Kitabisa x CHOYS: Improving Emotional Awareness Through an Internal Mental Health Workshop

As a leading Indonesian tech platform for online giving and social impact, Kitabisa empowers people to support causes they care about, from medical campaigns to community projects. But their impact doesn’t stop with the outside world.

Internally, Kitabisa holds the same belief: care begins with the people you work with every day. That’s why on World Mental Health Day (October 10, 2024), Kitabisa partnered with CHOYS to host an exclusive internal webinar focused on mental wellbeing and emotional communication.

About Kitabisa

Kitabisa is Indonesia’s largest tech-enabled ecosystem for helping each other. With services ranging from donation-based crowdfunding and digital fundraising for nonprofits to CSR and social marketing, Islamic philanthropy, and digital insurance, Kitabisa powers everyday generosity at scale. Whether it’s connecting donors to causes or offering tools for corporate social responsibility, Kitabisa blends technology with human connection to build a more empathetic future.

The Initiative: Mental Health Workshop for 400+ Kitabisa Team Members

The virtual session, attended by over 400 Kitabisa employees, was titled:

“Mental Health: Effectively Communicating Emotions”
Led by Coach Ana, CHOYS Representative & Career Coach with over 10 years of HR experience

This internal-only webinar was designed to create space for reflection, self-awareness, and skill-building, focusing not only on mental health awareness but also on how to understand, express, and regulate emotions in professional settings.

Why Kindness Starts Inside Kitabisa 

Vikra Ijas, Founder & CEO of Kitabisa, shared her reflections on the session and the values that shaped it:

"At Kitabisa, kindness isn’t just what we promote on our platform, it’s part of how we lead. Our core value is to be kind, and that has to start with how we treat the people inside our own company.

We want to walk the talk. And that means investing in the wellbeing of our team, not just pushing for performance.

Taking care of your people is good for your business. It creates connection, loyalty, and purpose. Even small actions, like check-ins, journaling, or creating space for emotions, can make a real difference in how someone shows up at work.

As entrepreneurs and founders, we’re often hyper-focused on our users and growth. But we can’t forget the people building it all. Supporting your team isn’t just the right thing to do, it’s what builds strong organisations and resilient leadership."

— Vikra Ijas, Founder & CEO, Kitabisa 

What the Session Covered

Hosted by CHOYS’s Rena and featuring Coach Anez, the session was built around World Mental Health Day’s purpose, reducing stigma, building emotional intelligence, and encouraging open dialogue around wellbeing at work.

Highlights Included:

• Energy & mood check-ins to raise self-awareness
• Breathwork practices to experience emotional regulation in real time
• A deep dive into the differences between emotions, feelings, and moods
• Introduction to the Mood Meter and how to name emotions clearly
• Understanding the four pillars of emotional intelligence:
  Self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, and relationship management
• A communication framework:
  Observation → Feelings → Needs → Request
• Tips for remote team communication, empathy, and appreciation

Coach Ana also drew from her personal journey, sharing stories of burnout, emotional overload, and healing, to normalise vulnerability and illustrate how awareness leads to growth.

Impact Highlights

While this was a one-time session, the impact was immediate and meaningful:

• 400+ employees attended live: a clear indicator of interest and relevance
• Real-time participation with mood check-ins, emoji responses, and shared reflections
• Increased emotional awareness: employees learned to name, express, and manage their emotions
• Leadership alignment: Senior leaders actively supported the initiative, reinforcing its importance

This workshop created space not only for reflection but for stronger team bonds, shared understanding, and a more emotionally intelligent workplace.

Why This Workshop Mattered for Kitabisa

• Aligned with company values of empathy and impact
  Kitabisa helps the public support others. This workshop showed they do the same for their own team.
• Strengthened internal dialogue around mental health
  Normalising emotional expression supports psychological safety and trust.
• Empowered leaders and team members
  Practical tools helped participants take small, meaningful steps, like asking better questions, giving recognition, and listening more deeply.
• Reinforced Kitabisa’s commitment to people-first leadership
  Especially during moments of pressure and change, emotional wellbeing is essential, not optional.

Final Reflection

The CHOYS x Kitabisa webinar wasn’t a product demo or a one-off HR initiative, it was a deliberate act of cultural leadership.

By holding space for emotion on a day dedicated to mental health, Kitabisa reminded its team: your feelings are valid, your voice matters, and your wellbeing is part of our mission.

If your company wants to bring this kind of emotional awareness into the workplace, CHOYS offers workshops, toolkits, and full platforms designed to make wellbeing visible, actionable, and human.

Book a free CHOYS demo today and start a conversation that truly matters.