By Mercy Wambui and Tony Rugo

Tony (left) joins Tabasamu Cafe, SDI Kenya, Basic Needs Basic Rights Kenya and Mental Health Champions from informal settlements of Kahawa Soweto, Mukuru and Mathare in a debriefing session where they shared their experiences so far following a month of facilitating mental health awareness sessions in their communities. The debriefing session was an opportunity for the team to do a post-activity reflection and share learnings which will help enhance the next phase of the community engagements. Photo by SDI Kenya 

In our community, true change often starts with a conversation. The conversation typically starts with the struggles, moving to the healing and we strive to end it on a high note, emphasizing on hope. Hope for the future, hope that there is always light at the end of the tunnel.

This is a story of two individuals brought together by purpose and driven by passion, a strong passion to positively impact our community.

My name is Tony, a community health promoter and a  mental health champion dedicated to supporting  young people in my community. I share my journey with Mercy, a fellow mental health champion, very passionate about supporting young mothers in her community.

Mercy and I “met” (not that we didn’t know each other from our small community) during a transformative mental health program organized by SDI Kenya, Tabasamu Cafe and Basic Needs Basic Rights Kenya in February this year. This program entailed a training that didn’t just teach us about mental wellness and its relationship to climate change, but it awakened something within us.

For Mercy, it was a deeper call to walk with young girls who become mothers and often silenced by stigma, yet holding untold strength. For me, it became clearer that young people, especially those in informal settlements and marginalized areas, need safe spaces, honest conversations, and someone who believes in their potential.

What brought us together was not just the training sessions, but the fire lit in our hearts to act. We shared ideas, stories, frustrations, and victories. Mercy’s empathy and authenticity constantly inspired me. Her work with young mother is nothing short of awe-inspiring and life-changing. She listens without judgment, offers support without conditions, and reminds these young girls that their story isn’t over yet, there are plenty of chapters still to be written and they hold the pen.

Noting our passion for transforming our community, we teamed up. Together, we have taken part in multiple awareness campaigns, community dialogues and peer support groups in the informal settlement of Kahawa Soweto, one of the largest informal settlements in Kenya. We have seen how just one conversation can shift a mindset. How one act of compassion can change a life.

What immediately jumps to mind is this particular day when someone just popped up in one of our safe space sessions and he appeared disturbed. At first glance, I thought he was drunk or something. As we were wrapping up the session, Mercy asked anyone who might have something to share privately to come and see either of us after the session.

Immediately after the session a young man came to me and shared with me that he had found out that his dear wife whom they have a kid together was cheating on him. I listened to him attentively, without any judgement. This was personal to him. Typically for men, infidelity by their wives is kept under wraps. Their egos will take a significant beating if this comes to light. They cannot stand in front of their peers if they cannot take care of their households. However today, this young man felt safe enough to share this intimate detail with me, a stranger. To cut a long story short, I encouraged him to process his emotions and reminded him to focus on his mental wellness.

Since our engagement, he has been coming to our safe space sessions and he appears to be doing well compared to the first day he came to our session.

This is just one of our success stories. There are many more.

Young people in our community are faced with many stressors, a host of which are the result of the effects of climate change. It is getting harder to provide for the household due to increase in food prices and some people have lost their possessions owing to floodings. This is the reality of our community.

As mental health champions, we believe in healing, we believe in hope. In spite of these stressors, we can work towards strengthening the resilience of our community members. We know we are just getting started and we look forward to this journey.