As is often the case, William Shakespeare got to the heart of the matter: “Make not your thoughts your prisons,” (Antony & Cleopatra).
A more contemporary version might be, “You don’t have to control your thoughts. You just have to stop letting them control you.” Either way, you might think this advice is just common sense. Yet, what we know about our species is that common sense in one culture is not obvious to everyone in another society (or even in the same family).
We in the Global North are used to considering our mental well-being. We regularly ask ourselves how we feel about an experience or a piece of bad news. The same cannot be said in countries in the Global South like Sierra Leone, where auditing one’s emotions is not an everyday matter. In Sierra Leone, if you have a bad headache or you have trouble sleeping, you most likely assume there is a physical cause, adding to your anxiety.
Our Local Partner, Conforti, Port Loko (CCACO)
For this reason, the work of our local partner, Conforti, is ground-breaking. Conforti’s counsellors hold regular community education sessions, raising awareness about trauma and depression. They visit schools, reaching hundreds of children and teachers. They show that widely held superstitions about punishment by ancestors are disinformation, (this is not an exclusively African phenomenon, of course – societies in Europe and North America are infected by myths about mysterious drone clusters over New Jersey, Jewish space lasers, or denying the Moon landings happened).
We are especially proud of Conforti’s work raising awareness about maternal mental health. Sierra Leone has a traditional, conservative society, so it is significant that male partners attend sessions run by Conforti for hundreds of pregnant women and new mothers. Just a few years ago, only a handful of men would be there: now, one third of those attending are male partners.
Remarkably, Conforti is now receiving people who have been referred by their priest, pastor or even traditional healers. Until Conforti ran awareness sessions, this would never have happened. It indicates how successful Conforti is, educating community leaders and respected local figures about mental health.
We salute our partner Conforti for its work challenging harmful traditions and valuing the dignity of the people with whom they work in the Port Loko region. We thank our supporters for making this work possible. Please visit our donation page if you are able to help us. Thank you.