The Middle, The End, The Beginning

FRT Thembi Thadzi addressing the youth during the function Chinsapo Secondary School, one of the school working with Farm Radio Trust on a project Mental Health Integrated Innovations in Malawi which is aimed at addressing issues of mental health and depression among the youth, on Saturday June 07 made a major mental health awareness open day that attracted over two hundred in school and out of school youth within Lilongwe city. The aim was to raise awareness about mental health among the youth, focusing on promoting positive mental health and wellness in schools, enhance the communication between students in school and their teachers and parents at home. The function was part of a farewell ceremony with Form Four students at the school who have been part of the Mental Health club at the school. "It’s important to provide a resource specific to those that continue to make the move at their final years of secondary education as they will be moving over to colleges/universi...

Podcasting is a form of distributing audio files over the Internet, allowing users to access them by subscribing and downloading them. I am involved in radio broadcasting and have always been thinking about how to share my programs with followers out there. The facebook fun page for our program known as NkhawaNjee Yonse Bo which means no depression all is well has 10000 plus likes, but not all of these listen to our popular program on the local station. After going through the IMAC resources during the CTA-Web2fordev training in Malawi, now I have found a way of sharing our program with our on line followers. Through this I have learnt that in podcasting, anyone with internet access can create their own content, and people have more choices of types of content they can get. From this time on, am a Podcaster.

“Young people with mental disorders, of which Depression is the most common, face substantial barriers in receiving the support they require or the health care they need. There is increasing knowledge about and awareness of the need for governments, institutions and organizations to address this issue.  “In view of this growing threat to young people, Farm Radio Trust, and Farm Radio International (FRI) have teamed up with Dr. Stanley Kutcher in Halifax, Canada; the Guidance, Counselling and Youth Development Center in Africa (GCYDCA) in Lilongwe, Malawi to address the problem of depression among young people.  One of the approaches in place is the use of radio drama to characterise different situations and kinds of depression. Radio soap opera is a popular format among youth in Malawi, and has been used as an entertaining and educative format for behavior change communication.  Through a weekly radio program, teenagers are asked to give their feedback on t...

I Have found the Voice This  isn't  only about learning to say in all frankness , it's about being able to command attention of a room full of people willing to read, learn and stay informed, and talking to trainees without (at least in that moment) worrying about whether they will still like you. But it's also being able to talk with friends and mentors out there as an equal and feeling confident in taking part in larger discussions about training people who really matter in your projects, and all the various other decisions that come up over a year in your work. I also Admire people There several things I like, and many people I admire, from our own state president, to the president of the USA. I like talking, yes, speaking to the public. Overall, I feel lucky to be in this particular phase. It’s a place I fit well and feel supported. I feel lucky to have met really great people and have a  bona fide  social life and growing support network here. I’m...