Munira Nurbhai, Grade 11
UWCEA Arusha
Happiness- a state of well-being and contentment. But how would we know what being happy feels like? How would we know what laughing uncontrollably until tears start to fall out feels like if the only feelings we experience are sadness, hopelessness, and a loss of interest in all the activities we used to enjoy doing? Suddenly you find yourself sleeping more than usual, eating too much or too little, or constantly listening to music with your earphones plugged in, so you don't have to face the world. Soon you realize you are not okay when your room starts resembling a junkyard. When you try telling your parents you feel depressed, their response is always “you have everything anyone could ask for, there's no need to be depressed”, or blame it on the phone. But only if there was a way to tell them it's not just a phase, it's a closed loop, whereby anxiety is holding us hostage inside our homes, and inside our heads, while panic attacks visit us daily.
As an Indian Muslim living in Tanzania paracetamol is the cure for everything.
Do you have a stomach ache? Take Paracetamol. Headache? Take Paracetamol. Depression, yup you guessed it! PARACETAMOL.
Mental illnesses are taboo in many societies including mine and they should not be thought of any differently than any physical illness. But who will explain to society that it's not some kind of illness which can be cured by sleeping, eating pills, or by waiting to get over it?
I knew it would be extremely difficult for me to break through the stigma of negative and discriminatory attitudes that others have about mental illness. One of them being mentally ill people are dangerous. I knew I had to address this issue so everyone suffering from any mental health illness would choose the path of seeking help rather than suffocating and giving up on life. Hence I decided to share these concerns with my best friend who I knew would support me throughout this journey.
After hours and hours of research, sleepless nights which eventually led to 0ver 18+ hours of screen time, and countless tubs of ice cream, we created an organization known as “the Powerful Minds”. Our aim was to strive together and spread awareness on topics that today’s generation runs through which are not prioritized nor spoken about but rather ignored and taken lightly. The first step was to find enthusiastic youths who shared the same interest as us and were keen on spreading awareness. Surprisingly that was not difficult at all! Some messages to our close friends, a few posts on social media, and boom we had around 15-20 people interested in joining us.
Following came group meetings, calls, and endless tasks while juggling school work and exams. Finally, the awaited day came, Our first event, “The Mental Health Awareness Program” whereby there were professional speakers educating the audience on the importance of mental health, how to break the stigma and empower the youth to recognize and ask for the help they or someone else needs.
Being a co-founder came with its responsibilities. From making our logo with several, Yes and No’s along the way to designing all the posters and certificates, I was exhausted. But it was all worth it when we surpassed our goal of 100 attendees while also educating viewers through our Instagram live.
Along with being a co-founder, the group voted me as the secretary and head of the designing department which came with additional responsibilities. Me being a perfectionist I had to make sure I included all the information in a document every time we had a meeting while also designing events posters and Instagram posts to meet the public’s eye. This whole experience was totally worth the sweat, pain, and tears. It not only made me better at my designing skills but also improved my leadership ability and delegation.
Soon after our event, followed a trip to the Kibaha orphanage and house of Blue Hope where we donated food, clothes, books, games, and favor packages for the children.
This trip enabled me to help others in a selfless way while making use of my photography skills to capture the smiles on the children's faces when they received favor boxes through the donations collected from our event.
I will continue to share my love for volunteering and community service during my time at UWC. My goal is to open a branch of Powerful Minds in Arusha and continue spreading awareness on topics being disregarded by society. My leadership abilities, design skills, and creativity will hopefully enable me to lead a group of youths to make this world a better place. Additionally, I plan to bring my creativity and ability to innovate to the many clubs and activities offered at UWC. My diverse background will help me feel more confident in myself as well as in my relationship with others, allowing me to interact with a wider range of social groups and encouraging me to promote my ideas and content.
Citation
https://www.istockphoto.com/illustrations/volunteering
As an Indian Muslim living in Tanzania paracetamol is the cure for everything.
Do you have a stomach ache? Take Paracetamol. Headache? Take Paracetamol. Depression, yup you guessed it! PARACETAMOL.
Mental illnesses are taboo in many societies including mine and they should not be thought of any differently than any physical illness. But who will explain to society that it's not some kind of illness which can be cured by sleeping, eating pills, or by waiting to get over it?
I knew it would be extremely difficult for me to break through the stigma of negative and discriminatory attitudes that others have about mental illness. One of them being mentally ill people are dangerous. I knew I had to address this issue so everyone suffering from any mental health illness would choose the path of seeking help rather than suffocating and giving up on life. Hence I decided to share these concerns with my best friend who I knew would support me throughout this journey.
After hours and hours of research, sleepless nights which eventually led to 0ver 18+ hours of screen time, and countless tubs of ice cream, we created an organization known as “the Powerful Minds”. Our aim was to strive together and spread awareness on topics that today’s generation runs through which are not prioritized nor spoken about but rather ignored and taken lightly. The first step was to find enthusiastic youths who shared the same interest as us and were keen on spreading awareness. Surprisingly that was not difficult at all! Some messages to our close friends, a few posts on social media, and boom we had around 15-20 people interested in joining us.
Following came group meetings, calls, and endless tasks while juggling school work and exams. Finally, the awaited day came, Our first event, “The Mental Health Awareness Program” whereby there were professional speakers educating the audience on the importance of mental health, how to break the stigma and empower the youth to recognize and ask for the help they or someone else needs.
Being a co-founder came with its responsibilities. From making our logo with several, Yes and No’s along the way to designing all the posters and certificates, I was exhausted. But it was all worth it when we surpassed our goal of 100 attendees while also educating viewers through our Instagram live.
Along with being a co-founder, the group voted me as the secretary and head of the designing department which came with additional responsibilities. Me being a perfectionist I had to make sure I included all the information in a document every time we had a meeting while also designing events posters and Instagram posts to meet the public’s eye. This whole experience was totally worth the sweat, pain, and tears. It not only made me better at my designing skills but also improved my leadership ability and delegation.
Soon after our event, followed a trip to the Kibaha orphanage and house of Blue Hope where we donated food, clothes, books, games, and favor packages for the children.
This trip enabled me to help others in a selfless way while making use of my photography skills to capture the smiles on the children's faces when they received favor boxes through the donations collected from our event.
I will continue to share my love for volunteering and community service during my time at UWC. My goal is to open a branch of Powerful Minds in Arusha and continue spreading awareness on topics being disregarded by society. My leadership abilities, design skills, and creativity will hopefully enable me to lead a group of youths to make this world a better place. Additionally, I plan to bring my creativity and ability to innovate to the many clubs and activities offered at UWC. My diverse background will help me feel more confident in myself as well as in my relationship with others, allowing me to interact with a wider range of social groups and encouraging me to promote my ideas and content.
Citation
https://www.istockphoto.com/illustrations/volunteering
www.unitedworldwide.co