Global Health Corps has emphasised the need for the introduction of mental health learner’s clubs in schools in order to prop up awareness on the subject.
The Global Health Corps country director, Symon Simkoko made the call on Saturday during the training of the trainers workshop at Bwaila Secondary School in Lilongwe.
He explained that the country continues to experience a rise in mental health problems, hence the need for authorities to bang heads and come up with strategies likely to improve the situation.
Simkoko said: “It is so clear that the numbers of mental health cases are rising, including the suicide cases. We had a meeting with the ministry of health and they indicated that there’s a rise mainly amongst the young people”
“So if there is a rise in cases of suicide, which is quite a big sign of mental health, it means we need to take a step and start targeting schools.”
Simkoko also expressed optimism that the concept of clubs in schools will offer platform for learners to share challenges, coping mechanisms and ways to improve their performance in school.
“One of the major challenges is their needs in terms of groceries, pocket money. Sometimes other students are coming from one parent family and most of the time they say I’m thinking of what is happening at home. You hear issues of divorces at home, they affect the students ” He said.
In her remarks, Faridah Zalimba, mentioned that students sometimes fail to share what they are passing through with others due to trust issues.
Zalimba hopes that having such interactions will help to address the issues in most schools.
“It’s really helpful because through these sessions, people attend or engage with others, chilling, that helps us to clear our minds a lot.” she explained.
Esther Tauzi, a teacher at Lilongwe girls secondary school and also a member of psycho social group, shared a number of issues that pose to be a trap for students to find themselves in mental health challenges.
Representatives from 11 selected secondary schools from Lilongwe central west education division have been trained to take a leading role in implementing mental health issues through the clubs that will be formed.
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