Malawi is one of the poorest countries in the world. With population around 17.5 million and GDP per capita £925. I have been to Blantyre in Malawi three times now teaching year four medical students who are studying psychiatry. Malawi has very inadequate governmental resources to address mental health issues. I have seen with my own eyes in my time as a volunteer tutor of psychiatry the true deprivation of this country, I have been reduced to tears with the sights I have seen in deprived mental hospitals where patients are basically left for hours alone and vulnerable. The utter frustration is overwhelming when you witness firsthand the empty medication cabinets, the lack of basic facilities and the total hopelessness on the faces of the patients’ facing years and years of turmoil of mental illness. Young people with mental health problems are often misunderstood and rejected by familied and friends, they don’t have any support from the community, they remain isolated which causes further deterioration in their mental health wellbeing.

• 75% of people with a mental illness do not receive any mental health care leading to a treatment gap.

• Malawi has only 3 trained psychologists and very few trained psychiatrists against a population of 17.5 million.

• There are only 3 main facilities that provide mental health treatment in whole of Malawi.

• Stigma and discrimination associated with mental illness in Malawi is widespread.

iMind is a registered non-profit organization working towards improving the mental health of the youth in Malawi through research, awareness, and treatment. They have a team of dedicated and compassionate people who are providing support to young people. Most are volunteers.

iMind have been dreaming of starting iXpress Clubs in secondary schools where they would create safe spaces for young people to share knowledge and tools to improve their well-being. They want to incorporate creative arts like singing, playing musical instruments, painting, reciting poems etc. as part of the activities of the Clubs. It would be wonderful to carry out fundraising towards this.

This is why I need your help; please let’s work together to keep the children and young adults from having to become part of psychiatric institutions as this is a terrible environment.