Mental Health Professionals Enrich Pivotal Village Projects in Tanzania

The Reaching Childrens Potential Program (RCP) Mental Wellness Initiative was formally launched in 2021 after three years of investigation and research into the community’s mental health needs and openness to co-creating treatments and interventions with Global Volunteers.  The major goal is to optimize mental wellness in the Ukwega Ward by educating leaders and families on the forms of mental illness and their relationship with physical health. Global Volunteers RCP Senior Caregiver and Mental Wellness Education Manager Regina Mhagama reports on new developments in volunteers’ role in elevating local families’ mental health and wellness.

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By Regina Mhagama

In the Ukwega Ward, people have come to know that mental health is a central part of their lives. When the RCP Program was launched in 2017, mental health was not integrated into primary care at the Ipalamwa General Clinic (IGC), eventhough we had people suffering from different issues like depression, anxiety and alcohol abuse. Only the few patients with obvious clinical presentations like epilepsy, psychosis and the like were addressed. But as we began discussing mental health and reaching out to community leaders, the program sensitized the medical team to approach every patient with open eyes and ears on issues related to mental illnesses broadly.  Our communications efforts, including workshops and mental health assessments, have significantly increased the quality of care and the ability of the IGC medical team to unearth issues that could go unaddressed in the past.

We proceed with care, having embraced mental health care as part of quality healthcare at IGC. Meanwhile, we continue to sensitize patients and families by educating them during our standard home visits, village meetings, and group therapy sessions.  Volunteers are a central resource in providing all the education and interventions offered through IGC and throughout the Ukwega Ward.  Learned and lived expertise is greatly needed in working with all of us onsite to improve awareness and reduce reducing prejudice and stigma in the community.

Help Conduct AA Group Meetings

RCP began a collaboration in 2023 with the Iringa Sober House to provide informational meetings on alcohol recovery through Alcohol Anonymous (AA).  Generous donations from volunteers and grantors enabled us to purchase enough Swahili language meeting supplies for five villages, and volunteers with recovery experience shared their personal stories.  We’re now supporting two separate AA groups – one for men and another for women — who want to recover from addiction.  Thanks to the support of Global Volunteers’ team members who were committed and open to share their knowledge, hope and strength, these groups are established and serving as a model for new groups forming in other villages.

In  January 2024, Alumni Volunteer Hugh Neville, a clinical psychologist, worked with these two newly established groups to stabilize their meeting processes and answer many questions about addiction.  The members are now actively engaged in the AA groups, and reporting significant improvements in their mental wellness. The positive impact of the AA groups is spreading rapidly, with those who have achieved sobriety for days, weeks and months.  To ensure that the momentum continues, I’ve attended public meetings to coordinate with local people who want to expand AA meeting throughout the community.  We expect that by the end of April, we’ll have AA meetings in each village of the Ukwega Ward.  This is a formative time in our community mental wellness effort.  We urge those who are experienced in 12-Step groups to work with us in the community and help new groups of  people achieve sobriety.

Provide Mental Health Education and Direct Services

Volunteers play a very significant part of conducting educational workshops in primary mental health areas.  Those with experience and professional expertise consult side-by-side with local staff in interventions such as psychotherapy, counseling and group therapy. For instance, Hugh met with local parents in home visits to discuss signs and symptoms of depression, and offered tips for stress management, such as deep breathing and muscle relaxation techniques. Combined with depression workshops, these personal home visits help mothers and fathers find the strength within themselves to cope with their distress. The women who attend depression sessions reported that they get relief from support of Global Volunteers and opportunity to talk about their situation. 

This interpersonal relationship with American, Canadian and European volunteers is very encouraging to village families – leaving them to feel happy with uplifted hearts. For example when a group of corporate volunteers shared their personal experience concerning depression and parenting roles at a Mkalanga Village meeting, they made a remarkable impact on local people.  Families learned they had commonality with American volunteers, and were inspired to learn new skills from them.

We need volunteers of every professional background every month who will participate in bringing hope to these families. Many times, volunteers may bring so much change and positive impact just by sharing their life experience.  Please work with us in helping solve and improve mental health in the community.

Train and Enable Caregivers

RCP Caregivers underwent comprehensive training in 2023 on conducting group therapy sessions using interpersonal therapy (IPT).   We have since conducted monthly group support, and personal mental health assessment and support daily in the homes of RCP families.  One group of women in Lulindi testified they learned how to cope with depression and will use the knowledge to help other people in the  their areas.  Too often during these intensive session, the Caregivers learn of women in distress and may be suicidal.  They quickly refer them to the medical staff for assessment and treatment and at IGC.  Volunteers with professional expertise in suicide prevention, trauma, group therapy, cognitive behavioral therapy and related disciplines are urgently needed to help RCP and IGC staff improve their skills. 

Further, a primary goal for 2024 is laying a foundation for a gender-based violence (GBV) prevention and response capability, which will expand as funding becomes available.  Our first step has been to help distribute the Tanzanian GBV National Plan to village leaders and present information about family conflicts and violence, alcohol abuse, neglect and abandonment at village meetings.  Volunteers will play a very significant part of conducting  educational workshops on preventing and prosecuting GBV, and those with professional experience in this area will consult side-by-side with local staff and collaborators. Your involvement can contribute to the growth and replication of successful models for addressing community challenges.

By joining  this transformative journey,  you become a part of a collective force working towards positive change and promoting mental well-being throughout the Ukwega Ward – joining our heart and hands together. Our partnership with village, ward, district and national leaders and mental health professionals provides a structured and supportive framework and commitment  for making a measurable difference.  As a volunteer, you can be certain that your efforts align with the community’s needs and that your contributions have a lasting impact.

We work hand-in-hand with local people, vital stakeholders, including government leaders, and collaborate with the Tanzania Network Against Alcohol Abuse (TAANET), the Tanzania national AA office, the Mental Health Association of Tanzania (MEHATA) and organizational leaders in all areas of mental wellness. Please share your valuable skills and experience with us, and make a permanent impact on the lives of thousands of children and adults in Tanzania!

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