January 7, 2026 • 55 mins
Episode Overview
Clinical health psychologist Peter Mintir Amadu explains the hidden mental health emergency affecting nearly 500 women accused of witchcraft in Northern Ghana and the innovative model transforming their lives.
Women accused of witchcraft face a devastating reality: up to 90% suffer from severe depression, PTSD rates exceed 80%, and many live in camps for over 20 years. They've lost everything: family, livelihood, dignity, and hope.
But mental health support alone isn't enough. As one survivor told Amadu: "I can sleep now, but when I wake up, I'm hungry. What happens to me?"
Initiatives that combine mental health intervention with economic empowerment, creating sustainable change through advocacy, rehabilitation, therapy, livelihood training, and community engagement is being explored. This locally-developed model addresses both psychological trauma and practical survival needs.
Ghana faces a 98% mental health treatment gap with fewer than 200 psychologists for 30+ million people. Yet TOLEC is proving that culturally-grounded, resource-conscious solutions can work, from teletherapy programs to training religious leaders as mental health advocates.
TOLEC's work extends to prison mental health, maternal psychological care, youth substance abuse prevention, and school-based interventions, all driven by data and local innovation.
International collaboration opportunities exist in capacity building, research partnerships, digital health technology, and advocacy. The model is ready to scale. What's needed is global support for local expertise.
For organizations seeking meaningful partnerships in African mental health innovation, culturally-responsive trauma care, or women's empowerment initiatives.
Keywords: mental health innovation Africa, witchcraft accusations Ghana, trauma-informed development, sustainable mental health programs, international mental health partnerships, women's rights Ghana, community psychology, teletherapy developing countries
#MentalHealthInnovation #GlobalMentalHealth #WomensEmpowerment #AfricanSolutions #EndWitchcraftAccusations #TraumaCare
Links
Total Life Enhancement Center, Ghana
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Welcome to the thing about witchhunts.
I'm Josh Hutchinson. And I'm Sarah Jack, today, we're
thrilled to have Peter mentor Amadou returning to share
updates on his vital mental health work in Ghana.
Peter is the founding director of Total Life Enhancement Center
Ghana and a clinical health psychologist who's been on the
(00:21):
front lines of addressing one ofthe most overlooked human rights
crises, women accused of witchcraft in northern Ghana.
Since we last spoke with Peter, his organization has received 5
awards and expanded their innovative mental health model.
But the need remains urgent withcrowds of women living in witch
(00:41):
camps or refugee camps, many forover 20 years.
Peter shares the realities thesewomen face, the mental health
crisis affecting entire communities, and what meaningful
international collaboration is possible.
Let's welcome back Peter. Mentor Amadou.
(01:02):
Welcome back to the podcast, Peter Mentor Amadou, Please
remind us a little bit about your expertise, where the Total
Life Enhancement Center is, and what it's about.
Goat. Thank you very much.
My name is Peter Mentor Amadou. I hold a name fold in clinical
health psychology and a currently APAD candidate for
(01:24):
Clinical Sciences and Clinical Health psychologist and lecturer
and the founder of Total Life Enhancement Center Ghana to Let,
a mental health and accusation support service organization.
I'm also a visiting psychologistat the Tamil Teaching Hospital
and the Vice President of the Ghana Psychological Association
(01:46):
and a mental health and accusation support service
consultant for several organizations.
So this is who I am and this is what I have been doing very
passionately. Total Life Enhancement Center is
a premium mental health and physician support organization
with a twin approach into advocacy and intervention
(02:08):
founded on the field of June 2018, focusing on youth, women
and the marginalized in society with a broad concept areas like
mental health, peace build and livelihood empowerment and
mentorship. So we have been functioning in
the area of advocacy therapy project and training with our
(02:35):
mental health thematic areas being mental health advocacy,
provision of psychological services, counseling services,
emotional, intelligent and management, livelihood
empowerment or capacity buildingand mental health research
research. We want to be our decision to be
driven by data that inform our engagement.
(02:58):
We have grown from an advocacy organization in 2018 and
expanding wanders into other years of mental health advocacy
training, rehabilitation for young people with substance use,
provision of therapy, and now one tangent to provide training
(03:21):
for lean individuals in the ill of psychology and mental health.
And that is one of the biggest thing we're trying to do.
Toilet has a number of mental health professionals,
psychologists, psychiatrists, social workers, psychiatric
nurses, community mental health officers and a cross section of
volunteers were doing different disciplines who believe in our
(03:45):
model of mental health intervention.
So we are really working very hard to ensure that every corner
of our community accesses mentalhealth services appropriately.
And we were established in 2018 for this low level of mental
health, especially huge treatment gap, limited
resources, poor funding, lack ofcommitment and the issues of
(04:09):
professionals within the community in which I cooperate.
And so this is the brief I wouldwant to say about Toilet.
But I must say that the Toilet has over the last few years been
recognized as one outstanding mental health and seclusion
support organization in Ghana. And just this year alone, WHO
have received twice awards for an organization that is
(04:34):
projecting mental health and seclusion support in Ghana.
And we have had the leverage. But we have also had a few
challenges in the area of mentalhealth literacy, stigma,
inadequate professional, huge success youths among the youth
and limited funding. But what has been driving us is
what I call our PDC approach, passion, dedication and
(04:58):
commitment. So this is what we have been
doing for the past 2. Years now.
Congratulations on all the success.
That's really wonderful to hear that you're achieving those
accomplishments and you've been visiting the women in the
so-called witch camps in northern Ghana.
(05:21):
What is the full weight of what people face when they're accused
of witchcraft in northern Ghana?What happens to them?
Yes. So thank you very much.
This is a very significant question for me because we are
often on the ground and when youtook up the full weight of what
women accused of witchcraft in my community looks like, it's
(05:45):
the issue of trauma and CA. They don't know who will attack
and who will do something harmful to them.
