Samuel Talam
Founder and CEO Amazing Minds Africa
Psychological First Aid
Introduction
University entry all over the world provides students the opportunity to define and advance careers opportunities. Depending on their home environment and setting, the physical and social environment of the university is new, overwhelming and intimidating to some students. Moreover majority of Students joining public universities have unexplained fears and expectations about university life and education. Furthermore for some students, secondary schools friends have gone different ways which makes the unfamiliar university community as well as schedules add to the first year students anxieties. The reality is such that while some of the fears are overcome, others are confirmed with some expectations being met, while others are frustrated. Further, although students celebrate admission to university, it is also true that it brings deep anxieties since some students are breaking from familiar places and people for the first time in their lives. It Is important that adequate support be provided to students at different levels of their academic achievements so as to enable them utilize their campus experience maximumly and graduate in time. Amazing Minds is a student community organization that creates awareness, education and support on issues surrounding Mental Health by providing a forum and building an open environment for all students to speak up openly about these issues, and seek help easily.
This years focus was psychological first Aid, which is the first help accorded to someone experiencing a mental health crisis or going through a traumatic experience. Many students acknowledged that they had very little information on mental health issues and how to support close friends, family members and colleagues.
During that week students of Kenyatta university through Amazing Minds Africa, Kenyatta University Wellness Center and Basic Needs Kenya (through mentorship and support) were able to come up with different programs, Amazing Minds Africa is a youth organization whose aim is to create an open environment where students can openly speak about mental health Issues and seek help easily among students came up with activities to continue the mental health conversation and to acknowledge the importance of everyone to be involved in creating awareness and education to this fast arising issue. Dr Kemunto from Chiromo Lane Medical Center reiterated the importance of knowing the first steps to assisting someone with a mental health issue or going through a traumatic experience. She highlighted
- Asses for risk of suicide or harm
- Listen Non judgmentally
- Give reassurance and Information
- Encourage professional First Aid
- Encourage self help and other support strategies.
The director Kenyatta University Wellness Center also emphasized on the importance of different groups working together to reduce the burden of mental health.
Movie On Mental Health ( Like stars on Earth)
During the same week we were able to screen a movie that highlighted the importance of understanding and supporting people with a mental health issue.
Amazing Minds Africa in collaboration with Kenyatta University Wellness Center screened a movie on Friday 13th October highlighting the importance for the community to recognize and support students with
learning disabilities that have gone unnoticed
and continue to burden many students, yet these students can be supported and live
fulfilling social and academic lives. We had over 35 students attending the screening of
the movie that inspired others to be sensitize and more helping rather than criticizingIshaan Awasthi (Darsheel Safary) is an eight-year-old whose world is filled with wonders that no one else seems to appreciate; colors, fish, dogs and kites are just not important in the world of adults, who are much more interested in things like homework, marks and neatness. And Ishaan just cannot seem to get anything right in class. When he gets into far more trouble than his parents can handle, he is packed off to a boarding school to be disciplined. Things are no different at his new school, and Ishaan has to contend with the added trauma of separation from his family.
One day a new art teacher bursts onto the scene, Ram Shankar Nikumbh (Aamir Khan), who infects the students with joy and optimism. He breaks all the rules of how things are done by asking them to think, dream and imagine, and all the children respond with enthusiasm, all except Ishaan. Nikumbh soon realizes that Ishaan is very unhappy, and he sets out to discover why. With time, patience and care, he ultimately helps Ishaan find himself.
On his day off, Nikumbh sets off to Mumbai, to visit Ishaan's parents. Nikumbh is surprised to learn that Ishaan is passionate about painting, and shows great talent in art. Nikumbh then asks Mr Awasthi as to why he sent Ishaan to a boarding school. Mr Awasthi replies that Ishaan was an ill mannered boy and was a poor student. Nikumbh shows Ishaan's mother her son's notebooks and gives an analysis of the script. Nikumbh deduces that Ishaan has severe difficulty in understanding letters and words. Mr Awasthi tries to dismiss it as a mere excuse for Ishaan's laziness. Nikumbh demonstrates what Ishaan experiences every day at school. He states that Ishaan has dyslexia as well as he may be having other conditions, which make him a difficult child.
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