Friendship Bench – Zimbabwe | Ep 6 | Developing Mental Wealth

The final episode in our first series takes you to Zimbabwe to learn about a project that is beautifully simple, but whose impact is being felt far beyond Harare where it began.Seyi and Radha meet Professor Dixon Chibanda, a classically trained psychiatrist who, following the tragic death of a client by suicide, was inspired to take psychiatry out of the hospital and in to the community. There, a group of local grandmothers convinced him to set up the Friendship Bench project, where people receive counselling and advice from CBT-trained grandmothers, all while sitting on a park bench. A woman called Jenny Muzoma tells her own story of hardship, for which she’s been receiving counselling from Mrs Nhengo.Developing Mental Wealth is a six-part series about community-based solutions to mental health issues, in parts of the world where circumstances can be the most challenging. The series is funded by the European Journalism Centre, through the Solutions Journalism Accelerator. This fund is supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.Series one is over for now, but subscribe to the Positive News email newsletter to continue your weekly fix of uplifting news about what’s going right: www.positive.news/letterProducer: Anna StaufenbergExecutive Producer: Samantha PsykMixing & sound design: Anna StaufenbergIf you’re affected by the issues covered in this episode, in the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on freephone 116 123, or email [email protected]. For more information on The Friendship Bench, go to https://www.friendshipbenchzimbabwe.org Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, Seyi and Radha take you to Lagos in Nigeria, where sharp increases in heat and flooding have put the city – the largest in Africa – on the frontline of the climate crisis. They discover the Zen Café, which has recently been set up to support those struggling with eco-anxiety, and hear how the project has created a space for concerned citizens to come together and make sense of what’s happening to the world around them.They meet Svetlana Chigozie Onye and Ayomide Olude from SustyVibes, the organisation which set up The Eco-anxiety in Africa Project (TEAP), and Ihuoma, a cafe attendee.Developing Mental Wealth is a six-part series about community-based solutions to mental health issues, in parts of the world where circumstances can be the most challenging. The series is funded by the European Journalism Centre, through the Solutions Journalism Accelerator. This fund is supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.Subscribe to the Positive News email newsletter: www.positive.news/letterProducer: Anna StaufenbergExecutive Producer: Samantha PsykMixing & sound design: Anna StaufenbergIf you’re affected by the issues covered in this episode, in the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on freephone 116 123, or email [email protected]. For more information on SustyVibes and The Ecoanxiety in Africa Project, go to https://www.teap.sustyvibes.org. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Radha and Seyi are taking you to Guatemala this week, a mountainous country in Central America where almost half of the population has Indigenous roots. They discover a project called Buena Semilla, which is using women’s circles to empower Indigenous groups and reconnect them with traditional Mayan concepts of wellbeing.They meet the founder, Anne Marie Chomat, and local project coordinator, Sadi Garcia. Sadi, who has Mayan K’iche’ origins, is one of the people who leads the circles, which reach more than 300 women across Guatemala every week.Developing Mental Wealth is a six-part series about community-based solutions to mental health issues, in parts of the world where circumstances can be the most challenging. The series is funded by the European Journalism Centre, through the Solutions Journalism Accelerator. This fund is supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.Subscribe to the Positive News email newsletter: www.positive.news/letterProducer: Anna StaufenbergExecutive Producer: Samantha PsykMixing & sound design: Anna StaufenbergIf you’re affected by the issues covered in this episode, in the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on freephone 116 123, or email [email protected]. For more information on Buena Semilla, go to buena-semilla.org. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Radha and Seyi are back on the African continent this week, in Johannesburg. They travel to South Africa’s biggest city to learn about a narrative therapy technique called the Tree of Life, which has been so successful it’s now used in more than 40 countries.They meet the creator of the Tree of Life approach, Ncazelo Ncube-Mlilo, who founded an organisation called Phola, and a woman whose life she changed forever, Winny Mangani.Developing Mental Wealth is a six-part series about community-based solutions to mental health issues, in parts of the world where circumstances can be the most challenging. The series is funded by the European Journalism Centre, through the Solutions Journalism Accelerator. This fund is supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.Subscribe to the Positive News email newsletter: www.positive.news/letterProducer: Anna StaufenbergExecutive Producer: Samantha PsykMixing & sound design: Anna StaufenbergIf you’re affected by the issues covered in this episode, in the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on freephone 116 123, or email [email protected]. For more information on Phola, go to www.phola.org. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Seyi and Radha are hopping over the Atlantic this week to meet a group of women in Peru, who are supporting the country’s neurodivergent community with their mental health challenges, through the simple act of hosting picnics. They meet journalist and co-founder of the Peruvian Neurodivergent Coalition (CNP), Caro Díaz, team member Karina, and picnic attendee Alex. They ask the question: everybody talks about self-care, but what about community care?Developing Mental Wealth is a six-part series about community-based solutions to mental health issues, in parts of the world where circumstances can be the most challenging. The series is funded by the European Journalism Centre, through the Solutions Journalism Accelerator. This fund is supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.Subscribe to the Positive News email newsletter: www.positive.news/letterProducer: Anna StaufenbergExecutive Producer: Samantha PsykMixing & sound design: Anna StaufenbergIf you’re affected by the issues covered in this episode, in the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on freephone 116 123, or email [email protected]. You can also contact the ADHD Foundation Neurodiversity Charity at https://www.adhdfoundation.org.uk/. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We’re kicking off this Developing Mental Wealth series with a trip to the Ivory Coast. We hear the incredible story of Marie-Alix de Putter, whose project Heal by Hair is training hairdressers as mental health first responders, making it easier for people to get support in a country where mental illness remains taboo.Seyi and Radha meet founder Marie-Alix and hairdresser Esmel Semou. They learn about the concept of Ubuntu, which emphasises people’s interconnectedness, and how this is being applied to mental health in a way that stands in complete contrast to western traditions.Developing Mental Wealth is a six-part series about community-based solutions to mental health issues, in parts of the world where circumstances can be the most challenging. The series is funded by the European Journalism Centre, through the Solutions Journalism Accelerator. This fund is supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.Subscribe to the Positive News email newsletter: www.positive.news/letterProducer: Anna StaufenbergExecutive Producer: Samantha PsykMixing & sound design: Anna StaufenbergIf you’re affected by the issues covered in this episode, in the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on freephone 116 123, or email [email protected] Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Positive News Podcast brings you the good news that matters. In our opening six-part series, Developing Mental Wealth, we uncover the fascinating ways that different communities are supporting people’s mental health in parts of the world where circumstances can be the most challenging. Hosted by medical doctor Radha Modgil and journalist Seyi Rhodes. Coming on June 7th.Producer: Anna StaufenbergExecutive Producer: Samantha PsykMixing & sound design: Anna Staufenberg Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.