So the concept of fear, uncertainty, doubt and the loss
of autonomy if the experience ofthe woman in my community
(06:06):
regarding accusation deep seatedstigma and shame, shame to the
woman accused shame to the children of the woman accused
shame to the family and share itto the community, especially
those closer. So that's that's a stigma and
shame is deep seated and so to the point where people do not
(06:29):
even want to associate with close relations of any woman
that has been accused. So the which is that some women
who have been accused have had their family members
disconnected from society in oneway or the other when it comes
to even religion, relationship or even productive activities,
(06:53):
lost of property and live reportis often the way to that some of
our women because these are women who are often doing very
well. And so out of this accusation,
what it means is that business in which they were in, they have
to leave it and run for safety or for life to a place where
(07:16):
they will call the camps as we have them in Ghana because that
seem to be more safer than the natural environment with the
way. And so sometimes someone who
have been in business or have been in farming, maybe the
accusation comes at the time youare harvesting.
What it means like you have lost, you're 12, you have
planted, now it is time to harvest, especially in the
(07:38):
farming season. And this accusation can what it
means is that this woman has to basically run leaving a place.
And so the livelihood is affected.
And so the will also is that a good number of them end up not
having the best of support. They also lose what I call
family and community connection.These women after the
(08:00):
accusation, what it means is a family members do not have
access to them. Some of them may have children
who have little ones. And the gamma perspective, the
elderly mother in the community,in the family is lost and some
of them converted over to the community.
And what it means is that they are not able to connect with the
community members to enhance potential.
(08:23):
Then we often will have what I call physical assault and
injury. And I'm sure you would have
followed the Ganiel story about a queer dente about five years
ago. What basically happened to this
woman was physical assault resulting in injury that ended
her life. And that is the experience of a
(08:43):
cross section of women who will want the audit.
And I try to justify that I am not what you think I am and the
community coming in with anotherdimension of this is what you
see. It is either we take that or how
we leave some harm or to you. So the physical assault is
(09:03):
there, the injuries is there, then economic exclusion.
So many of the women that had been accused often do not have
the economic power to continue to do whatever businesses or
agricultural related activity that they used to build.
Then kinds also the area that I have been focusing on she
(09:24):
actually on mental health issues.
So the issues of trauma, the issues of depression, the issues
of anxiety and chronic stress often very high.
And we have had the opportunity of doing assessment in these
communities and the statistics regarding PTSD, depression,
(09:45):
anxiety and stress, you'll find that almost more than 6070% of
the women may score higher for each of these mental health
construct. And so you can find 60% or even
70% expressing symptoms of post traumatic stress disorder.
(10:06):
And so they're as high as 80%. Our latest data indicate that
even 90% of the respondents wereexperiencing depression, anxiety
and stress. And this I will say is the
weight of the experience of women and beyond that that also
have what I often would call social and economic laws
displacement from community. Most of the women experienced
(10:28):
breakdown of the family unity because this was for them come
from very stable families. And sometimes when you hear
about the experiences, it is a concept of, I know before lack
of a better word, jealousy in the community.
This is a woman that is doing well will probably have some
support system. So they try to tag you in a way.
(10:50):
So what it means that they breakdown the family unit then low 10
poverty. Because many of the women that I
have encountered for the last five years, many of them are
living in what I would call abject poverty.
Abject poverty in the sense thatif for where the next meal will
come from, when they are not fine, where we can get even a
(11:12):
health facility to visit becomesa challenge.
And so maintenance of their well-being is a challenge.
Barriers to connecting with society and the intervention of
productivity. What I would call multilayered
emotional and physical harm in the experience and the wit of
(11:33):
the women who have been accused of witchcraft in my community,
in the Ghanaian community. But let me also state that some
of the communities, because we have been able to label about 5
different communities that seem to have this challenge.
And this house is close to 500 women.
(11:53):
And that means that these are 500 mothers, 500 gram mothers,
500 sisters. And this and that means a huge
will or some of the families that I experienced.
And for the women themselves whohad a lot of potential for life
by this, for this accusation, that potential is cut short.
(12:17):
And so ruthlessness setting for these women.
Thank you. Thanks for helping us understand
what these humans are experiencing because of these
false accusations. You mentioned the hopelessness.
(12:37):
Does hope come back to them? What do they say they want for
their future? Do they see a future?
How much time does it take to help them feel hope?
Yes. So in terms of what may improve
or what, what were them, the realities is that also the
(13:00):
survivors of this accusation, their hope for the future is
that they wish a better and safer lives for themselves, from
their communities and for especially their individual
family. They wish a real connection with
family and children because for some of them they still in the
(13:21):
council 20 years and sometimes no child even comes to visit
because of the threat in the community.
If you go and come back, we willalso probably ask you to leave
the community or you go and you are proceeding your mother or
your auntie or your whatever with some information.
So there's often that fear to want to connect.
(13:43):
Then they want to gain what I call economic empowerment.
Many of the women that have accepted that that's it, even
though it is not what they wish,but I don't just want what can I
do for myself in terms to the care tickets of the communities.
It would be some of them are able to get a parcel of land and
can do farming and so be able tosustain themselves in while we
(14:07):
are there. But what I have indeed them and
what they tell me that they wishto see that they have a parcel
of land which is able to be supported with some what they
will call agriculture related input for them to do farming,
have a something at the end of the year, I mean the farming
season to take care of themselves and for their needs.
(14:28):
This, I would say is one of the terms that they are looking for
in general. What I've told was that they're
talking about some of them have come to the town that it is not
enough to come and give us a pack of food for today.
What happens to me tomorrow. They want to capacity to be bold
so that they can't be able to take care of themselves.
(14:49):
Winter from when they will live or those comes with a close 1D
then they have what we call it justice.
They see justice and community acceptance because sometimes
because of lack of justice, a lot of them are going through
one challenge all the other. So some of them think that if
there is justice, it means that I will be heard and if I am
(15:09):
heard, I will get the community acceptance and I won't go back
to my community and feel safe tolive my life till my Creator
sees enough of my life. That's what they are looking at.
Then having worked in the mentalhealth space, what I also see a
lot of them needing is that someof them need the support of
(15:31):
mental health intervention. Our recent visit about 3 or 4
months ago, one of the communityleaders tells us, I have been
here. But since you accept this
community, I have seen a change in the way my people are living.
