Darren Hart, a Fourth Year Civil Engineering student with support from the Office of the Dean of Students, University Health Services in partnership with Medicine Sans Frontiers and the Kenya National Blood Transfusion Service (KNBTS) office organized a successful Mental Health Day that was held on Wednesday, 3rd November 2021. The event comprised of a series of activities key among the panel discussions, Blood donation, Free medical checkups, HIV Testing, Covid-19 test, Free counseling, Mental awareness talk and Medical talks from our UHS and MSF Doctors.

The purpose of the event was to address the challenges of stress, depression, mental health. This event attracted staff and students from across all Faculties,

Speaking during the event, Dean of Students, Mr. Johnson Kinyua observed that mental health is a big challenge in our society and has led to marriages breaking down, financial stress in families as children are faced with school fees challenges and families are faced with the challenges of paying rent and other family bills. “Money issues is thorn in the flesh. We are battling very a difficult situation as a country. You have seen schools burning, too much pressure for students to perform within a short duration of time as the school terms have been shortened.  University of Nairobi is suffering as well. We are losing 2-3 students to mental health related deaths. Some students are committing suicide in the halls of residence”, he said.  

Darren Hart also addressed participants encouraging the students to take care of themselves and find ways to cope with stressfull or challenging situations. Further, he urged everyone to donate blood  atleast 2-3 times a year to save lives.

Dr. Nyawira Kuria, Assistant Dean of Students, from the Faculty of Health Sciences and a Clinical Psychologist, urged students not to forget where they came from. Students need to appreciate their parents for the efforts made to ensure they achieve higher education.  “Some parents sold a piece of land, others took a loan. Don’t disown them because of how they look. Always do your best. Don’t take   anything personally, always keep your word because integrity is very important,” she said.

Dr. Andrew Kariuki Gitari, from University of Nairobi Health Services and a Psychiatrist, in charge of Student Health Matters, observed that there cannot be health without mental health. All paths lead to mental health. “A person with diabetes injects himself with medication, which leads to stress, which causes stress to family.  Other things that causes stress are; poor food, anger, rape, gender based violence, unemployment, bad childhood experiences, transport chaos in the city, marital issues, peer pressure, stigma, beer, alcohol, both alcoholic drinks lead to addiction, which in turn leads to suffering and mental health”, he concluded by saying that “Nobody is immune to mental health issues, all of us can develop mental health problems,” Students were urged to seek help, work closely with Dean of Students.  

Event Mcee, Ms. Orare Kemunto, a former UNSA Student Leader urged students to learn the art of conflict management. “Instead of cutting off friends, have better ways of managing conflicts to keep the relationships. She stressed the importance of friends created in Campus. “It is courtesy of friends that you will get Internships and Jobs”, she said.   

The event was sponsored by MSF International, WOSWA, Girl Guides Association among others.