Mental Health without Borders Programme

MENTAL HEALTH WITHOUT BORDERS

The Integrated Mental Health Initiative is pleased to inform our old and prospective clients that with effect from May 2016, we will have our services extended to you by correspondence under MENTAL HEALTH WITHOUT BOARDERS (MWB) PROGRAMME. Existing means by which you can communicate to us is www.imi.blogspot.com, www.integratedmentalhealth.org, dishma.imhs@gmail.com, and by phone +256774336277. By these means we will be in contact with you, hear from you, conduct assessments, design therapeutic programme, have weekly feedbacks on progress, continue on the recovery path to the end of the programme, get back to us for comprehensive reviews to the point of well adjusted states to handle conditions and situations on one's own. Like on other programmes we need volunteers, interns and fundraisers to reach inaccessible areas and persons who cannot reach us by any means of communications. We look forward towards experiencing with you sustainable mental wellbeing as for all others you may be in contact with.

Mental Health for the Elderly and Disabled Programme

CALL FOR VOLUNTEERS AND INTERNS TO SUPPORT MENTAL HEALTH FOR THE ELDERLY AND DISABLED PROGRAMME

The Integrated Mental Health Initiatives invites expression of interest from prospecting volunteers and interns to support MENTAL HEALTH FOR THE ELDERLY AND DISABLED PROGRAMME in Uganda.

Much concentration has been put on the adolescents and midlife categories overtime until recently when we found greatest ever neglect of the elderly and disabled whose mental states have showed to deteriorate much with age. Without interventions the secondary effects have impacted caregivers and relatives, leading family level mental health concerns, who reacting many ways including further negligence, which prompts earlier deaths.

We hope that extension of mental health services to the elderly and disabled, who cannot afford costly access to professional services, will resurrect spirits, renewed positive energies and strength for them to live happy and longer lives through our initiative's homebased intervention.

Currently 99% either are unaware of existence of such services or cannot afford them. It is upon this basis that the Integrated Mental Health Initiative calls upon interns and volunteers to support MENTAL HEALTH FOR THE ELDERLY AND DISABLED PROGRAMME in Uganda and extend services to them by volunteering, interning on it and by fundraising or donating to it. Volunteers and interns are needed twice a year -from February to April and June to August.

To volunteer, intern, fundraise or to donate write to us - dishma.imhs@gmail.com

Call for development partners

Call for Development Partners to Support Mental Health Development

Integrated Mental Health Initiative was started in 2015 as a community based organisation  that designs, integrates and applies programs that promote mental wellbeing.
www.integratedmentalhealth.org

It would be a pleasure if you shared information about this organisation with humanitarian foundations and ministries as well as development students and workers to support this organisation, which applies psychological approaches  for mental wellbeing, peace and development. And also develop ways to strengthen peace and development initiatives through sustainable efforts.

I am supporting this organisation to succeed in Uganda and Africa. We also welcome volunteers who can come, support, and give it a stronger foundation. You can also like our Facebook Page:www.facebook.com/integratedmentalhealthinitiative

I will be grateful if you helped promote it there and in case we are needed there to come learn from you or share our expertise, or otherwise wish to hear more information from us, please do not hesitate to let me know.

Internship and Volunteer Development Programme

Call for Expressions of Interest in Internship and Volunteer Development Programme

We are looking for interns to join a 1-2 months internship programme. For volunteers, it can be longer subject to paid work on a successful project during volunteering time of 3-9 months. Prospective interns have a fundraising option of minimum of 1500 USD. This is used to meet costs of accommodation, food, transport and community interventions. Beyond that standard of living interns are encouraged to carry extra funds for extra costs of their comfort. Programmes are; administrative, outreaches, needs assessment and projects development, partnership development, fundraising, research and advocacy, psychological needs assessment, psychotherapy design and administration, behaviour change communication, community and family counselors, community empowerment, media and journalling, impact assessments and restructuring, talent development, IT development, local solutions for remedies, and recreations. June to August and February to April periods for internship. Volunteers are accepted on rolling basis.