And what simply that means is that this is an area where they
(15:53):
hope that if we can intensify our intervention, they know the
trauma is there, but how we habit to help them to live with
the trauma, to adjust with the trauma makes life better in the
community for that. And the cat that tells me at
least the troubles I used to go through, it look like there is
something strongly leave now. And we are hoping that we can be
(16:14):
able to provide advocacy, community wide advocacy, carry
out community wide intervention to educate the current
generation so that this issue ofaccusation will come to an
entry. Because people need information
(16:34):
so that some of the accusations come by virtue of somebody
feeling awful about you. And the reality does they can't
get such a shit to go to the Chief Palace and the
achievements pronouncement and pay that pronouncement.
As a woman, you have no see. And that becomes very difficult
(16:57):
for the woman who has no voice in the community.
What means that while they see it is fine, now you have to deal
with it. And these are the term that they
want to see happen. Advocacy is one of the things we
should go to the community, we should go on the radio, we
should go to the schools, we should go to the organization
and let people understand that what has been happening in this
(17:18):
our community, it cannot be substantiated.
And so if there is knowledge, many more will come to the point
of saying that no, this is not real.
And if it's not real, what can we do to support these women?
For this has been what the womenare hoping for and what the cow
they want to see their future. So putting it first, they want
(17:41):
economic empowerment makes the one the best of support in terms
of their mental health and they also think that there is a need
educate a lot of more people after ignorant some of them have
been accused. So they want the process where
they can do more education to help them to be able to deal or
live free instead of being underfear.
(18:03):
Thank you so much for that. How is Tolc responding to what
the survivors are experiencing? Yes, political response has been
divest. Divest in the sense that our
fans encounter and and LED what comes in Ghana was to do an
assessment. Following that assessment, we've
(18:24):
since been very deliberate aboutthis group of people in our
community. So we have realized that the
issue of trauma, the issue of depression, anxiety, stress,
PTSD is high among these people.And what it means is that mental
health is not well understood inour community.
(18:45):
So we then said that is even among the general population who
the gamer literature sees that about 98% treatment gap in
Ghana, that's what it starts andless than 200 psychologists
practicing in our system and about 100 psychiatrists.
(19:06):
What it means is that if the general population, lack of this
information let this kind of services, you can imagine what
is happening to people we call excluders from our communities.
So we then decided that we wanted to put in an
intervention. So the women who have been
excluded and they have become like a special project for us,
whether funded or not. Every year we want to go in
(19:29):
there and provide some level of intervention and that is what we
have been doing at the level of toilet.
So after assessment, we have done interventions almost every
year and sometimes even quarterly is what we go.
And then we're also doing a lot of advocacy.
We are linking up to policy makers, part of the network that
(19:49):
is championing the legislature that is seeking to criminalize
this concept in Ghana and also to make free this individual
they can express themselves. So we have been involved at the
organizational level, championing our technical skill
because psychology is my area. So I bring in psychologists to
(20:12):
support them. Then I know not everybody will
appreciate. So we need to go on to the
radio, go to the communities to educate.
So many more people will come toappreciate it.
Then we're also connecting with other CS OS like minded
organization that are championing this to shed light
and to put our efforts together towards getting that deal into
(20:35):
force and ensuring that it is active and working very well in
our community. So at toilet, these are the few
things we have been able to do and I would say that we have
also been on the Anti witchcraftadvocacy Bangalore coalition
with like minded organization and ingredient stakeholders on
(20:56):
that witchcraft deal went on livelihood empowerment
opportunities and seeking support.
Because we are hoping that what we have done, we have been able
to provide some relief in terms of mental health.
But beyond that, as one of them said, yes.
And my son, you have come, we have held you but the Judas, I
am hungry. How do you ensure that even one
(21:20):
message you have given me, the hunger that I am feeling now
doesn't take away that information away from me.
And that's what that struck me very much.
And soon then I have been thinking what is it that we can
go so that this woman during thefarming season can get a parcel
of land supported with some agricultural input so that they
can turn the land and take care of themselves, Go into small
(21:44):
businesses or skills building for financial independence.
Also working on economic integration and strengthening
dignity and reliance of this women in our communities.
They just say what we have been doing and we want to do more.
But the reality is that many of the women will answer the
question mentor have reached true, I am able to sleep now,
(22:08):
but when I sleep and wake up, I'm hungry, what happens to me
and so on. The economic empowerment is the
model that we want to shift our attention to beyond the mental
health because once they have accepted the message, the other
way is to ensure that they are able to sustain that message by
not going into other terms that can affect their well-being.
So our next model of intervention is to look at a
(22:32):
livelihood empowerment. But I don't want the concept
where we have basically to the community and carrying a bag of
rice to them, carrying some water to them.
But we want them to constantly be able to generate their own
income. And this is by building their
own capacity. Because if I send you a bag of
rice, whatever it is, even though that woman is a loan, but
(22:54):
it may not take you more than a year.
But if I am able to build your capacity, you can grow your
meals, you can tell the land working in the dry season to do
dry season vegetable farming. What it means is that you would
have been building the capacity of this woman for a longer
period. Of course, we can continue to
mainstream our mental health, but they have a livelihood
(23:15):
support and that's one of the 10.
We are hoping that in each of these five communities, we can't
be able to possibly pilot this livelihood empowerment is
clearly to reach out to this 500individual that we do know who
have been accused while we or the other in our Ghanaian
community. And for this economic
(23:37):
empowerment, do these women havethe skills already for gardening
and for producing from the land,or do they need skills training
for that? I will say if you look at the
Ghanaian population and especially majority of people
that have not been in school, farming has been a source of
(23:59):
their livelihood. And many of these women in these
camps have been part of these group of people.
So whatever it is, they're able to tell the lamb, they're able
to get the right tiny to plant and when they have it, they know
how to store what they may need.I will say is because we want to
maybe bring in some level of technicality in their way of
(24:23):
living. So what it means is that yet how
then do you ensure you do the farming at the right time,
habits at the right time, how tostore it and possibly creating a
value chain for them. So if the person has habits and
like 20 bags of mils, they don'tneed 20 bags of mils as a
family. What they need is to convey this
(24:45):
into capital to send them to thehospital to probably buy
ingredients. Creating the aggregate value
chain for them is one of the things that we're hoping that if
we're able to get all of this. So that would be the training
area they will need, but for thefarming and tell them of the
land. This are the concern that they
do have. But maybe to enhance it is to
(25:05):
see that we will need more aggregate extension officers
attached to this woman so that they can do the right time of
farming, the right type of cropping and the appropriate
harvesting to ensure that the fruit or the produce do not go
with or square along the line. Then we can add up the ugly
business to this concept to ensure that we're connecting
(25:26):
them to either, to the schools, to the hotels to buy their
produce and put money into theirhands to take care of themselves
and run this. Peter, I'm wondering for those
women who would have the opportunity to leave the camp
when it is safe, possibly due tothe legislation changing, or for
(25:49):
whatever other opportunity wouldallow them to leave.
