Hope in 40 seconds

MANILA, Philippines – Data from the World Health Organization shows that a life is lost every 40 seconds to suicide, making it the second leading cause of death among 15 to 29-year olds globally. Depression is also the predominant cause of illness and disability among boys and girls aged 10 to 19.

This is why the Natsha Goulbourn Foundation (NGF), a non-profit organization designed to foster awareness for depression, launched “Hope in 40 Seconds”, an animated digital video competition launched in June 2016.

“Companion”, the entry of 21-year-old animator Vince Serrano, a graduate of the De La Salle College of St. Benilde, was adjudged winner of the competition. The film aims to provide encouragement to people with emotional burdens. In 40 short seconds, it tells of a story of a boy who almost succumbed to depression but received encouragement from someone.

Jean Goulbourn, NGF’s president and founder, said “Companion” will be distributed via social media and shown in selected Ayala Mall cinemas. Through the video, they hope to encourage those suffering from depression as well as their loved ones to seek professional help through Hopeline, NGF’s free 24x7 suicide hotline, which can be reached via tel. nos. 804-4673, 0917-5584673, and 2919 (toll-free for TM and Globe).

“Hopeline has been around for four years,” she said. “Our calls vary from 180 to 280 a day. On very slow days, we get about 45 calls.”

The campaign is supported by Globe Telecom, the Department of Health, and the UP JMA, a university-wide student organization which adopted the campaign as part of its project Spark: The Movement to promote a healthy lifestyle.

“Through the video, we hope that we can also prevent young people from taking their lives due to cyber bullying, which causes a lot of pressure and stress,” said Fernando Esguerra, Globe director for citizenship.

Globe also runs the Digital Thumbprint program workshops for students to guide them on responsible online behavior. It has a standing partnership with UNICEF Philippines and the Ateneo Human Rights Center for the protection of children against online exploitation.

“Although I heard a lot of suicide cases when I was still in college, I didn’t put much thought on them until I decided to take on the challenge of doing an animation for NGF,” Serrano said. “This further inspired me to do my best so that in my own little way, I would be able to help others.”

Serrano also disclosed that some of his friends have suffered from depression, so when he learned about the competition, he saw it as an opportunity to learn more about mental health.

Aside from “Companion,” two other videos made it to the finals – “Catch of Hope” by Chih-Chiang “Jason” Wei, which talks about a loss that prompted a young man to jump off a bridge; and Noel Manao’s “Heartless,” which is about person’s chances to be emotionally whole again despite having been trapped in his mind’s dark corner.