To express interest in supporting mental health through internship or volunteering programme write to us: dishma.imhs@gmail.com
You can show your support by liking our Facebook Page: www.facebook.com/integratedmentalhealthinitiative

Volunteerism and Development in Uganda - A Case of Union of Community Development Volunteers (UCDV-UG)

JW Buganga

Kampala-Uganda

Volunteerism and Development in Uganda

Organisation History

Once upon a time, the UCDV was in 2 persons. It all began with the development initiatives of Eddie Mutebie, who went around cleaning filthily unhygienic slum areas in Kampala, sensitizing affected communities on proper hygiene and sanitation, and mobilizing volunteer youth in the localities to be the solution to their problems. In 2002, UCDV was born. It got its home in Mengo. As a community-based organization (CBO) in 2004, it mobilized and fundraised extensively to expand its operation to a wider central region of the country, which has Kampala City, Mukono District, Wakiso, Luwero, and Rakai. It very first funder was the Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter Day Saints, a Christian charity from the United States of America (USA). And in 2010, it got elevated to a National Non Government Organisation (NNGO), a level that accelerated it water access and livelihood development mission in the countryside and beyond, covering areas like Tororo, Buikwe, Jinja, Masaka, Mbale, Rwanda, and most recently, Namutumba District in Busoga. Ambitiously, it is eager to expand further to increasingly sky-rocketing demand for safe-drinking water in the rapidly growing urban centers, and in inaccessible rural areas.

Programme Title

The programme title shall be: ‘Safe Water Access and Sustainable Livelihood Development Programme.’

Programme Description

The programme design is based on the needs assessed, feasibility studies, and priorities made in relation to the area and population needs. Information about the community needs is obtained in light of the media reports about the awe of huge humanitarian problem such as acute water shortages, including issues like 3 hours in queue waiting for a chance to fetch water, security problem associated to wanting to be first to fetch water at the water source, arising from mainly the women and the girl child; and contact by concerned leadership, who upon recognizing our humanitarian responsibilities visit or call us to intervene. Despite the urgency of the matter, we are obliged to investigate by contacting a needs assessment and confirm the strongest need for water comparable to other areas of the country. This followed by a feasibility study to ascertain the topographic desirability and the level of water table. Water-sheds and areas with high water tables are favored. The entire fact-finding is done by a 2 different teams:  a team headed consisting of social workers with inclination to community development, and another involving environmentalists, water engineers, public health specialists, community members (beneficiaries), elders, and local leaders. Decisions made are an outcome of several stakeholder meetings, who agree on a mechanism, involving agreement to a budget incurrence plan, roles and contributions of different parties, and signing of memoranda by a representative from every party. The signing of the memoranda of understandings marks the beginning of implementation exercises led by the UCDV, and monitored by a joint monitoring team consisting of funders and community beneficiary representatives. The representatives are democratically selected by the communities to be part of both the implementation and monitoring teams. Essentially, UCDV does the man-power recruitment, assignment of tasks, coordination, and remuneration concerns. Among the UCDV task-force are programme director, projects team leaders, finance and accountability manager, field officers, quality control manager, community mobilization officer, programme interns and volunteers, and community and school affiliated clubs. On completion of the protect community elects a water-user management team, which is charged with carrying out water-source maintenances and ensuring of proper hygiene and sanitation around the water-source environment, and mobilization of funds from among beneficiaries to make repairs. Committee members receive training in all this aspects of water source management before handover. And on the commissioning day, a very colorful one, with presence of all stakeholders, including representatives of the funding institution and partners, the programme report is read and information shared among partners, certificate of completion is issued by a monitoring team to the implementation agencies, further guidelines given on water-source protection and maintain, water user management committee inaugurated, and announcement of official handover of the water facility made. This marks the end of the programme work in the area.

Primary Goals

• To facilitate access to free safe water and improved livelihoods of communities whose rights to access is not guaranteed.

Secondary Goals

a)      To promote the spirit of volunteerism so that target beneficiaries can be solutions to their own problems.

b)      To reduce incidences of sexual violence associated to sending girls and women to distant areas to fetch water.

c)       To increase household revenue in areas known to purchase domestic water expensively, at a cost between 200 and 1000 Uganda Shillings.

d)      To reduce the incidences of preventable diseases such as cholera, typhoid, malaria, dysentery, and bilharzias, which claim lives of mainly children below the age of 5.

e)      To promote education of the girl child whose education time is spent doing domestic chores and moving distant areas to fetch water.

f)       To promote environment conservation practices, which provide safeguards against global warming, natural disasters, disease epidemics, famine, malnutrition, and inflation.

