A new initiative to promote mental health awareness in schools and communities in Uganda has been launched by Rotary Club of Kiwatule in partnership with Rotary Club of Kampala Sunshine, Rotary Club of Bweyogerere Nambole, Rotary Club of Bugolobi, Rotary Club of Manyangwa Nakwero, Rotary Club of Source of the Nile Jinja, Rotary Club of Bugolobi MorningTide, Rotaract Club of Kampala the Core, Rotary Club Gulu and Rotary Club Kampala Palms.
The initiative aims to increase awareness about mental health through talks, seminars, workshops and social media campaigns. The project has four main priorities: To increase awareness about mental health in schools in Uganda through talks, seminars and workshops.
To establish Psychosocial support structures including linkage to Mental Health Professionals within schools to promote and prevent Mental Health Develop Mental Health mass and social media campaigns to enhance awareness of the communities regarding promotion and prevention of Mental Health Conduct Project Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E).
The project leverages on Rotary Clubs with BELEP projects in different schools as an entry point for the Mental Health Awareness program. Stakeholder engagement activities include talks to introduce the project and generate buy-in from Rotary Clubs during different platforms, attending different Rotary Club fellowships and announcing the project, among others.
The first priority of the project is to increase awareness about mental health in schools in Uganda through capacity building of school administration/teachers and student/pupil leadership to promote and prevent Mental Health in schools through trainings, talks and workshops. The project will identify schools to be targeted and mental Health Professionals to conduct trainings, talks and workshops, and adapt MOH IEC materials for these trainings, talks and workshops.
The second priority is the establishment of psychosocial support structures for mental health within schools, including the identification of Mental Health Champions in different schools, the development of a referral/mentorship system with school teams and mental health professionals, and the mobilization of necessary materials required for functional psychosocial support structures.
The third priority is to increase mental health awareness in the community through mass and social media campaigns. This involves identifying media houses, social and mass media influencers, organizing stakeholder meetings with media houses, influencers, and mental health professionals to develop media campaign messages, and launching media campaigns.
The initiative is a timely response to the growing need for mental health awareness in Uganda. The project organizers believe that by promoting mental health awareness in schools and communities, they can help prevent and manage mental health problems, ultimately leading to healthier and more productive communities. For more information, please contact Juliane Etima, Projects Director – Rotary Club of Kiwatule at julianeetima@gmail.com. Rotary Club of Kiwatule was chartered on 8th october 2002, and fellowships every Wednesday at 7:00pm at Kabira Country Club