A testimony from a beneficiary, “We are looking for a home for mental wellness. A safe space that ensures our mental wellness.
We escaped a conflict induced situation in search for a safe home. The circumstances we endured made us observe death of our family, some wounded by bullets, women and young girls raped, and much more. Each day, the memories are fresh like it happened a minute ago.
Fortunately, all roads led to West Nile Uganda, a place its people gave us refuge. In this new place, we were called refugees living in homes called camps. In the camps, we heard of suicide and destruction. We did not know that we had carried the war memories with us.
We do not know or have control of what triggers our minds to act in an inhumane way. We have seen the depressed, distressed, suicide, anxiety, rape and several mental conditions unfold.
The tents are too thin to share or seek support.
Our new home has limited mental health and psychosocial services nor a mental health facility for us and West Nile people whose triggers we have imposed onto are now suffering our same fate” said Jane, not the real name.
A baseline survey conducted by AFOD-Uganda and EACAS in Adjumani District, Nov 2021 as reported by the Daily Monitor Wednesday, March 16, 2022, indicated 82% households within refugee settlement and the host community facing mental health issues[1]. In Moyo District. 40% of the refugee households reported a family member experiencing mental health disorder and psychological distress with an increase in suicide cases and attempts more than doubling in 2019 compared to the previous year with 97 suicide attempts and 19 deaths[2]’[3]. Many of these victims could have been saved through rehabilitative mental health services but ended up dying because of lack of rehabilitation facility in the region. The available are mostly private, located in the capital city, many miles away and very expensive to afford by these communities.
Whereas mental health systems still remain weak and uncoordinated in West Nile, the situation is further exacerbated by the lack of investment for mental health services in Uganda as the government spends 9.8% of its national budget on health out of which less than one per cent goes to mental health, yet 90% of less than one percent of the Mental Health budget is allocated to Butabika and Mulago National Referral hospitals.
AFOD is establishing a home of mental wellness, a regional rehabilitation center, a place where all West Nile people and beyond, refugee or not can all access a holistic package of integrated mental health rehabilitative service in one spot.
Our passion for building the first mental health rehabilitation center in West Nile is forthcoming. With your support, we can restore hope and change lives of many in need. A small donation of a $ or shilling is a step to setting up this facility.
“No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted.” Aesop. “Be the change you want to see in the w
[1] https://movendi.ngo/news/2022/07/08/ugandan-refugees-suffer-from-increased-mental-health-and-substance-use-problems
[2] Support Health Sector Strategic Plan Oct 2021
[3] Mental Health and Psychosocial Support in the Uganda Refugee Response; UNHCR, November 2019