International Youth Day 2014: Youth & Mental Health[caption id="attachment_1913" align="alignleft" width="309"]

Arthur watching Kwa Watato students in PE Class[/caption]Arthur is an 11-year-old boy with mental and physical challenges who lives in the Mathare slum in Nairobi. He is enrolled in a school for people with special needs, where he receives education and food, but during school hours, Arthur often roams the dangerous Mathare streets undeterred, begging, and sometimes stealing. Although he has not hurt anyone, he can be aggressive, turning on anyone who would try to restrain him.Globally, approximately 20 percent of adolescents and youth experience a mental health condition each year, with the vast majority living in low-income countries. There are a variety of issues keeping many of them from seeking help for psychiatric conditions and those issues are complicated in Kenya by lack of access to proper health care.Access to mental health care is generally only available to those who can afford such services. In her article, “Mental Health in Kenya,” Liz Lockhart tells the story of Sitawa Wafula who had to drop out of school because her family used all the money set aside for her education to pay for psychiatric treatment.Ironically, Mathare is home to the only psychiatric hospital in the country of Kenya. Nonetheless, it is unaffordable to the majority of the population. It is also extremely overcrowded, severely understaffed, grossly under-resourced, and has a reputation of confining and over-medicating its patients.Another reason people do not seek help for psychiatric disorders, is the shame and fear of being labeled abnormal. They suffer disgrace, discrimination, and exclusion based on societal myths and ignorance about psychiatric disabilities. It is common for people to blame witchcraft for psychological disorders, while others believe it is contagious.Promotion and discussion of mental health is an important step in tackling societal reproach and promoting social inclusion - the goal being the achievement of aspirations and goals of these young people. Successfully treated, Sitawa Wafula is now the administrator of “One Mind Lend Your Voice,” an organization that works to reduce stigma through the arts and education. She is also collaborating with others to work toward a new governmental bill that could change the treatment of mental illness in Kenya.Please join the eduKenya staff in praying that Arthur, and others like him throughout the world, will receive the intervention and care they so desperately need. Be willing to advocate for those who cannot advocate for themselves: Educate yourself about mental illness and be willing to discuss and promote mental health awareness with family, friends and community.