Empowering local Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) is a very important part of our work.

Much of our work is carried out through local partner organisations. Many of these organisations are already active in helping their local communities and regions in other matters. Through working with them and building their capacity to include mental health as part of their work, we can quickly reach the thousands of people who urgently need our help.

It is also important to work through these local organisations as they are best placed to understand the needs of their communities and the best ways to solve problems.

For example, in Uganda, we have formed an alliance with the Kampala Christian Caring Community (KCCC) who work in the Kamwokia slum of Kampala. For 15 years they have been operating in the slum and one area of their work is running a health care centre to address the everyday health needs of the local residents. Unfortunately, their work did not cover mental health and mentally ill people were dragged the long distance to the Butabika hospital where they were treated very badly.

KCCC were looking for a different solution to this terrible situation so they called on BasicNeeds for assistance. Thanks to our involvement and support, we have been able to build the capacity of the KCCC to include mentally ill people in their work. Mentally Ill People in Kamwokia now have new hope for the future.

“I was due for my next appointment at Mulago Hospital on 19th January 2005, but I decided to go to KCCC because it is nearer. I have seen a difference! At KCCC, the drugs are always available and I have a community volunteer who is responsible for following up and checking on my progress.” Beatrice, a mentally ill person in Kamwokya, Uganda

We are also working to build the capacity of other international development NGOs in their approach to mental health in disaster situations and amongst internally displaced people. In the immediate aftermath of any natural disaster or war there is great psychological trauma amongst the victims who have been affected. Whilst the obvious concern of aid agencies is to repair the physical damage, we believe that the mental destruction should also be a primary focus of repair.

Our expertise in this field were developed in the aftermath of the Tsunami. Thanks to our programme in Sri Lanka, we were able to quickly and immediately respond to the emotional trauma caused by the massive loss of life and destruction of property and livelihoods.

To pass on this knowledge and method of working we have developed an international training centre based in Sri Lanka. Here, regular courses are run to train development workers and disaster response teams in how to include mental health in their reconstruction efforts. Read more about our international training programme here. >>