A month ago, there was a week of observing mental health awareness at the Parliament of Uganda.
At work, we were extended an invitation to be there.
I had missed out on being a part of this if I hadn’t asked Archer to share with me the social media posters for the event.
And yet this event was happening for the very first time at this institution!
That morning found me so ready, armed with my phone charger, EarPods, beanie hat and hard drive.
Given my job, I knew those specific items would come in handy.
To be specific, I always need those items to transfer media (photos and videos) from one device to my own.
This is exactly what happened when I arrived at the Parliamentary Gardens!
We didn’t carry our camera from the office that day.
I had to improvise with my phone as the camera till I could find a better alternative, which I did!
In one of the tents, I was visiting and profiling, there was a group of 3 ladies from an institution called AVSI Fondazione.
They had carried one of their cameras to this event!
And yes, it was a very good one!
You don’t know how happy I was, when they were kind enough to let me use it to take as many photos as I wanted with the understanding that we would share these photos and videos between us!
I made it a point to take photos at every moment, angle, corner, walkway, and height that I could find.
They say that camera operators see so much behind those lenses. I find this true.
In many of the photos that I took that day,
I saw so many people concerned about the cause of mental health mixing and mingling amongst themselves.
I saw police officers and politicians approach our exhibition tents trying to ascertain what we were all about.
I saw something born in this August House (no other sitting of Parliamentarians has ever been this concerned about mental health like this one).
Might I say that we need this week next year?
Yes, we do!
Our people’s mental health is so bad and many of them aren’t even aware of it!
Would I want to see more ordinary Ugandans like me visiting us during that week?
Yes, I would love to!
We make the core of the communities that make up the country, at large!
Would I like to see more politicians visit our exhibition tents?
Yes, I would like to see all of them down here (they are over 500 of them, mark you)!
I want them to see what is at stake and why they should allocate much more funds to this cause, on the national budget.
I must tell you that as it stands right now, the health of the mind was allocated 0.5 billion shillings alongside other non-communicable diseases!
Unfortunately, our government also tends to address mental health problems after something really bad happens. We all need to look deeply into our inner health. The modern world is shaped in a way that doesn’t give you enough room for a proper self-reflection…
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Mental health awareness is at a critical point across so many regions. Also – that’s awesome you secured a proper camera at the event. It’s important to capture events for sure!
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Mental health awareness is so important. I’m glad it’s taking a proper place in discussions.
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Wow, what an amazing opportunity. Sounds like the event was a great kickoff and hopefully it’ll continue annually. I love that you were able to borrow a camera, too, to document the entire thing.
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The importance of mental health awareness is a great start. Events like these need to be held more often. ANd yes the Government need to allocate more budget.
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Mental illnesses affect a lot of people and we all need to do something about it.
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People struggling with their mental health may be in your family, live next door, teach your children, or work. It cna be anyone. So I agree with your conclusion.
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Great post! Thanks for sharing!
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Events such as this are just what we need to make mental health move to the forefront of health care (and to ease the stigma of mental illness). We have a long way to go but we have also come far. Thank you for sharing this experience.
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This is such a great initiative to make everyone aware of Mental Health! As this is very essential for such an individual’s well-being! Hope many institutes will follow this initiative! As this is also very timely in the world’s current state wherein so much uncertainty!
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Great job capturing the event! It’s perfect you could borrow the camera and share the pictures with more people! It also sounds like a great and powerful event highlighting mental health awareness.
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It sounds like a great event and looks like it had a good turn out. Such an important topic to bring awareness too! Awesome that those ladies let you use their camera.
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Thank you so much for sharing the hard work you did on bringing mental health to the forefront. The past 3+ years have been challenging for all of us globally and locally. I appreciate the advocacy efforts. I’m a mental health provider and encourage EVERYONE to focus on this topic https://pantearahimian.com/15-easy-ways-to-make-great-mental-health-your-reality/
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I was deeply moved by your experience at the mental health awareness event in Uganda’s Parliament. Your dedication to capturing the essence of the event through photography showcased the importance of the cause. It’s evident that more awareness and funding are needed for mental health in the country.
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It’s heartwarming to see so many people coming together and showing concern for the cause of mental health. It’s great to see them mingling and connecting with each other.
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That’s wonderful that so many were there. I love that she gave you the camera and you shared photo rights. 🙂
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While it’s long overdue, I’m glad our African governments are finally catching up and treating Mental Health with the seriousness it deserves.
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This is cool to help awareness of mental health as its very important nowadays. Thank you for sharing!
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Now it seems mental health is more important than ever and thanks for everyone who brought this up to the public and becomes aware of it. – knycx
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As someone who is also from a developing nation and know how mental health is viewed in these country and the lock of help for people who suffers from it, I am please to see Uganda taking mental health seriously.
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