MBABANE – The Eswatini Medical Christian University (EMCU) has urged students and staff to turn lived experience into action as the institution commemorated World Mental Health Day at the university’s hall.
Two speakers, delivering their remarks at the beginning of the event said institutions must listen before they act.
This year’s global theme centres on lived experience and the promise of real voices driving real change.
According to the speakers, progress cannot be left to clinicians and policymakers alone.
EMCU Registrar and Senate Chair Sebenta Menon said mental health is not an abstract issue confined to clinics, data rooms and policy documents. Instead, he said it is a human reality carried by students, colleagues and family members.
Menon said for a university of future health professionals, scholars and servant leaders, those who hope to care for the mental health of others must first learn to care for one another with compassion and without judgment.
Menon referred to the story of the Prophet Elijah in 1 Kings 19. Threatened by Queen Jezebel, Elijah fled to the wilderness and prayed to die. He was not condemned but allowed to rest and was given food and water by an angel before receiving direction for his journey.
Drew
Menon drew three lessons from the passage, which he directed to the attendees, especially the students. He told them that even people of strong faith can experience fear, exhaustion and despair, however rest and compassionate care are part of healing, stressing that no one should face distress alone.
Furthermore, Menon stated that the university must be a community that offers rest without shame.
He cited reports presented to the Senate by the Dean of Student Affairs Office and the Counselling Unit which indicate that counselling helps students manage academic stress and anxiety and builds resilience.
However, he said some students still avoid seeking help for fear of being judged or misunderstood. Menon described a final-year student facing examinations, a clinical rotation, financial pressure at home and sleepless nights, who may appear composed while struggling privately.
Yet reaching out to a counsellor, lecturer, chaplain or friend is a courageous step, he said, urging the university to respond with care, confidentiality and practical support.
Action
Meanwhile, Head of the Department of Psychology, Dr Sizakele Dlamini, said awareness must be matched by action. She called on partners to provide placements, referral systems, community-based projects and joint research.
She also asked for investment in mental health literacy for teachers, health workers, parents, employers and community leaders, and in supervised training that reaches marginalised communities.
On another note, Dlamini told academic staff they are role models of care while urging students that listening was an intervention.
She asked whether services were accessible, whether interventions were culturally relevant and whether the voices of service users were reflected in teaching, research and policy.
