Imagine reading a suicide note and knowing in your heart that you could've helped keep the person alive? The trauma, depression and anxiety experienced by African youth (10 - 19) today has its roots in a culture of stigmatised mental health and little to no access to quality mental health support. In Africa, 11 per 100 000 people die by suicide. This is higher than the global average of 9 per 100 000. The team at The UnLearning Children Foundation passionately addresses this dilemma.
In many South African schools, children face: Trauma from violence, poverty, and unstable homes Anxiety, depression, and emotional distress with no support Overcrowded classrooms where teachers cannot address emotional and personalised psychological needs A learning system that does not equip them to cope, think critically, or believe in themselves There is close to no access to mental health professionals in government schools. Children are expected to learn while silently struggling.
1. UnLearning Days Two hour practical/experiential interventions where learners experience: Emotional resilience and confidence-building activities Emotional intelligence workshops These workshops help children rediscover joy, curiosity, and belief in themselves. 2. Mental Health Practitioner Placements We place mental health practitioners directly into schools to: Provide counselling and emotional support to high-risk (referred) learners one-on-one Identify at-risk learners early.
With your support, we will: (1) Run UnLearning Days in more under-resourced schools across the continent reaching 2100 by December 2026 (2) Place more mental health practitioners where they are desperately needed using our concise database of high-risk schools (3) Reach hundreds of children who would otherwise receive no emotional support and possibly fall victim to suicide.
This project has provided additional documentation in a PDF file (projdoc.pdf).
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