it was started given the shortage of counsellors.
The toll-free telephonic counselling service is operated from the Harmony Youth Village in Thimphu. Two counselors take calls from 9 AM to 5 PM on the weekdays.
The Chief Programmer Officer of Career Education and Counseling Division, Tashi Pelzom said the helpline is a platform for the young people to come forward and share what is troubling them. “It also provides a safe place for young people because they don’t have to come face to face with the person who is listening to their trouble.”
The counseling will cover mental illness, violence, academic difficulties, grief and loss.
