At the Global MINDS 2017 Summer Institute, one student team was tasked with leveraging CREATE's initial work to build mental health awareness and address stigma and social exclusion for people with serious mental illness (PWSMI) in Kenya.
Team Watetezi* immediately rose to this challenge. Since the Summer Institute they have been hard at work with preparations to implement the Advocacy Incubator, a platform to provide PWSMI support to voice their opinions and implement their initiatives. Eight participants have been recruited for the incubator; all are graduates of the PSR Toolkit Groups who are interested in becoming mental health advocates. Incubator members have exciting advocacy goals and ideas, including increasing awareness about mental illness and decreasing stigma through public speaking initiatives and written media in Kenya.
Team Watetezi has received group facilitation training, provided by Dr. Regina Casey to lead initial incubator sessions.
Canadian Team Watetezi members continue to work on establishing additional relationships and seeking out networking opportunities in Canada through the Canadian Coalition for Global Health Research, participating in Western University's "World Challenge", and conferences!
*Team Watetezi is pictured with Faculty Mentor Dr. Arlene MacDougall on the far left.
