WHO WE ARE
iMind was founded on 29th September, 2017 by a group of college students who saw a need to increase mental health literacy in their communities. Mercy Mkandawire ignited the conversation with her college friends because she had firsthand experience that opened her eyes to the realness of mental disorders. Friends were withdrawing from college because of mental disorders. Some did not understand the symptoms of what they were experiencing and therefore failed to seek help at the right time. Others were afraid of the stigma associated with mental illness.
We identified the following challenges
- There are inadequate governmental resources to address mental health issues in Malawi
- 75% of people with mental illness do not receive mental health care leading to a treatment gap
- Malawi has only 3 trained psychologists against a population of 17.5 million
- There are only 3 main facilities that provide mental health treatment in Malawi
- There is stigma and discrimination associated with mental illness in Malawi
Our Mission
iMind’s mission is to facilitate good mental health among the youth in Malawi through evidence-based research, mental health awareness and treatment of mental disorders. Our objectives are to conduct evidence-based research on mental health issues, provide mental health awareness to society, change negative attitudes against people with mental illnesses and promote help-seeking behaviours among the youth struggling with mental disorders.
OUR VALUES
These are the morals and ethics that govern our cause at iMind. We are guided by empathy, passion, trust and collaboration.
1. Empathy
This is at the heart of our mission. We aim to put ourselves in the shoes of our beneficiaries to understand what they are going through and find the best ways to help them.
2. Passion
We love and believe in what we do. We pride ourselves on serving a greater need that makes a difference in our society.
3. Trust
We understand our cause needs us to create an environment of trust and confidence. We believe in developing deep relationships that revolve around our commitment to serve and maintain confidentiality.
4. Collaboration
We believe that there is strength in numbers. Our initiatives are driven by teamwork, partnerships and networks that assist us in achieving our goals.
OUR APPROACH
For a period of 5 years, iMind carried out research to develop a service model that would contribute towards reducing the mental health treatment gap in Malawi. We would like to ensure that every individual has access to mental health services when they need it. We highly value our network of peer supporters that play a huge role in the implementation of our programs.