Catching up on 2016 and getting ready for Lusaka in January

We suddenly realised that looking at this Blog you would think we have done nothing over the year since Lesley came back from Lusaka - we have however been pretty active. It was clear from what she came back with that there was support for consolidating the training through Training of Trainers (ToT) but that we still had a lot to establish and to learn about delivering ToT.
We also needed to explore funding both for more feasibility work and the longer term plan that hopefully would emerge. As part of this I attended an All Party Parliamentary Group on Global Health ( Mental Health ) meeting in February which was focusing on how to make INGOs aware of the importance of Mental Health in sustainable development- really useful material in the report and in the paper "10 things you need to know about mental health". In some ways it was reassuring to find that larger well established INGOs were finding it hard to attract funding for mental health - not just us!
I linked us to MHIN ( Mental Health International Network) and the recent launch of MHIN Africa which hopefully will help to keep us in the loop!

ZTA is also now  a member  of  Zambia UK Health and Workforce Alliance (ZUKHWA)  and Lesley joined   their  conference in May ' Measuring Effective Partnerships', 

 We joined a THET webinar on Training of Trainers. These  events  have provided us with some useful models and learning from other programmes which we will be able to put to good use in our future plans and inputs.

We are expanding too - Simon who joined as Trustee and has - thank goodness taken over the role of Treasurer has been generally making us more organised technically and he is looking forward to being part of the January trip. We have also met up with another Art Therapist with good relevant experience who is interested in in joining us in 2017 later in the year.
We arranged a full Board meeting in August borrowing a lovely chalet in Aviemore - situated in woodland by a burn and where we were rewarded by sight of a red squirrel leaping past the window!

Hard work in Aviemore

Sadly Beverley had car issues at the last moment but was able to join us on skype particularly to share her experience of different training and assessment approaches.
Lesley and I gave a presentation and workshop for the Art Psychotherapy trainees at QMU Edinburgh which was very interesting as we focused on how the most simple art making activity seems to open communication, good feed back from them and useful for us!
We have stayed in close contact with our colleagues in Lusaka, helping to plan how we go forward - great support as always from Sylvester in MHUNZA- and getting things set up to deliver training at UTH and Chainama in the New Year.
We have had further support from MAITS ( Multi Agency International Training) who have agreed yet again to give grants to us all which helps greatly towards our flights and without which this January trip would be impossible.

MAITS

Capacity-building for 
Disability and Mental Health

Anyway we have flights booked for January, rooms booked at Gossner Mission - managing to secure the same 2 bedroomed small lodge so we can use that as a good working base  - back to sitting on the veranda to review the days progress. At least it won't be so hot this time - maybe a bit wet still but that is always good for the emergence of interesting wild life of the creepy crawly variety. The future is  generally looking really positive and we can now see how the next few years could pan out.

Lesley is back in Lusaka - planning!

Having spent the last few months in the UK  taking stock of our work so far, having our AGM, meeting up with other ZUKHWA (Zambia UK Health Workforce Alliance) members and generating enthusiasm and support from several  quarters, we are now in the process of planning our next steps for the Zambia  Therapeutic Art training programme.

As an NGO we are very keen always to learn from our Zambian  partners to ensure that our development plans can be both practical and sustainable. (Too often we hear of  programmes biting the dust  because of a lack of really addressing what is needed and what is possible).

Hence the reason for my (Lesley's) current 3 week visit to Lusaka  to explore the best ways forward. Finding the best and cheapest route to get to Lusaka  is the first task. In the past direct flights to Lusaka from London with BA or direct flights from Amsterdam with KLM were possible, but these have been cut, meaning that a change is always needed somewhere en route. Emirates turned out to be the best option this time. This was a new experience for me flying via Dubai  - very interesting to see from the air;  but not a place I felt inspired to visit.

  Lusaka in June is also a new experience. This is the 'cold' season -  and Zambians are shivering with the contrast from the norm.  Indeed at night it gets cold enough to put on a fleece, but otherwise its mostly sunny and warm through the day  20 C  at least - so  coming from Scotland its on the par with pretty good summer weather - and with no chance of rain. June is  also avocado season so the thump of falling avocados on the tin roof overnight, guarantees breakfast - delicious and unlike the  under-ripe  efforts in supermarkets at home. 

Zambians are  due to go to the polls on August the 11th so there is much political activity in Lusaka and despite the occasional loud  throng getting a bit over heated, Zambia is keeping to its  excellent reputation of peaceful elections.

Linking up with our partners  at the hospitals  has been very straightforward and  all have been most welcoming  and immediately  recount  both how useful the training has been and that they are using art in their everyday practice with patients and clients. In one interaction I was shown a picture done that morning by a boy  whose drawing clearly showed that  his  sense of insecurity was derived from multiple changes of care givers, and that his  best friend  at school was his most consistent  in his life. This information helped the doctor guide the family in  the need for consistent care from now on and also the importance of keeping him at the same school as his friend. 

I have been able to set up a number of meetings for  the planning discussions. A key element of  the discussions is our wish to 'train trainers' so that the Therapeutic Art course can be delivered by Zambian mental health professionals and be rolled out more widely. Already it is looking that we can start training trainers  on our next  training visit which will be in January 2017.  So far so good....