Sports for Mental Health

We create awareness of mental health well-being among secondary school youth and staff through Education, counseling services, and advocacy.

The Sports for Mental Health initiative by PYFU aims to use sports as a tool to promote mental well-being, resilience, and social support among secondary school students. In partnership with Watoto Wasoka, the program integrates mental health awareness into school sports activities, reducing stigma and encouraging help-seeking behavior. Key components include training teachers and peer leaders, organizing sports events with mental health discussions, and establishing peer support groups. The initiative is expected to enhance students’ emotional resilience, engagement, and overall mental health awareness, creating a supportive school environment for young people in Uganda.

Some of the activities done in school include starting up mental health clubs, conducting drama skits with themes of mental health, creating awareness, designing a speaking compound on issues related to mental health, and setting up a counseling/listening corner for students (safe corner).

Key areas of focus

Sports and Mental Health Workshops

This aims to empower teachers with mental health knowledge and help them understand the basic means of handling mental health challenges and emergencies for students. Given that students seek help from teachers for most of the challenges including health, training teachers in mental health skills will help them know how to handle students’ challenges (mental health related).

These trainings also help the teachers understand their mental health well-being, how to seek health care, and how to live mentally healthy lives.

As a foundation, we believe “A mentally stable teacher, produces a mentally stable student”

Key areas of focus

School-Based Sports Competitions

To create awareness, we focus on creating clubs in schools that empower students with knowledge of mental health and well-being. These clubs also nurture students in leadership and mentorship on mental health issues.

The club members will become mental health champions to their peers and community. The club members will participate in activities such as drama skits and organizing mental health awareness days in their school.

Training Student Ambassadors

The annual mental health awareness students camp is a space that brings youth (young people in secondary schools) together to gather and be trained about mental health, empowering them to become health champions to their peers and communities.

The primary objective of the camp is mental health and well-being. The camp will also focus on leadership development and the students’ reproductive health. Several experienced persons are brought on board to speak, teach, and share their experiences with the students to help them make informed decisions.

The camp is a four-day residential camp that happens at a small fee determined by the organizers before commencement.

Counseling and Support Services

PYFU has set up meeting points with the schools called the safe corner. This room is where a trained mental health personnel (counselor) meets individual students and offers counseling. We adopted this approach because the students said they would feel safer to open up to professionals from outside than their teachers.

A champion-trained individual from PYFU manages this corner. He/she visits the safe corner twice a month during the school term to interact with the students. A referral is made to the partner hospital/health facilities for severe cases.

Main Objectives

Improved mental resilience and emotional well-being among students.
Increased awareness and reduction of stigma related to mental health issues in schools.
Greater student engagement in positive extracurricular activities that enhance psychological health.
A sustainable model for integrating mental health awareness into school sports programs.