Global Volunteers partners with mental health professionals in Tanzania to inspire local leaders and families of the Ukwega Ward to visualize optimal community mental wellness and to collaborate on practical strategies to integrate mental health into the primary care system. A foundational strategy is to build sustainable resources to operationalize this vision.
Global Volunteers’ Tanzania partners have skillfully integrated short-term volunteer assistance into ongoing development projects in Tanzania since 1986. While world events cause some volunteers to postpone international service, those who volunteer in the midst of change find that scarcity in “lean times” multiplies the immediate value of their knowledge and expertise. The Lee-Cohen family discovered […]
Across the Ukwega Ward in the highlands of Tanzania, Fathers of Goodwill groups are quietly changing lives. Inspired by Rwanda’s Bandebereho program (Kinyarwanda for “role model”), our groups bring men together to learn positive fatherhood, strengthen family relationships, support maternal and child health, and prevent violence at home. Reaching Children’s Potential Program (RCP) Psychologist Jordan […]
Three-time alumni volunteer Sophia Hughson said more daunting than the backroads on the way to Ipalamwa, Tanzania was sharing her personal perspectives on adulthood with Tanzanian mothers she’d just met. But the 18-year-old student was lured by the opportunities to explore her interest in psychology and to enlarge her understanding of parenthood in a developing […]
In this fourth installment for Mental Health Awareness Month, four Global Volunteers mental health professionals describe their own experiences working with local people on life-affirming projects in Tanzania. “Global Volunteers had had this incredible idea of helping the children of Ipalama to grow to be healthy mentally and physically and spiritually,” said Volunteer Catherine Mayer. […]
Global Volunteers’ 2023 comprehensive community mental health needs assessment revealed a prevalence of gender-based violence (GBV) in the villages where volunteers serve. Partnering with Ipalamwa General Clinic (IGC), Kilolo District Council’s Social Welfare Office, local community leaders, the University of Iringa’s psychology department, and collaborating psychiatrist Dr. Petro Lusasi from Ilula Lutheran Hospital, we swiftly […]
Convenient MD volunteers Jo Beltre, Brittany Berg, and Diana McWilliam shared their healthcare expertise in homes, schools, and village meetings, promoting mental wellness in the Ukwega Ward. In this report from the field, they stop to reflect on the community’s uncanny receptivity and the unexpected joys of teaching in rural Africa. The corporate team of […]
Child raising requires strength, resilience, and boundless love from mothers the world over. For mothers living in rural Tanzania, unique challenges make mental wellness not just important, but essential. Read on to learn why Global Volunteers prioritizes mothers’ mental health in our host communities of the Ukwega Ward. In giving birth to and raising society’s […]
Gender-based violence (GBV) remains a critical challenge affecting communities worldwide, with far-reaching consequences on mental health, family dynamics, and child development. In Tanzania where Global Volunteers partners with local governments and community leaders in the Ukwega Ward, we address GBV through comprehensive training programs and targeted interventions. Read on to learn how we collaborate to […]
The Reaching Children’s Potential Program (RCP) in Tanzania introduced mental wellness as a key component of holistic child and family health in 2018. Working together, Ukwega Ward community leaders, RCP staff and short-term volunteers have built an educational foundation for behavioral and physical wellbeing practices. Two new Global Volunteers projects aim to further address the […]
In 2023, Global Volunteers responded to the critical alcohol abuse problem in the Ukwega Ward by introducing the international addiction recovery program Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) through village meetings. AA was selected because its proven “12-Step” program is familiar to a wide range of volunteers, is accepted in Tanzania, and is founded on non-clinical interventions; extending […]