Building Support for Mental Health Needs project links both elderly communities with youth by using intergenerational teams to both empower the elderly and connect youth to traditions often overlooked. The project is being implemented by Tap Elderly Women’s Wisdom for Youth (TEWWY) and Mtoko. The project is inspired by the “friendship benches” model developed in Zimbabwe to meet the mental health service gaps within the country by training elderly women as lay health workers.

The TEWWY project model is tailored to meet a similar gap in Tanzania through creating a group of Elderly Women’s Wisdom Network. This group arranges for lay elderly health workers at “Urafiki Benches” to work in designated clinics and places of worship. In addition to the “Urafiki Benches” and the Elderly Women’s Wisdom Network, the project will showcase a video series inspired by elderly women’s wisdom, presenting an innovative approach to share culturally relevant material on mental health.

The five videos created by the elderly women, creates a space for traditional songs, stories and dramas to be integrated into mainstream service provision. This project presents an innovate method in sharing on culturally sensitive issues. It allows for the trainers to access content that is meaningful and relevant for people they seek to support.

“Together We Are Strong, To Inspire & To Achieve” 

Within the 12 months and 4-month NCE of project lifetime TEWWY managed to achieve the intended project results as per agreed plan. Among achievements include:  

• Elderly women & network members were trained to provide social support & mental health support, using life stories, experiences and counselling skills to empower communities through in person or phone-based support. Each wisdom counsellor was trained in specific areas or needs identified by the network and integrates empowerment approaches to support underserved communities.  The counsellors were stationed on site at the Urafiki benches and provided phone-based support to people unable to access in person counselling. The counsellors also used the mobile phone to send advocacy messages to the Hekima Network 
• Deployment of Wisdom Wellness Counselors (WWCs) in the 15 Health facilities in DSM for service delivery. In turns, it also led to enhancement collaboration between TEWWY and the Government i.e. Health Service Providers & Municipal Leaders and other CSOs.  
• Enhanced emotional wellbeing among the clients and the Wisdom Wellness Counsellor whereby 12 Urafiki bench sessions out of 32 were conducted and 2,331 clients were reached i.e. 664 males and 1667 females 
• Increased awareness and knowledge on Mental Health issues and enhanced wellbeing among the clients and the general public whereby 5 Video Dramas with 5 different themes developed and shared with youth CSOs as well as 5 posters with different messages on Mental Health developed  

• Enhanced awareness,  understanding and acceptance among the stakeholders within the 5 municipalities of the role of the elderly women counselors, Urafiki Benches, Support Group Wellness Circles on mental health whereby 100 Leaflets on the role of TEWWY, 5 posters with different messages have been printed and disseminated, 10,000 copies of booklet on Questions and Answers on MH printed and disseminated as well as 20 Manuals and guidelines.  
• TEWWY’s innovation has led to the development of a book titled: “Maswali Yaulizwayo na Jamii Kuhusu Afya ya Akili na Majibu Yake”.  The idea of coming up with such a book with the mentioned title was arrived at after getting lots of questions from the communities concerning mental health. TEWWY deemed it inevitable to write a book to respond to the questions in collaboration with mental health experts. TEWWY went further to seek for the blessing of the Ministry of Health to get the permission to print the book with the government logo for a more authenticity of the book. Thus, 15,000 books were printed and disseminated.  
• TEWWY created 4 Wisdom Markers to Promote Physical, Emotional and Social Wellbeing. They harness the power of storytelling, mobile technology, one-on-one support and life skills building for both elderly women and the community at large to deliver mental health treatment, promotion and capacity building in service delivery. 

 This was a one-year project which has brought many invaluable lessons to TEWWY. However, one year is just too short a period for such innovations with so many aspects to respond to, as it also causes a lot of rush work and stress to implementers given the arising challenges outside the organisation in such that before you are done with one challenge another one has emerged let alone dealing with managerial functions. For the next proposal TEWWY will consider implementing a two-year project for more visible results.