EMR Events
SOMALIA - Somali drama
on mental health Berbera, 7th April 2001
- WORLD MENTAL HEALTH DAY
- SOMALI DRAMA ON MENTAL HEALTH BERBERA, 7th OF
APRIL 2001
- UNA-GRT
- Supported by WHO
PROGRAM OF THE
ACTIVITIES
The main objectives of the planned
activities are to increase population's awareness on topics surrounding mental illnesses,
to involve schools in prevention activities and to decrease false beliefs among students
and the Berbera population as a whole.
To achieve these goals, the following results will
be pursued:
The activities will be organized with the
collaboration of the local government and the Hospital board.
Elders,
religious men, LNGOs and important people will be actively invited.
The show (Somali Drama) will be
performed in a place with a capacity of more than five hundred people.
Different
awareness activities involving different target groups will be undertaken.
AWARENESS ACTIVITIES IN SCHOOLS During the last week of March,
two social workers of GA YO will present the Mental Hospital activities to the children of
two different primary schools in Berbera. They will describe their approach to mental
illness and the importance of supporting the patients and their relatives. They will use
appropriate language and material to involve the students in a discussion.
The students will then be invited to prepare drawings on mental illness in
class under the teacher's supervision. In each school, the teachers and a social worker
will collect the drawings and select ten of them. From these drawings GAVO will select the
five best which will be presented with an award. The awards will be given by the Mayor during
the Somali drama that will be held on the evening of the 7th of April.
FOOTBALL MATCH The goal of this
activity is to create awareness amongst the population and demonstrate how sports
activities and soccer can help in the rehabilitation and re-socialization of the mentally
ill. The emphasis will be on the importance of avoiding any kind of exclusion for those
suffering from mental illness, and a big banner with "Stop Exclusion- Dare to
Care" (with a Somali translation) will be prepared and exhibited on this occasion and
during the Somali .
Drama.
Four football
teams wearing the Mental Health Day uniform will participate in a championship tournament.
The matches will be held in the biggest square in Berbera with the involvement of the
entire population, especially the authorities. The winning team will be awarded with a cup
commemorating Mental Health Day, during the evening, just before the Somali Drama.
SOMALI DRAMA The most popular
cultural and artistic show in Somaliland is the so-called "Somali Drama". GAVO
has already developed the capability to perform this kind of show, with good results in
terms of increased sensitization. In this occasion, GAVO will present to the Berbera.
C ommunity a Somali drama centered on the possibility of the
rehabilitation of mental patients and
the importance of supporting these activities among the community itself.
The drama will
be perfoffi1ed with the collaboration of a well-known music group of Berbera, sharing
awareness material about the social services present in Berbera managed by GAVO (Mental
Hospital, Psychosocial Centre and Carpentry Laboratory), and about the Mental Health Day.
The performance will be attended by the Berbera population, the Governor/Mayor
of
Berbera, the Regional Medical
Officer and the chairman of GAVO. Just before the performance, the Mayor will present
awards to the five best "mental health" drawings from the Berbera schools and
the winning football team.
The Somali
drama awareness campaign will also be held in Boroma.
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