Posted on: 6 April 2023
CNWL received a small grant from Health Education England (HEE) last year to help Mirembe Hospital, Tanzania’s national mental health hospital, develop a community based mental health care service.
Chris Bumstead, Coordinator for CNWL International Healthcare Partnerships, has been out in Tanzania since January, delivering training and advocating for the resources and policies required to build this initiative. This is the final blog Chris will share as he returns from Dodoma this week.
Chris’s first three blog posts can be found at the bottom of this article.
April 2023
April is International Autism Acceptance month. Mirembe Hospital have kicked this off with a weekend of events involving staff, local dignitaries, members of the Ministry of Health, and other public and private organisations.
On Friday 31 March the programme began with a knock-out football tournament. The teams were made up of prize players from a local school, Dodoma Prison, the national health Insurance company, Mirembe staff, and a “street team” (who won a goat as the prize!). The football grounds at Mirembe and Mlezi school leave a lot to be desired, with their uneven, rocky ground and long grass, but the teams had no fear!
The football tournament continued on Saturday and was enhanced with a match between two teams of school children and an additional volleyball tournament. The Dodoma Mayor, several members of the Ministry of Health Mental Health team, and the founder of the Lukiza Autism Foundation from Dar es Salaam all attended the event. I was included among this group of “dignitaries” as the token ‘mzungu’ (Swahili term used to refer to a white person) and as a result of my involvement in some of the planning sessions. This involved taking part in a pre-match warm-up with the kids and shaking their hands before the game – some of them seemed a little embarrassed shaking the hand of a mzungu, but I was also pleased to see the goalie for one of the teams was a girl.
On the Sunday, there was a march from Nyerere Square in the centre of Dodoma to Mirembe Hospital, passing the Mlezi Primary School. The event started with a calisthenics session on Nyerere Square to get warmed up (as if we needed it in 30-degree heat!). We were accompanied by a group of drummers who kept up a fast beat as we half-jogged along the four-kilometre route to Mirembe. There were speeches from the Ministry of Health, Mirembe Hospital Director (Dr Paul Lawala), the Mayor and the Dodoma Regional Commissioner, followed by a well-deserved lunch.
The idea to celebrate Autism Acceptance month came from the Ministry of Health but there weren’t ample resources or financial backing to realise it. The Commissioner for Non-Communicable Diseases, Dr Omary Ubuguyu, did, however, take a lead role in pushing the project. Preparation for these events started six weeks ago, with a group of about 15 Mirembe staff all taking on different roles to bring everything together. It was decided that the events should have a community focus so contacts were made with Mlezi Primary School, which is very close to Mirembe Hospital.
I visited Mlezi on a few occasions, with other members of the planning team, to see the school’s conditions and to discuss with staff how best Mirembe could help them. Mlezi is an open-access school and has about 350 pupils, 70 of whom have special education needs, and who are supported by four special needs teachers. The children are classified according to their behaviour and educational support needs. Level 1 children have the greatest need and have their own (8m x 8m) classroom with a single teacher to accommodate all 38 children, no furniture, a concrete floor and a handful of Duplo bricks for toys. Levels 2 and 3 share a classroom with desks but only have a very limited amount of educational materials. There is a communal dining area, again with no furniture, and a small outside space for play with only a few old car tyres.
Unfortunately, it wasn’t possible in the time available to get sponsorship for these events so it was paid for out of Mirembe hospital funds. Mirembe and the Ministry of Health are aiming to raise funds to fully refurbish the special needs classrooms in Mlezi, which are in a very bad state of repair, supply educational materials, refurbish the toilet and washroom block, and erect fencing around the school to improve security, as the area is often used as a short-cut by locals. To supplement this support, Mirembe will work in partnership with Mlezi Primary School to provide support through the Child & Adolescent Mental Health Unit. Mlezi will assist Mirembe with some educational support at the Child and Adolescent Mental Health unit. I have also been working with colleagues in a non-governmental organisation I have set up (imhsus.org) to submit a small grant funding proposal of 5000 euros to a Dutch charity. The charity will provide fencing to the school, playground equipment and a shelter for the kids to have a shaded play area out of the sun.
It has been a real privilege working with Mirembe colleagues on this project. They are working incredibly hard to address community mental health and education needs in the region. I hope I am able to return soon and see further progress made. In the meantime, I will remain in touch with my colleagues in Mirembe.
You can read any of Chris’ previous blogs below:
Please see below a video Chris took of the parade: