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On Monday the 4th of October the ALA community had a Wellness day and engaged in interesting non-academic activities to celebrate their well-being. There was yoga, aerobics, medical checkup, color run and yes the AL for Health network discussed how to support each other with mental illness.
AL for Health set up four booths around campus, with two tables outside the LC Foyer and the other two outside the dining hall. AL For Health student volunteers coordinated the activities at each table and ensured that COVID-19 protocols were observed. Students, Staffulty, and every ALA community member were welcome to our tables. People drew, colored, painted, and shared encouraging positive quotes. We recorded the names and emails of everyone who participated. Our gift to them was a purple ribbon (mental health). The lucky few received stress balls.
Students were free to doodle, show their artistic skills and just write their names. Some drew their friends and advisory families to show the people who were playing an important role in their mental well-being. The activities allowed for visualization of the wellness concepts students were learning. The Wellness Day was a much needed break from our busy schedules. A special thanks to the Organizers, individuals and departments who coordinated to make the day refreshing and a success. I am forever grateful for your support.
By Mufaro Dube, ALA Student
Read the poem about mental health
Hide and go seek
I remember playing this all the time when i was young
I’d run away as the seekers counted to 10
1-2-3….10
I’d find the smallest place and wait to be found
A smile on my face
I’d play for hours
Knowing there’s a thrill in each new round
Knowing I would escape from the world
Into my own fantasy
The thing is,
I played so much I became good at it
Too good actually
In present day,
I find myself hiding in everyday life
Blocking my ears as the world called my name
The world, the seekers
No difference
They’re unaware
Unaware that I hide on purpose
To get back into the fantasy i built
To escape my demons
I hide
To escape my anxiety
I hide
To escape my stress
I hide
My worry, my paranoia , sadness, irritability
They seem ignorant to the fact that I need to found
I want to be found
I’m distressed
Thinking about anxiety and paranoia
My thoughts eating me alive
It’s terrifying
I feel like I’ve lost control
Nothing seems to make sense
I’m watching myself on autopilot and I wish
I wish the seekers would search as hard as I hid
Maybe then they would find me..
A poem about mental health,
By Maame Yaa Osei-Owusu, Year 1, ALA 21’
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