SRHIN makes history twice, launches second Friendship Tent in Abuja
By Samson Adeyemo
Slum and Rural Health Initiative Network (SRHIN) on Tuesday, inaugurated a solar paneled Friendship Tent at the Durumi Internally displaced person’s camp, Abuja Nigeria.
The Friendship is a mental health counselling/therapy hub as well as a skill acquisition and entrepreneurship development center for the IDPs.
The Friendship Tent is the crux of SRHIN’s Brave Heart project. Brave Heart is an innovative community-led project which involves promotion of health information and services through mental health therapy, health advocacy programmes and other interventions to refugee (IDP) camps.
The project empowers young people with digital and entrepreneurship skills which will be marketed for their profit. The current phase is funded by Grand Challenges Canada (GCC) and National Institute of Health Research (NIHR), UK.
Whilst giving a brief expose about the Brave Heart project, the Executive Director Dr. Isaac Olufadewa, described the project as one that would drastically reduce the discrimination that mental health victims face and will help beneficiaries become more resourceful and transit from victims of circumstances to victors and champions.
Mrs. Iliyatu, the women leader whilst expressing her gratitude to SRHIN for the Brave Heart project, said that the ordeal of women having to go through stigma will now have the opportunities to develop themselves via the various skill acquisition programmes the Friendship Tent would host for their profit.
The camp coordinator and spokesman for FCT, Abuja IDPs heartily appreciated SRHIN for the execution of the Project. He said, “This is a very good and welcome development for the refugees especially now that hospitals no longer respond to us in Abuja even on emergency cases. Also the entrepreneurship skills acquisition will keep our youth purposefully busy”
Dr. Isaac however appreciated the community leaders and the Idps for their cooperation throughout the training till date. Food items, clothing and other relief materials were distributed to the beneficiaries afterwards.
Prior to the launch of the Tent, community leaders were trained over a period of time by mental health experts on how to understand and help other IDPs who have and are going through mental health challenges. This is because SRHIN believes in and leverages on community engagement and participation for remarkable projection execution.
Some of the beneficiaries could not contain their joy. A young teenage girl Adama Ali said “ now I will go back to my sewing and make money for my family members to eat and live well.
