Ms Merab Mulindi is a Counseling Psychologist (M.A.) with a passion for suicide prevention. She is a founder member of Befrienders Kenya, a charitable organization focusing on suicide prevention through supporting those in distress and at risk for suicide through various modes of communication including a helpline.
Merab is the National Representative for IASP and has participated in several IASP congresses. She has also been at the centre of implementing a joint IASP-Befrienders Kenya community-based project and continues to be involved in educating communities in a country where suicide carries a lot of stigma and taboo especially as suicide is still a crime. She has experience in research work and is currently part of a study on Suicide Bereavement and Impact of Stigma on Help-seeking behavior (Kenya) in partnership with University of California, Berkeley and Kenya Medical Research Institute – the study findings will help inform interventions for those bereaved through suicide.
Merab was part of the stakeholder’s team that developed the Kenya Suicide Prevention Strategy 2021-2026 and continues to be part of the National Suicide Prevention committee which is overseeing the implementation of the strategy. She is currently also serving on the Befrienders Worldwide Board of Trustees.