Would they be able to then have that economic empowerment
outside the camp for themselves?Or would it transition well into
their community life outside thecamp?
Yes. So currently what we're hoping
or working on with the legislation that is happening,
(26:11):
many of them can do very well even outside the camps, even in
the camps, what it means that some of them are being
restricted. Restricted in the sense that
they come and they overload on the camp what it means they have
a very small space and so someday I think become
difficult. So neither what happens then
they work on the sound of the caretaker and who then also
(26:32):
supply them a little support to feed on to live on.
But some of them who were already doing farming while
we're handing us to themselves and that those last even though
some have been taken because they have stayed there for
longs. But there's you see that they
think they go back and have beenaccepted into community.
They are able to get fine land to be able to continue the trait
(26:56):
that they know. So they can do very well outside
the camps because even the campsthey are being restricted
because of space and the nature of the the number of them who
are there. And so the farming, I think they
can go very well for them. Yeah, that's really important.
All of the things that you're working towards to empower the
(27:18):
women to live lives like they had before they were accused,
get them back to some sense of normalcy, is very important for
them. Yeah.
Thank you. Thank you.
What are you working toward withyour December conference and
your upcoming activities? Yes, thank you.
(27:39):
The December conference was excellent.
I presented on last week Thursday that was on the 4th of
December was when I had my presentation and this was to the
mental health for that bodies Global Exchange Conference 2025
and I was asked to present on the mental health landscape of
(28:01):
Ghana local innovation seeking international collaboration.
So I use that as a great opportunity to project to make
and what we have been doing in the last few years.
I also tried as much as possibleto highlight Ghana's economic
(28:23):
gains because I am looking for collaboration and people need to
be sure that they are coming to a land that is see in land that
is welcoming. So I told them the story of
Ghana and how stable we are as ademocracy and how hospitable our
environment is and attractive areas of our country.
(28:48):
Looking at the forest reserve, the animals, basically there's a
place where you can just go and you are engaging with either the
elephant or some Bush animals has been all mean they are part
of the environment because thesehave been kept in such a way
that with the help of the guardsalso you do not a place in a
(29:11):
trait at all to people who overseas.
So I told the global community about Ghana and what Ghana
stands as a nation and how much we can collaborate to make an
impact especially on the mental health landscape of Ghana.
I also told the international community about the University
for Development Studies, the premier university in the
(29:34):
northern part of Ghana where I work.
So beyond PROLET, which I often describe as passion in my bills,
I paid at the University for Development Study Code, that is
where I climb. I treat as a psychologist and
this university has stood up in the recent past as one of the
best universities in Ghana in terms of teaching, academic
(29:57):
work, staff engagement, student support very outstanding and it
is one university that combine community work with academic.
So most of our students even after third degree are able to
connect with the community. So when it comes to posting to
rural areas, perfect, our students have been #1 accepted
(30:20):
posting to places where there's no light sometimes to places
where what that becomes an issue.
But because as part of their education for three years, they
will go to the city community, come out a project to help the
community should be able to adjust very well.
And then whether which of us level you are on the three years
(30:42):
community service you offer willdo then I also mentioned about
this university that we have started training medical doctors
just in the last few years, but remembers are still limited.
One thing we don't have currently is between
psychologists and that university.
And this is one thing I am hoping that would a
(31:02):
collaboration from a university outside the country.
We can't get the faculty needed to begin the training of most
psychologists who are still in Northern Gamma and project
mental health in the way that way.
I wish we had the level of resources.
Then we have also done projectedConnect and what we have been
(31:23):
doing and what Pullack has been doing as a first mental health
association support organizationbased in the north, which is not
initiating counselors, training for schools, social society
organization and the religious and then providing specialized
psychological services. So totally as a leading advocacy
(31:45):
on harmful cultural practices. One of them being the accusation
that we have yet talked about. But I also projected for like
interventional areas, what have been the areas in Bootleg have
intervened in our society. I talked about our following
form care. I talked about our mental health
(32:06):
and psychosis, supporting peace building, our school based
mental health advocacy, support for alleged, which is but it was
significant for me, a vulnerableadult in our community, issues
of sexual and gender based violence.
And today we mark the climax of the 16 days of activism where we
are, I mean climaxing with the human right D where we are
(32:31):
telling the story. Everybody deserve the space to
operate. It doesn't matter who they are
and where they are, the reality is that people need the support
in order to make the best out. Then we have to veer into what
are called prison mental health and sacrificial supports.
I told the community about what we do in the prison and with
(32:53):
this we got a little grant in 20/20/24 from the United Nation
Office of Grab and Cram to implement a mental health and
sacrificial support services in sex out of over 50 prisons in
Ghana. And so going in there and
(33:15):
providing that intervention, we told the story.
Another neglected population. So we told the story and people
are beginning to appreciate whatI mean individuals in our
prisons do need and how we can support it.
Then we also told the story of maternal mental health issues.
Many of our Ghanaian women do not really have any mental
(33:38):
health assessment during pregnancy.
And so we have been projecting this and in May we often will
call term as the maternal mentalhealth month where we are
projecting. So I told the community what
we've been doing every year in May it may just happen to be the
month. But beyond that we tried as much
about visiting health facilities, antenata clinics and
(33:58):
providing intervention. And we are hoping that we will
get to a point where Ghana can rectify or can make use of The
Who standard of every pregnant woman having three mental health
assessment before delivery, which doesn't easily happen.
What we do is that at the first trimester, we are supposed to do
(34:19):
a few more of laboratory investigations but nobody does
anything mental health. And so that is an area where we
try to project our and ideas to also support them.
I also told them about our what our concept called Site Connect.
Site Connect is our online version of what I called Tele
(34:40):
therapy or Tele mental health services.
So we try to use that as a conduit.
