Project Thrive! is a youth-led evidence-based mental health program integrated into local educational and health care systems.
Informed by our understanding of the local sociocultural context and three years of rigorous research, we have developed Project Thrive!. It's a three-tier mental health care model for young people by young people. This youth-led youth-oriented mental healthcare intervention and delivery system combines: 1) a rigorously-tested mental health intervention (called Shamiri, or “Thrive!” in Kiswahili) that includes simple, empirically supported psychological elements and uses stigma-free, culturally-appropriate content, and 2) dissemination in secondary schools by youths trained as lay-providers. These providers are integrated into a three-tier mental health care model that also includes trained supervisors and expert clinicians and psychiatrists.
Thrive! Fellows—who are recent high school graduates—lead group-based intervention sessions in schools.
Thrive! Supervisors support Thrive Fellows! and handle personalized socio-emotional learning/wellbeing needs.
The Thrive! Network provides expert care to youths referred by Thrive! Supervisors.
Thrive! Fellows are recent high school students, aged 18 to 22, who are trained to deliver the Shamiri intervention and to provide socio-emotional and wellbeing support. Read some of their experiences.
My time at Shamiri as a Thrive! Fellow remains to be an experience worth recalling. The experience was not only amazing but also enabled me to realize that I could actually use the various topics (Values, virtues, gratitude, study skills, and growth) in real-life situations. This in turn has greatly helped me live inharmony with people, while study skills have helped a lot with my academic sector.
Being a Thrive! Fellow was nothing short of amazing, I enjoyed myself and learned so much from it. Interacting with the students was such an amazing experience...it could get challenging ..but there was nothing we couldn’t solve as a team
Being a Thrive! Fellow and leading discussions on growth mindset, gratitude, and virtues made me abetter person in so many ways and helped me to deal with challenges in a better way than I used to before. I realized that incorporating a growth mindset could change a current situation of failure into success also it helped me develop in so many aspects of my life. That goes for virtues too. I learned that incorporating virtues such as kindness, hard working, and humility among others is essential in our day to day lives.
I greatly enjoyed my relationship the Shamiri Team and other Thrive! Fellows. They created a conducive environment where everyone felt accommodated and I felt that I could express myself without any fear. This was a rare valuable experience where I felt that I could say anything and be myself.
Being a Thrive! Fellow is an amazing experience. I was surrounded by a vibrant and positive team. I enjoyed leading group discussions and managing logistics and operations for other Thrive! Fellows. This opportunity allowed me to grow personally and learn from the rest of the team. During my time as a Thrive! Fellow, I realized that I had more potential than I had imagined. Leading group sessions on growth, being grateful, and virtues made me realize that I could also incorporate this into my life. Now, when I face difficulties, I remind myself of some of the lessons and skills that we taught in the groups.
Being a Thrive! Fellow has been a life-changing experience. Being a Thrive! Fellow allowed me to build my confidence when I needed it the most and for that, I'm eternally grateful. One of the most important things that I took away was the importance of validation when listening to other people's opinions and when expressing mine. This is something that I apply in my interactions until now.
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