The final episode in our first series takes you to Zimbabwe to learn about a project that is beautifully simple, but whose impact is being felt far beyond Harare where it began.

Seyi and Radha meet Professor Dixon Chibanda, a classically trained psychiatrist who, following the tragic death of a client by suicide, was inspired to take psychiatry out of the hospital and in to the community. There, a group of local grandmothers convinced him to set up the Friendship Bench project, where people receive counselling and advice from CBT-trained grandmothers, all while sitting on a park bench. A woman called Jenny Muzoma tells her own story of hardship, for which she’s been receiving counselling from Mrs Nhengo.

Developing Mental Wealth is a six-part series about community-based solutions to mental health issues, in parts of the world where circumstances can be the most challenging. The series is funded by the European Journalism Centre, through the Solutions Journalism Accelerator. This fund is supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

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Producer: Anna Staufenberg

Executive Producer: Samantha Psyk

Mixing & sound design: Anna Staufenberg

If you’re affected by the issues covered in this episode, in the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on freephone 116 123, or email [email protected]. 

For more information on The Friendship Bench, go to https://www.friendshipbenchzimbabwe.org

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