Our Mission
Contributing to improve the living conditions of mentally ill people in Cameroon
Hand On Heart was founded on the 1st of December 2009 in Yaoundé, Cameroon. We want to integrate mentally ill people into Cameroonian society better. We do this by providing mental health information and by raising social awareness.
Our vision is to connect people in need with mental health specialists.
Our goals and projects
We work on:
- Fighting stigma and isolation, suffered by many mentally-ill Cameroonians, especially in rural zones.
- Promoting positive attitudes about mental health.
- Organising seminars in collaboration with mental health professionals.
- Helping families of the patient with living together and improving the patient’s life.
- Explaining the patient’s rights – many are rejected, abused, and treated inhumanely. Some are separated from their children.
- Driving local research on mental diseases (mid-term)
- Empower psychology students to work as local therapists (mid-term)
- Integration through discussion groups between patients, healed people and families (mid-term)
In the long run, want to help people with mental illness with:
- A food, clothing and a pharmaceuticals bank – your donations would be very valuable for this point
- A healthcare, rehabilitation and reintegration centre
- Helping prepare the patient for an independent and sustainable life by providing craftsmanship training
- A scholarship program to participate in professional classes such as agricultural development to give them the ability to work