Gede Foundation was one of the five organisations that participated in the #ShareInspireAct learning event that took place in Nairobi, Kenya between the 10th and 14th February 2019.
The event was organised by Time to Change Global (TTCG) and Christian Blind Mission (CBM UK).
Gede - Nigeria, BasicNeeds Basic Rights Kenya, GASS - India, Mental Health Society of Ghana and Mental Health Uganda are organisations in 5 countries that have been running anti stigma campaigns since 2019. These campaigns have been targeted at reducing/eliminating the stigma that is related to mental health problems. The learning event in was to create a platform where countries can share their experiences within the project and learn ways to improve in approaches to meet the overall programme objective.
The 5-day event drew 75 participants including TTCG Staff, CBM Staff, Champions (people with lived experience), Project Coordinators, NGO partners, civil society groups, members of Kenyan Parliament, government officials, donor agencies and the media under one ‘roof’ to interact and sufficiently explore ways to address stigma associated with mental health problems across regions.
Different sessions were held to better understand how to effectively target and reach many audiences. For two days, there were external sessions that featured key stakeholders in Kenya including psychiatrists, senators, and others with lived experience. The external team was treated to activities that the five countries have implemented in 2019—this included a mini social contact event - where people with lived experience of mental health problems have one-on-one conversation with people who have not had this experience.
Champions and Project Coordinators played key roles in delivering sessions at the event. They participated in panel discussions on ‘advocating for mental health’, ‘stigma and discrimination’ and ‘social contact’. The sessions provided more insights on ways to engage with the audience at social contacts and, specifically, how to deal with many challenges faced by people with mental health problems. A session on ‘social marketing’ showed the external and internal team the number of people reached in countries where social marketing has been concluded.
Overall, the learning event was wonderfully curated and met all expected outcomes.
We look forward to implementing the lessons and take part in reducing stigma towards mental health problems!
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Gede thanks its Board of Directors and its Founder, Barrister Jennifer Douglas-Abubakar for huge contributions and support that has helped in making all of this possible.