Many Ghanaian young people have Internet access and Internet
penetration in Ghana is very high.
So what it means is that when you go on to the social media,
you are able to reach a lot of young people.
And so we use that as a medium to talk to the young people,
(35:01):
especially the issues of substance use, which is very
relevant in my community. So we often want to use that as
a medium. So using the radio stations,
using the TV stations and also the traditional or the more than
the social media handles like Facebook eggs.
And then you just to tell the story because they are there and
(35:23):
we got we need to find a way of reaching out to them because
that is where you can easily getthem and they will hear you.
Because once you use a system, aconcept that they understand,
they are more likely to be with you.
Then I also spoke to them about our research.
Our activity has been driven by the data that we have got it
because in 2018 when we started,everything was about advocacy
(35:46):
and following that advocacy thencame the idea that people needed
intervention and we realized if you needed to do that
intervention, you never really need to employ more
professionals. But in our community,
professionals are not big. Hence the reason why we are
beginning a training for leadingpersons, teachers, CSO's,
(36:07):
workers and religious leaders tohave a little understanding
because government is generally a highly religious, as I mean we
often would put it. So if the man of God at the
pulpit will say something about mental health, if the man of God
in the mosque will say somethingabout mental health, we can't be
going better because almost every Friday and every Sunday
(36:31):
many people are being LED to themosque or to the church.
To what happens in the church beyond the Bible, can we tell
the story of the mental health esteem?
So that's the sort of thing thatwe are hoping to do.
Even though I don't have the full faculty members, I am
hoping that I will be able to borrow from other regions who
will come as part time facilities to train a few of all
(36:54):
people who will then become lecturers or tutors for this
intervention that we are trying to roll out in our community.
And the whole idea is to improvemental health, transit and make
service really available for thepeople of the North and by
extension the entire Ghanian community.
(37:15):
Then I never said I mentioned atthe Global Exchange Conference
was our model. Over a period of time now we
have developed a model I call the NRC Dash LE/PE model.
What does it stand for? It stands for advocacy and it
stands for rehabilitation. T stands for therapy.
(37:37):
LE stands for livelihood empowerment and positive
engagement. Thus, we think that if we really
want to get people to appreciatewhat mental health is, number 1
is advocacy. You need to go to the community
and explain it in the world thatthey will understand it.
Many of them after they have understood it, we need some
(37:58):
support. And so we tell, we say that
sometimes some of them come verylate.
A reason why they will need whatI call rehabilitation.
Then put down the habitation process.
We need to have a continuous intervention therapy.
But beyond the when you do mental health intervention,
excluding the livelihood empowerment which I have
(38:19):
introduced during the engagementwith the alleged witches, what
it means is that you won't have a full term impact.
And the woman asked me what happens to me.
I am hungry. You're saying something nice,
but I can't even hear you so reliably.
Wood empowerment components fit deeply into our intervention,
but we're also seeing that sometimes someone maybe it's not
about live and it's about connection.
(38:42):
And so here's we're talking about positive engagement.
So this model have driven the interventions and product and
that was one of the things I also projected to the
international community saying that this is a local innovation,
it's made impact. We are only working in huge
regions in the country. We're hoping to expand this to
(39:03):
cover all the 16 regions of Ghana.
But why have the resources? No, one thing I know I do have
is a passion and the enthusiastic team members, the
international community here on us who want to invest in this is
something that we are excited about so that we can carry this
to our schools, to our organizations and to our
(39:25):
communities to ensure that issues of mental health are well
appreciated. But I have come to say put it
very squarely when I think that having put a statement, mental
health is one of the greatest needs of our time, often
neglected in our development space.
In terms of discussion, all I'm looking for is productivity.
(39:46):
For what is productivity when there is a lot of absenteeism in
our workplaces? What is productivity when there
is the whole concept of presenteeism?
The teacher is there, but he's not teaching.
He has come and written his name, so he will be marked as
having come. But what is the level of
intervention he asked for the children for that particular D
Nothing. And so this concept, I think
(40:08):
that I am the I'm just hoping that I can push to the level of
policy and understanding. But the beautiful thing is that
we have a very beautiful law, government, mental health
practice in government. And that was about community
interpretation. So where we don't want to
institutionalized, but we want to deal with individuals and the
community level so that community can play a role.
(40:30):
And that is that connection thatwhere where this model is trying
to see and emulate so that we can expand this in Ghana, in
Africa and can go with this model and can probably present
the best of data for the global community when it comes to what
is it that we are doing in Ghanaas regard mental health.
So this, I will say, have been our intervention or what I have
(40:55):
actually told the global community about the Mental
Health Bodies Conference, Globalization Conference 2025.
Thank you so much, Peter. So yeah, you're, you've done a
really great job today. Thank you for sharing all of
this and really helping us visualize the efforts that are
(41:18):
going on, the needs that are there.
When we talk about meaningful international support, 'cause
you are giving the data, you're telling the story, what should
an individual organization do tojoin you?
What is meaningful support? What does that look like as an
(41:40):
action and engagement? Thank you very much.
This is a question I actually look forward to putting a
response to. So what does that mean for
intervention or what meaningful international support look like
for us or for the work that we do?
And I think partnership is one of the things because we do have
(42:03):
the cultural context, we have the local expertise.
Partnership in terms of Technical Support, training and
enhancing the capacity of my team members is what I think
that a meaningful international support will look like for me.
Strengthening our advocacy for ending issues of witchcraft
(42:25):
acquisition, improving mental health literacy in our
communities and media services available.
So I am anticipating that peoplelistening to us can be able to
that towards this and also issues of infrastructure as I
speak now, I will say that we have tried as much as possible
(42:46):
to have the best of people come to my the facility and then it
wow, you have all of this but wish we had something more than
what we do. But at least what do we do have?
We are making use of it and people appreciate it.
But we are thinking all can we get other local or satellites
infrastructure even though we are based in one city, can we
(43:09):
say that in one of the regions we have a satellite office where
people can go out there, not necessarily we mean online but
physical presence to be able to.So we are looking for that
international collaboration to have satellite offices in some
of the regions. While I will see, I want all,
but at least there's so few regions so that the impact that
(43:30):
we are making in the northern part of Ghana can be solved
elsewhere. Then I also think that the in
this technological era in which we are our site for net can
become meaningful if you can getthe best of gadgets in order to
be able to enhance our Tele mental health opportunity or
(43:51):
what I call the site connect. And then also a global exchange
and capacity building opportunity for the people that
we work with. But let me also say that while
you have this question 1 conceptI've presented somewhere else
came to mind. Why?