Success Metrics to Primary Goals or Objectives

a)      Scale-up volunteerism (burungi bwansi)  by 60% in 5 years

b)      Increase retention of children in primary and secondary schools by 50% in rural countryside education centers in 5 years (due to diseases, burden of responsibilities at home (fetching water in far areas), early pregnancies, and household poverty.

c)       Reduce sexual related violence by 70% in 5 years.

d)      Guarantee 2 meals a day in 80% of the households in 5 years.

e)      Reduce incidence of water-borne diseases by 90% in 5 years.

f)       Household natural (environment) conservation by 60% of household heads within their private lands in 5 years.

Direct Beneficiary Groups

a)      Children below 5 years;

b)      Children below 18 years;

c)       Youth between 18 and 35 years;

d)      Women;

e)      And the elderly.

Over all Expected Outcomes

There will be more community involvement in solving their immediate problems rather than wait for good Samaritans to think, plan, and act on their behalf to clean their immediate environment, or mobilize projects for them to dig pit latrines, and water sources, even with their own leadership in place. This time around the community, through their leadership will identify problem and mobilize financial and human resources to solve them, accordingly.

Time will be saved for children and women to fetch water and go about their domestic chores. In this regard, room is left for parents to send their children to school, and safeguard them against sexual-related violence associated to letting children and women go to very distant and insecure areas in search for water. More children will attain higher education or its equivalent, attainable through study of technical and vocation studies, which increase employability.

Prevention and control of preventable diseases such malaria, typhoid, diarrhea, dysentery, which claim millions of children, annually; this increases household expenditures on medicine in efforts to save life. The stretching of household finances which deprives families of vital goods such as education and proper nutrition is remedied, so much that families get in position to save so much to meet those critical development needs.

The efforts to ensure sustainable free and clean water supply invokes similar efforts to conserve nature. In doing so, a wide scale of epidemiological, economic, including food security; and sustainability of life systems that are supportive of each other.

 

Opportunities at the Union of Community Development Volunteers Organization

Hunger and malnutrition are said to be the number one health threat worldwide. Fatality-wise World Food Program (WFP) rates it higher than HIV/AIDS, Malaria and Tuberculosis –combined.

There are numerous causes of hunger that can be told. WFP suggests the following key causes: conflict, poverty, poor agricultural infrastructure and over-exploitation of the environment.

Besides, there is silent hunger characterized by micro-nutrient deficiencies –which make people susceptible to infectious diseases, impair physical and mental development, reduce labor productivity, and increase the risk of premature deaths.

Estimates from WFP show 925 million people under-malnourished. In Uganda WFP has done well to better the hunger situation in north eastern region (Karamoja) by extending assistance to families in form of nutritional supplements and education.

Reports show 1 of every 6 children born with low birth rate due to under-malnutrition among pregnant women in developing countries. The trends threaten survival of the human race.. The millennium development goals stipulate the need to halve hunger by 2015 as most top agenda.

Despite efforts to address rising hunger, it continues to paralyze human security. Malnutrition affects 32.5% of children in developing countries. Them, pregnant women, disabled and elderly are most at risk. Raising awareness and practical assistance are critical needs followed by economic empowerment for sustainable food access.

The Union of Community Development Volunteers (UCDV) is a charity organization that began work in 2002, and with head offices in Mengo, Kampala. It highlighted water and sanitation as most pertinent need vital to all efforts towards attainment of food security.

Water security guaranteed community of crop and livestock production throughout the year. It also ensures that the water provided is safe and accessible by the underprivileged communities in Uganda.

We found it right that by providing free and safe water, we help to save communities of water expenses (poverty alleviation) and to maintain healthy and productive population, able to work and produce food.

Today the organization operates in 10 districts. UCDV works with volunteers coming from all over the world for many reasons; including charity, personal fulfillment and satisfaction, career progress, and research.

We therefore welcome applications that target the following areas of work:

1. Water and Sanitation

2. Environment Education and Protection

3. Women and Children

4. Disabled and the Elderly

 5. Elementary Education, Vocation, and Life skills

6. Partnership and Child-sponsorship Relations

7. Concept Development and Fund-raising 8. Reproductive Health

9. Livelihood Development

10. Research and Reporting

For more information regarding volunteer positions and internships, contact us through the address below:

Coordinator,

Volunteer Development Program,

 UCDV UGANDA,

P.O. BOX P.O. BOX 35792, KAMPALA – UGANDA

+256 414 690 897/ +256 782 713 500

ucdvolunteers@yahoo.com or info@ucdv.org