Raising Mental Health Awareness through Social Media

Mastercard Foundation Scholars and The Resolution Social Venture Challenge

An initiative founded by three young Kenyan men is set to reframe the conversation on mental health. HappyDel, founded by Marvin Ambutu, Brian Kirotich, and Asterix Hassan, all students at McGill University in Canada, aims to ensure free access to mental health resources for African youth.

Taking advantage of the prevalence of the internet and mobile phones in Kenya, the trio has set itself ambitious goals: to educate youth about the realities of mental health, and to build a database of educational information to bolster a “listening network” of peer-to-peer counsellors, many of them students in occupational therapy and psychology at Daystar University in Nairobi.

“When I was in high school, I knew a boy who experienced symptoms of depression and anxiety. His symptoms interfered with his studies, but most thought that his problems were caused by witchcraft,” said Marvin.

“What followed was that he was unable to sit for his national exams. This was a wake-up call for us: our communities, and youth in particular, need accurate information about mental health,” said Marvin.

“We want people to live happier, more productive lives. In our current generation, we face particularly complex problems, such as unemployment, lack of capital to start up businesses, negligence and poverty among others.” said Asterix. “HappyDel, short for ‘happy delivery,’ is in the business of delivering happiness by sharing free information and providing free peer-to-peer counselling from anywhere in the world.”

HappyDel has developed an outreach strategy targeting youth in Kenya at a few universities and colleges, including Daystar University, where it is setting up a pilot program that will be up and running before the end of 2019. The project has a team of five people: two people on the ground running the pilot program, and another three developing the program and the HappyDel platform.

“HappyDel will primarily provide free peer-to-peer counselling to students in partner universities; our listeners will be volunteers, more specifically students majoring in psychology and occupational therapy,” said Brian. “The volunteers would get first-hand experience and recognition for their service, and some could possibly be recruited as permanent staff in the long run. We also hope to offer a premium version of the mobile app that will provide access to professionally trained therapists on the same platform.”

HappyDel is currently in the development stages of the curriculum, an ongoing process that aims to produce a high-quality product. Its founders are also working with a mentor, Allan Ball Otieno, who is a professional counsellor at Daystar University.

These three young leaders are Mastercard Foundation Scholars, selected for the scholarship on the basis of academic talent, social consciousness, and leadership qualities.

HappyDel won the Resolution Social Venture Challenge in 2018, a competition that rewards compelling leadership and promising social ventures led by youth. Marvin, Brian, and Asterix earned a fellowship that includes seed funding, mentorship, and access to a network of young global change-makers to pursue impactful projects in their communities. A collaboration between the Mastercard Foundation and The Resolution Project, the Resolution Social Venture Challenge provides a pathway to action for socially responsible young leaders who want to create change that matters in their communities.

“Our goal is to ensure that HappyDel is running in at least one Kenyan university before reaching out to more universities in Kenya. We are also connecting with service providers to enable us to run a campaign on mental health awareness that would reach a larger audience,” said Marvin.

In the interim, they are organizing online campaigns on social media, particularly Facebook, where they have already set up accounts and have been posting content on mental health.

“Using Facebook Ads, we can create 1600–4000 impressions per day, translating to roughly 1.46 million people, students included, in just the first year,” said Brian. “We will also count on word of mouth from existing users. Our media strategy mainly consists of short clips and high-quality pictures that will resonate with the target market. We are currently in the development stages of the mobile app.”

With the current penetration of internet and mobile phones in Kenya and Africa in general, HappyDel has identified an opportunity to make an impact and be the change the team wants to see in the world.

“Mental illness is a silent epidemic throughout Africa,” said Asterix. “Stigma is attached to these disorders, rooted in deeply held beliefs that mental health disorders and witchcraft are linked. We believe we can change that, and usher in a new era of frank and honest conversations about mental health. Allan Ball Otieno, who is a Professional counselor at Daystar University, has been really helpful towards the whole process. The SVC team has also been very helpful throughout the process.”

Pius Sawa is a freelance journalist based in Kenya. His stories have appeared in Reuters, Farm Radio International, and Inter Press Service.