Because I had presented earlier to another group and I was
saying that one of the areas arelooking for in terms of
(44:14):
collaboration is what I call theIT approaches and Prof
opportunities for international collaboration.
Because strategic opportunity for international collaboration
can support to lack greatly in aculturally grounded mental
health and supposition which andenhance service usability and in
(44:38):
each of our Ghanaian regions. And so I see that the capacity
burden of our staff is somethingthat I think is needed.
And under that I look at the global local training
partnership, north-south collaboration is what I'm
looking at. We have the local expertise when
(44:59):
we get some touch with what is happening, best practices
somewhere, I'm sure we can do even better.
And then what I call the cross-border membership and
e-learning opportunities is an area.
So after this then comes the research evidence generation and
knowledge exchange and that comes with two major
(45:21):
opportunities drain to research to turn our story data system
for implementation of science isone of the terms.
I think that we globally or collaborating.
We will be seeking for integrating programs and
integrated programming and systems strengthening, inclusion
of the toilet, mobile or humanitarian and developmental
(45:44):
theme work or creature or culturally appropriate tool kit
so that we are able to tell our people understand this language.
How then do we use that to access the issues of technology
and digital mental health innovation, global local digital
mental health collaboration, their financing and
(46:05):
sustainability? I haven't been put the issue of
finance when I come, when I'm talking about what is it that I
want first and hopefully make ittoward the tail end.
Certainly look over so that we can iron us.
What we develop need is a littlebit of capacity done so we can
tell what we have, which our people do understand into
(46:29):
something meaningful for them, so important, so concerned that
they don't even understand and fear.
So this is one of the things that I have been pushing for.
So then find reason and global investment and I am beginning to
think that we as an organizationto begin to look at establishing
(46:49):
as a social enterprise where we are able to use our leverage,
make a little income employed back for the less privilege.
Because I grew up to the community.
And this year, thanks to the opportunity you shared in our
team on our aid and provided us about 500 donors and therefore
100 donors really reached out toa lot of people.
(47:10):
We were able to go to communities and they were so
excited that we have been able to do more than what we have
been doing. So if we get that opportunity to
continue this activity, what it means is that collaboration like
this will be very, very helpful for us so that the foundries and
parts. And we're thinking that if we
can even then get to a point where Tulacan become like
(47:33):
something like a shoe shell enterprise, we're generating our
own income, employing it back tothe less privileged society.
There. You are looking at advocacy and
global solidarity, internationaladvocacy alliance where we are
advocating for culturally harmful practices and also
advocating for mental health in our community.
(47:55):
Then the cross cutting sectorialcollaboration because obviously
one sector cannot achieve it all.
We need everybody on board. So integration of mental health
into our educational sector, into our employment sector, and
above all into the general economic sector.
Then we're looking at cultural diplomacy and exchange.
(48:17):
That's the if and when we're looking at opportunity #4 being
cultural healing and estate programs for our communities.
Because all of our women are well endowed, some skills, how
do we ensure that even one community can move to the next?
But while they are moving, how do you facilitate?
(48:37):
So we want to be able to say that from community one that is
10 and like which has come and community B, how can they share
ideas and continue to exist? But if we can only do that, if
we can be able to remove these people between their
communities, I will call for collaboration because people may
(48:57):
have resources that we do not have.
And that is an area that we're hoping that we can be able to
leverage on and make the life ofour people better.
But at least as an organization delivery, we haven't gotten and
what we have been able to, what we stand for, all that we do
need now is the best kind of support.
And I'm sure many more people inGhana will understand what
(49:19):
mental health is and enjoy the services as and when they do
need it. Thank you so much for joining us
today, for letting us know aboutall these important concerns.
This is just such an important issue, the topic of mental
health in general and of course the women in the camps.
(49:42):
Was there anything else you wanted to talk about today that
you haven't had a chance to speak to yet?
Yes, what I have to say is an appreciation, appreciation today
and which hunt a nonprofit because when you identify that I
said this was a global communitythat we have come and I did the
(50:07):
encouragement and the frequent connection with other global
communities. I want to appreciate you for
connecting us to the people thatcan really make meaning in the
life of the vulnerable that we work for and we work with,
because at the end of the day, your connection happened given
(50:27):
us a lot of leverage. People listen and they are I I I
listen to this podcast and I wasexcited about your presentation.
I said yes, somebody made that possible.
And then the international network against accusation of
witch hunts and rituals attack in our in fact, an item with
them was just like a Blizzard because I put that proposal to
(50:51):
and I didn't even know how I gotthat too.
And the e-mail came, you have been successful and that gave me
a lot of exciting. So I have expressed my
appreciation. But whichever we would read them
to say that for like in Ghana isexcited about being support and
we are hoping that we can collaborate going forward in the
(51:12):
near future. Then I will also want to
appreciate my team members at the Tolect because these have
been phenomenal because I can't,this is a work I can't say I'm
doing alone as I don't even wantto assume it, but their help has
been something phenomenal for mebecause I put together a team of
(51:34):
psychologists and they are readyto go even when I don't even
have a something like a compensation for that.
I just put a car and then they're like, OK, I'm ready to
go. And that is so refreshing.
I get a radio station I have I go there for an activity and the
next time I'm not able to go whois available and somebody is
ready to volunteer and they don't even ask how much Are you
(51:57):
ready to pay me and that it is quite impression.
So I want to use your medium. Even though I keep telling my
team member I want to use your medium to appreciate them for
these years of dedication. I can only tell them that there
is more better days ahead. Let's keep united then I also
want to appreciate the communities in which we have
worked in, especially the five communities that are housing the
(52:23):
so-called allied which is comes in gone.
The leaders have been quite phenomenal, especially from the
government sanctionaries to the religious leaders and to the
Kaitika. We have enjoyed a lot of
leverage from them and I want touse your medium once more to
appreciate them and to say that this sound little might, I mean
(52:45):
are we those might were given and we want to do more in the
year 2026. We only can ask for the set up,
collaboration and connect them after the right people.
