My Academy
The Sitawa Wafula Mental Health Academy is a 'labor of love' that started taking shape in 2014 after years of getting requests to mentor those thinking about making an impact in the African mental health space.
Phase 1: 2014 - 2016
The first phase focused on testing content through weekly sessions with three groups - 1) a youth mentorship program for University students hosted by Basic Needs Basic Rights Kenya, 2)young people in Kibera (Nairobi’s largest slum) and 3) young girls who were part of Nairobits Korogocho Hub. For 8-14 weeks, the groups went through mental health/epilepsy 101 and storytelling. Participants in the Kibera group also learnt how to blog - here is a sample blog from one of the students - and were featured on one of Kenya's mainstream stations.
Phase 2: 2018 - 2020
The second phase focused on helping participants create tangible products that meet the needs in their communities. I incorporated lessons from Phase 1, expanded the curriculum with skills gained from a Social Innovation Management program I participated in and insights from my experience of setting up and running my country's first free support line. This phase worked with over 30 mental health champions from 8 African countries. Here are some of the highlights from the first cohort.
Phase 3: 20??
The dream is to build an entity that bridges the mental health workforce gap for Africans wherever they are, by training and funding the next generation of researchers and innovators.
The dream is to build an entity that bridges the mental health workforce gap for Africans wherever they are, by training and funding the next generation of researchers and innovators.
