Land
Categorie
Social
Start periode
Year-round arrival on Saturdays or Sundays
Minimale verblijfsduur
4 weken
Aantal personen
1-4 people
Vakgebieden
Social work, Public Health, Psychology, Psychiatry, Occupational therapy, Health care, Nursing, Medicine, Education, Agriculture
Land
Categorie
Social
Start periode
Year-round arrival on Saturdays or Sundays
Minimale verblijfsduur
4 weken
Aantal personen
1-4 people
Vakgebieden
Social work, Public Health, Psychology, Psychiatry, Occupational therapy, Health care, Nursing, Medicine, Education, Agriculture
Our hosting partner AVO has partnered with a project which specifically on men from the community who are in recovery. The Sober living facility is a privately run facility founded by a community member who is in his 10th year of sobriety from addiction. The home provides a safe space for the men to find solace, guidance and intensive support in their recovery journey before re-joining the community independently.
The Problem
There is huge stigma surrounding mental illness in Tanzania, particularly when dealing with ailments or complaints that cannot be easily identified or understood. This oftentimes delays people seeking treatment or support which can have severe and destructive life outcomes. Because of this, the majority of the work needed to be done in reaching people that need help is in the community and through bold awareness campaigns countering stigma. Many people will not make it to the few mental health treatment facilities scattered around the region.
AVO team spoke at length with the Sober House team, who provided insight on common factors they have seen throughout the years that bring men to their care.
●Severe and untreated depression
○Stigmas around speaking about depression and feelings of hopelessness, anxiety and deep concerns
●Genetic and environmental factors
○Many of the men come from families or communities where there is a close history of severe addiction
●Suicidal ideation
○Feelings of hopelessness and thoughts of suicide often create a crisis situation that requires immediate intervention
●Severe lack of programs and support in the wider community
○Many people struggling with addiction are shunned or discriminated against and find it extremely difficult to find programs, safe spaces or professional help. Many are not from the immediate area and travel hundreds of miles to enter the Sober House
●Underlying or undiagnosed mental health issues
○The psychiatrists reported many of the men they had assessed self reported symptoms consistent with other mental health issues that had been untreated.
○As a result substances may have been used to self medicate as a coping mechanism
●Poverty
○Severe lack of job opportunities, food and shelter insecurity can create extremely unhealthy coping mechanisms leading to substance abuse and addiction as a result of continuous worry, anxiety and depression.
Culture also has a huge role to play in supporting the community in creating mental wellness. Traditional and religious beliefs provide a powerful backdrop on how mental health is understood and navigated in communities. Beliefs can also play into health seeking behaviours, where people may seek out religious leaders and/or traditional practitioners for help and understanding before seeking psychiatric or medical diagnosis and treatment. A large proportion of the population still attribute supernatural reasoning for mental health issues, lessening the amount of people readily seeking psychiatric treatment or western based psychological treatment support.
The Mission
In partnership with District Executive Director His Excellency Suleiman Hamis Msumi and his dedicated team, our interns have been invited to support the work at the Sober House.Our interns will work alongside an experienced team with patients that are struggling with mental health issues.
Word ik opgepikt van het vliegveld?
Ja. We zorgen dat je programmacoordinator of een werknemer van de organisatie je op komt halen en je naar de accommodatie brengt.
Krijg ik een lokale introductie?
Ja. Vaak een dag na aankomst krijg je door onze partner een introductie waarbij je wordt rondgeleid langs de projecten, contactpersonen, complex en de benodigde faciliteiten en belangrijke informatie over het gebied.
Wat als ik ziek word tijdens mijn verblijf?
Kan ik mijn verblijf ter plaatse nog verlengen?
Het is van belang om dit eerst te overleggen met ons en de partner organisatie i.v.m. visa, ticket wijzigingen en verblijfsopties in het land en bij de accommodatie.
Kan ik het water uit de kraan drinken?
Wat zijn de verschillende accommodatie opties?
Mag ik foto’s plaatsen van lokale mensen op Social media?
Hoe zit het met supervisie ter plaatse en het niveau?
Begeleiding en supervisie ter plaatse is van cruciaal belang voornamelijk voor stagiaires. We hebben op ieder project lokale begeleiding en supervisie op maat. Het niveau verschilt per project partner maar is tevens vaak beschikbaar op Bachelor en Masterniveau.
Wie is mijn begeleider ter plaatse?
Dat is in principe een betrouwbaar lokaal contactpersoon die we persoonlijk kennen.
Wanneer krijg ik de contactgegevens van de organisatie en supervisor?
Na betaling van de factuur van de programmakosten verstrekken we alle contactgegevens en namen van onze partners en begeleiders. We verwachten dat hier discreet mee om wordt gegaan ook i.v.m. de nieuwe AVG privacy wetgeving.
Daag jezelf uit door tijdelijk uit je comfortzone te stappen
Maak een verschil door een projectbeschrijving voortkomend uit lokale behoeften
Werk samen met de lokale gemeenschap voor een betere toekomst
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