And above all, I know that this surely can be taught.
When you dedicate yourself to a certain course, there is, there
often will be a certain part of you that surface.
(53:06):
And that's how I want to say appreciating my family, my wife
and children because they reallydonate me to society and that I
will take for granted because wecan understand that I will have
to travel when they need me. But I want to use this
opportunity also to thank them for giving me the Peace of Mind.
And I, we often will see it in the Ghanaian palace.
(53:29):
All that I do is by the strengthof somebody who is supernatural
God. And I must, I must admit that
the health, the knowledge, the connection and the experiences
that I have, I think it's gift from him.
And I often say that what is knowledge when that knowledge is
not dished for another person asa meal, it doesn't make meaning
(53:50):
for me, but the next person he makes meaningful.
And so given out the people is something that I think that is a
gift and I want to give it back.And God has given me that
strength that help to continue to do this.
And I want to appreciate the Alpha and Omega and go for more
good health and strength. I won't ask for money.
It will come when it will come. Thank you.
(54:12):
Thank you, Peter. Your expression of appreciation
across all the intersections of your work, all of those
individuals, it's powerful, it'sgenuine.
We also want to extend our appreciation to each of those
workers in your family. But it also really demonstrates
that it takes all these people, all of us, so many individuals,
(54:38):
but together there is power. It feels slow sometimes.
Mental health needs is a massivecrisis across the world.
Witchcraft accusations is an extensive crisis across the
world. But we can address it together a
step at a time. And thank you for giving us such
(55:03):
an important talk today and for also demonstrating who the
people are who need support and who it takes to get the support
there. Thank you so much.
Peter, thank you so much for rejoining us and sharing these
important updates. The work you're doing is truly
(55:25):
transformational. This discussion was a great
demonstration of how mental health support requires
addressing the whole person, their trauma, their economic
security and their dignity. For our listeners who want to
learn more about Toilet Ghana orexplore partnership
opportunities, we'll have links and contact information in the
(55:48):
show notes. Thank you for listening and
thank you, Peter for your dedication to this critical
work. Have a great today and a
beautiful tomorrow.
Welcome to the thing about witchhunts.
I'm Josh Hutchinson. And I'm Sarah Jack, today, we're
thrilled to have Peter mentor Amadou returning to share
updates on his vital mental health work in Ghana.
Peter is the founding director of Total Life Enhancement Center
Ghana and a clinical health psychologist who's been on the
(00:21):
front lines of addressing one ofthe most overlooked human rights
crises, women accused of witchcraft in northern Ghana.
Since we last spoke with Peter, his organization has received 5
awards and expanded their innovative mental health model.
But the need remains urgent withcrowds of women living in witch
(00:41):
camps or refugee camps, many forover 20 years.
Peter shares the realities thesewomen face, the mental health
crisis affecting entire communities, and what meaningful
international collaboration is possible.
Let's welcome back Peter. Mentor Amadou.
(01:02):
Welcome back to the podcast, Peter Mentor Amadou, Please
remind us a little bit about your expertise, where the Total
Life Enhancement Center is, and what it's about.
Goat. Thank you very much.
My name is Peter Mentor Amadou. I hold a name fold in clinical
health psychology and a currently APAD candidate for
(01:24):
Clinical Sciences and Clinical Health psychologist and lecturer
and the founder of Total Life Enhancement Center Ghana to Let,
a mental health and accusation support service organization.
I'm also a visiting psychologistat the Tamil Teaching Hospital
and the Vice President of the Ghana Psychological Association
(01:46):
and a mental health and accusation support service
consultant for several organizations.
So this is who I am and this is what I have been doing very
passionately. Total Life Enhancement Center is
a premium mental health and physician support organization
with a twin approach into advocacy and intervention
(02:08):
founded on the field of June 2018, focusing on youth, women
and the marginalized in society with a broad concept areas like
mental health, peace build and livelihood empowerment and
mentorship. So we have been functioning in
the area of advocacy therapy project and training with our
(02:35):
mental health thematic areas being mental health advocacy,
provision of psychological services, counseling services,
emotional, intelligent and management, livelihood
empowerment or capacity buildingand mental health research
research. We want to be our decision to be
driven by data that inform our engagement.
(02:58):
We have grown from an advocacy organization in 2018 and
expanding wanders into other years of mental health advocacy
training, rehabilitation for young people with substance use,
provision of therapy, and now one tangent to provide training
(03:21):
for lean individuals in the ill of psychology and mental health.
And that is one of the biggest thing we're trying to do.
Toilet has a number of mental health professionals,
psychologists, psychiatrists, social workers, psychiatric
nurses, community mental health officers and a cross section of
volunteers were doing different disciplines who believe in our
(03:45):
model of mental health intervention.
So we are really working very hard to ensure that every corner
of our community accesses mentalhealth services appropriately.
And we were established in 2018 for this low level of mental
health, especially huge treatment gap, limited
resources, poor funding, lack ofcommitment and the issues of
(04:09):
professionals within the community in which I cooperate.
And so this is the brief I wouldwant to say about Toilet.
But I must say that the Toilet has over the last few years been
recognized as one outstanding mental health and seclusion
support organization in Ghana. And just this year alone, WHO
have received twice awards for an organization that is
(04:34):
projecting mental health and seclusion support in Ghana.
And we have had the leverage. But we have also had a few
challenges in the area of mentalhealth literacy, stigma,
inadequate professional, huge success youths among the youth
and limited funding. But what has been driving us is
what I call our PDC approach, passion, dedication and
(04:58):
commitment. So this is what we have been
doing for the past 2. Years now.
Congratulations on all the success.
That's really wonderful to hear that you're achieving those
accomplishments and you've been visiting the women in the
so-called witch camps in northern Ghana.
(05:21):
What is the full weight of what people face when they're accused
of witchcraft in northern Ghana?What happens to them?
Yes. So thank you very much.
This is a very significant question for me because we are
often on the ground and when youtook up the full weight of what
women accused of witchcraft in my community looks like, it's
(05:45):
the issue of trauma and CA. They don't know who will attack
and who will do something harmful to them.
