By Hannah Pain | Intern
Title of Event: Session on Mental Health for the Empowering Girls Project
Objective: To get the students to understand the importance of Mental Health
Venue: Adenkrebi School
Team: Philip Kwesi Agyei, Jennifer Gasu (Programmes Manager), Jennifer Gasu (Programmes Manager), Naa Adjeley (Field coordinator, AFAWI), Interns: Emma Ridley, Hala Mobaydeen, Viktoria Kuszak,Perrine Maillot, Siobhan Wainwright, Kayla Fillipovich, Hannah Pain
I. Procedure
- 10:15 AM – DEPARTURE: Departure of AFAWI Interns from Adenta, Ghana, to Ga East, Ghana by uber.
- 12:00 PM – TEAM ARRIVAL AT ADENKRBI SCHOOL: Via AFAWI drivers from Ga East, Ghana.
- 12:15 PM – AFTER TEAM ARRIVAL: When the team arrived, they went and looked at the progress of the new classrooms, washrooms and kitchen being built for the students. After this the team waited while the students had their lunch.
- 12:45 PM – TEAM WENT AND LOOKED AT THE PROGESS OF THE FARM
- 13:00 PM – VICKY AND PERRINE BEGIN TO SET UP PROJECTOR FOR PRESENTATION: Additionally, the children helped set up the classroom with desks so they were ready for the presentation.
- 13:00 – 14:00 PM VICKY AND PERRINE GIVE PRESENTATION: Vicky and Perrine started by introducing themselves, the topic, and the structure of the presentation. The presentation consisted of the most common types of mental health, what to do if you experience mental health difficulties and how to respond to someone who is suffering. During the presentation there were various exercises in which the students could contribute their ideas, they were very successful and many students contributed their thoughts. Throughout the presentation all of the 89 children were very interested and engaged, and many questions were asked at the end.
- 14:00 PM END OF PRESENTATION: At the end of the presentation the children thanked Vicky and Perrineand then learnt the rest of the team’s names. Then the team helped to pack away the presentation equipmentand thanked the teachers for having them. Just before leaving the school, we had a team picture with Na, the interns, and the teachers at Adenkrebi School.
- 14:30 PM – DEPARTURE OF AFAWI TEAM TO ADENTA OFFICE, GHANA
SUMMARY: The workshop on Mental Health conducted by Vicky and Perrine at Adenkrebi can be seen as a highly successful class as the students throughout were attentive and inquisitive. Vicky and Perrine’s delivery of the content was very clear and easily understandable. Despite mental health being such a sensitive subject to talk about they addressed the topic well and clarified the fundamental points surrounding this subject e.g mental health is just as important as physical health. During the presentation you could tell that the students showed interest to learn and were willing to ask questions. Some of the children were taking notes in their workbooks, and they seemed particularly interested when talking about the topic of bullying. The students also engaged well when asked to contribute. Some of the questions asked during and after the presentation included:
When asked what health means the children answered, “strength”, and “when you’re healthy you feel strong”.
When asked what it means to be unhealthy, the children answered, “losing your appetite and not eating”.
The children remembered the 3 different ways that mental health affects you:
- How you think
- How you feel
- How you act
When asked what mental health struggles they think people face, they said, “you can’t concentrate”, “you feel sad” and “you feel worried”.
When asked “what do you do to feel better” one of the young boys answered, “you wash your hands before eating food”. We think he may have misunderstood the question, however, a few other children answered, "play sport”, “watch a movie”, “listen to music” or “play with friends”.
During the true or false game, the children answered all the questions correctly, clearly and confidently.
When asked “how can you help someone with mental health problems”, the children answered, “you can help someone by talking with them and going outside to play”.
Some further questions asked by the students were:
• Is mental health in the brain?
• What causes mental health?
• Is it contagious?
• If you are alone in the house, what can you do to feel better?
• What is the difference between mental health and menopause?
• How can you help someone with mental health problems?
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