Breaking the Silence
Lao Youth Champion Advocates for Mental Health Awareness in His Community
In Laos, where mental health is often an overlooked concept, a young voice emerges as its staunch advocate. Ekasith Vanmany, or Ek, is a driven youth advocate determined to bring greater mental health awareness into the public discourse in Laos.
To achieve this, he is working as part of Youth Champions Laos, a youth-led action initiative being implemented by the Lao Youth Union and UNICEF Lao PDR, with support from UNICEF East Asia and Pacific. Today, Ek is using UNICEF’s Youth Advocate Guidebook (YAG) as the basis to help train other young people around advocacy, from communication skills to project management, tailored to their interest in mental health.
However, Ek’s journey with advocacy and mental health didn’t start at the podium. Before stepping into his advocacy journey, he experienced the same struggles that many young people in Laos face: the silent battles and a longing to understand and be understood.
His turning point came during the global COVID-19 crisis.
In 2019, as COVID-19 spread across the world, isolation and uncertainty intensified. In Laos, the lockdowns and shift to a "new normal" brought mental health to the forefront of concern. During this time, Ek was freshman at the National University of Laos and he began to take a deeper interest in mental health and understanding the experiences of those around him, especially his friends.
“A close friend once opened up to me about her depression and how isolated she felt. That moment really opened my eyes to how limited awareness is around mental health and the availability of information in Laos. I wanted to help her but I didn’t know what to do either,” said Ek.
This is where it began. Fueled by this awareness and in the wake of the world’s recovery from the pandemic, Ek transformed his concern into action by co-creating a project with his friends called “It’s Okay to Not Be Okay”. It focused on basic mental health awareness, self-care, sharing available resources and creating spaces to share personal stories to foster empathy.
“We held the first workshop for 30 students. For many of them, it was the first time they heard that mental health isn't the same as mental illness,” Ek explains.
The workshop sparked great interest and conversation, leading to a follow-up session “It’s Okay to Not Be Okay: Volume Two”. Each event or workshop deepened his commitment to mental health advocacy.
What drives me is advocating for youth mental health in Laos—that’s where it all starts. Many young people have things they can’t share with their families, especially when home doesn’t feel like a safe space. That’s why it’s so important to fill that gap. We need to normalize conversations about mental health and break the stigma around it.
Driven by his vision for improved mental health, building peer-to-peer support network, emotional resilience, and the creation of safe spaces for youth to feel seen, heard and valued, Ek and his friends later would go on to launch an initiative called “WELL” through the support of the Youth Champions Laos initiative being implemented by the Lao Youth Union and UNICEF Lao PDR, with support from UNICEF East Asia and Pacific. Under the initiative, Ekasith received training and mentoring support in developing his own advocacy project alongside funding to bring it to life.
“After we announced our project, we received more than 250 applications. Those numbers prove to us that young people in Laos are looking for this kind of support,” Ek noted.
Ek’s story is a testament to how one person’s courage to care about his friends and communities can spark greater positive change. Today, Ek and his team continue to expand “WELL”, organising peer support groups, interactive mental health workshops, and developing mental wellness mentors across schools and communities. Their mission is not only to raise awareness but also to empower a new generation of compassionate leaders who prioritize emotional well-being.
