Helping the mentally ill in the north
Project N_L.10 is located in the northern mountain range of Nicaragua, in Matagalpa. It takes care of mentally ill and their relatives. It is not only offering group therapy but also gives advice on how to deal with mental illness to relatives and makes calls for one on one therapy sessions with its clients. To give you a better understanding of what this project does we asked our volunteer Christoph for a little insight:
“I began my voluntary work in project N_L.10 on September 22nd.
We usually start working at 8 a.m. Since the project is paired with a laundry service, we also help from time to time. In the laundry service works a man with post-traumatic stress disorder. He is nice and sometimes he even plays the guitar and sings for us.
In the mornings, we accompany our colleague to visit patients. Since there are no street names or numbers it can be quite the adventure to find our destination. We talk to our clients and usually extend invitations to group meetings with our organisation. Depending on the state of mind of our patients and the time it takes to get around, we visit about two to four clients a day.
In the afternoons, usually workshops are held for the clients by me and Katharina, another volunteer. On some days, we hold informative talks for the clients’ family members, on how to deal with mental illnesses and help their sick relatives. We are always allowed to bring our own ideas into the organisation.”
Are you interested in learning more about this project? Click here or send us an e-mail to [email protected]. |
