The problem that we are solving

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Mental health problems account for nearly half of the global burden of disease among youths aged 15-to-19 yet many young people with mental health problems in Kenya cannot access the help that they need.

Poor mental health is associated with lifetime medical, educational, economic, legal, and interpersonal problems (e.g., school drop-out, incarceration, and suicide).

In Kenya, 1 in 2 school-going adolescents suffer from depression and anxiety, on par with prevalence rates amongst Sub-Saharan youths.

Sadly, many young people with mental health problems in Kenya cannot access the help that they need:

• Traditional treatments are long, costly, and rely on a very small number of trained expert providers.
• Societal stigma around mental health problems discourages Kenya’s youths from seeking help.
• Government investment in mental healthcare remains modest, further limiting the expansion of treatment options.

How we are solving this problem

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Over the past 4 years, Shamiri Institute has developed, tested, and refined a cost-effective and evidence-based innovation called Anansi.

Anansi integrates two essential elements:

1. a rigorously tested intervention (Shamiri; “thrive” in Kiswahili). Shamiri includes simple, empirically supported elements, uses stigma-free content, and is delivered in communal settings by lay-providers (aged 18-24).
2. a three-tier delivery model that connects lay-providers, trained clinical supervisors, and clinical psychologists and psychiatrists.

In 2022, >4,000 youths received Anansi in five schools in Kenya. Over 11,000 youths have received Anansi in the past three years.

We now seek to scale the implementation of Anansi to rural and peri-urban regions across Kenya.

Call for implementing partner

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One of the ways that we are scaling up Anansi is through a decentralized scale-up model where implementation of Anansi is done through a community-based partner. This model is sometimes called a “train — the — trainers model.

In 2023, we will be seeking to work with such a community-based partner to scale our work to other counties outside Nairobi, Kiambu, Machakos, and Makueni where we currently work.

We are looking for an implementing partner who will be trained on the Anansi model and will deliver it to at least 750 high school students in any of the following seven counties: Siaya, Kakamega, Uasin Gishu, Busia, Nakuru, Migori, and Trans-Nzoia.

Scope of work, timeframe, and budget

• The implementing partner will be trained on and will implement, with minimal supervision, the Anansi model in their counties.
• This project will take 10 months (between September 2022 — June 2023) for all proposed activities such as training, data collection, project execution, project performance monitoring and evaluation.
• We will offer grants of between $10,000 — to — $25,000.

How to apply:

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Familiarize yourself with the following documents:

• Call for proposals and terms of reference. Found here.
• Executive summary and powerpoint deck summarizing the call.
• Application form can be found here.

Please submit your application by e-mail to Anthony Waweru (waweru@shamiri.institute) and cc: Rahim Daya (daya@shamiri.institute) and team@shamiri.institute by Tuesday August 23rd at 11:59PM.

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