So the concept of fear, uncertainty, doubt and the loss
of autonomy if the experience ofthe woman in my community
(06:06):
regarding accusation deep seatedstigma and shame, shame to the
woman accused shame to the children of the woman accused
shame to the family and share itto the community, especially
those closer. So that's that's a stigma and
shame is deep seated and so to the point where people do not
(06:29):
even want to associate with close relations of any woman
that has been accused. So the which is that some women
who have been accused have had their family members
disconnected from society in oneway or the other when it comes
to even religion, relationship or even productive activities,
(06:53):
lost of property and live reportis often the way to that some of
our women because these are women who are often doing very
well. And so out of this accusation,
what it means is that business in which they were in, they have
to leave it and run for safety or for life to a place where
(07:16):
they will call the camps as we have them in Ghana because that
seem to be more safer than the natural environment with the
way. And so sometimes someone who
have been in business or have been in farming, maybe the
accusation comes at the time youare harvesting.
What it means like you have lost, you're 12, you have
planted, now it is time to harvest, especially in the
(07:38):
farming season. And this accusation can what it
means is that this woman has to basically run leaving a place.
And so the livelihood is affected.
And so the will also is that a good number of them end up not
having the best of support. They also lose what I call
family and community connection.These women after the
(08:00):
accusation, what it means is a family members do not have
access to them. Some of them may have children
who have little ones. And the gamma perspective, the
elderly mother in the community,in the family is lost and some
of them converted over to the community.
And what it means is that they are not able to connect with the
community members to enhance potential.
(08:23):
Then we often will have what I call physical assault and
injury. And I'm sure you would have
followed the Ganiel story about a queer dente about five years
ago. What basically happened to this
woman was physical assault resulting in injury that ended
her life. And that is the experience of a
(08:43):
cross section of women who will want the audit.
And I try to justify that I am not what you think I am and the
community coming in with anotherdimension of this is what you
see. It is either we take that or how
we leave some harm or to you. So the physical assault is
(09:03):
there, the injuries is there, then economic exclusion.
So many of the women that had been accused often do not have
the economic power to continue to do whatever businesses or
agricultural related activity that they used to build.
Then kinds also the area that I have been focusing on she
(09:24):
actually on mental health issues.
So the issues of trauma, the issues of depression, the issues
of anxiety and chronic stress often very high.
And we have had the opportunity of doing assessment in these
communities and the statistics regarding PTSD, depression,
(09:45):
anxiety and stress, you'll find that almost more than 6070% of
the women may score higher for each of these mental health
construct. And so you can find 60% or even
70% expressing symptoms of post traumatic stress disorder.
(10:06):
And so they're as high as 80%. Our latest data indicate that
even 90% of the respondents wereexperiencing depression, anxiety
and stress. And this I will say is the
weight of the experience of women and beyond that that also
have what I often would call social and economic laws
displacement from community. Most of the women experienced
(10:28):
breakdown of the family unity because this was for them come
from very stable families. And sometimes when you hear
about the experiences, it is a concept of, I know before lack
of a better word, jealousy in the community.
This is a woman that is doing well will probably have some
support system. So they try to tag you in a way.
(10:50):
So what it means that they breakdown the family unit then low 10
poverty. Because many of the women that I
have encountered for the last five years, many of them are
living in what I would call abject poverty.
Abject poverty in the sense thatif for where the next meal will
come from, when they are not fine, where we can get even a
(11:12):
health facility to visit becomesa challenge.
And so maintenance of their well-being is a challenge.
Barriers to connecting with society and the intervention of
productivity. What I would call multilayered
emotional and physical harm in the experience and the wit of
(11:33):
the women who have been accused of witchcraft in my community,
in the Ghanaian community. But let me also state that some
of the communities, because we have been able to label about 5
different communities that seem to have this challenge.
And this house is close to 500 women.
(11:53):
And that means that these are 500 mothers, 500 gram mothers,
500 sisters. And this and that means a huge
will or some of the families that I experienced.
And for the women themselves whohad a lot of potential for life
by this, for this accusation, that potential is cut short.
(12:17):
And so ruthlessness setting for these women.
Thank you. Thanks for helping us understand
what these humans are experiencing because of these
false accusations. You mentioned the hopelessness.
(12:37):
Does hope come back to them? What do they say they want for
their future? Do they see a future?
How much time does it take to help them feel hope?
Yes. So in terms of what may improve
or what, what were them, the realities is that also the
(13:00):
survivors of this accusation, their hope for the future is
that they wish a better and safer lives for themselves, from
their communities and for especially their individual
family. They wish a real connection with
family and children because for some of them they still in the
(13:21):
council 20 years and sometimes no child even comes to visit
because of the threat in the community.
If you go and come back, we willalso probably ask you to leave
the community or you go and you are proceeding your mother or
your auntie or your whatever with some information.
So there's often that fear to want to connect.
(13:43):
Then they want to gain what I call economic empowerment.
Many of the women that have accepted that that's it, even
though it is not what they wish,but I don't just want what can I
do for myself in terms to the care tickets of the communities.
It would be some of them are able to get a parcel of land and
can do farming and so be able tosustain themselves in while we
(14:07):
are there. But what I have indeed them and
what they tell me that they wishto see that they have a parcel
of land which is able to be supported with some what they
will call agriculture related input for them to do farming,
have a something at the end of the year, I mean the farming
season to take care of themselves and for their needs.
(14:28):
This, I would say is one of the terms that they are looking for
in general. What I've told was that they're
talking about some of them have come to the town that it is not
enough to come and give us a pack of food for today.
What happens to me tomorrow. They want to capacity to be bold
so that they can't be able to take care of themselves.
(14:49):
Winter from when they will live or those comes with a close 1D
then they have what we call it justice.
They see justice and community acceptance because sometimes
because of lack of justice, a lot of them are going through
one challenge all the other. So some of them think that if
there is justice, it means that I will be heard and if I am
(15:09):
heard, I will get the community acceptance and I won't go back
to my community and feel safe tolive my life till my Creator
sees enough of my life. That's what they are looking at.
Then having worked in the mentalhealth space, what I also see a
lot of them needing is that someof them need the support of
(15:31):
mental health intervention. Our recent visit about 3 or 4
months ago, one of the communityleaders tells us, I have been
here. But since you accept this
community, I have seen a change in the way my people are living.
And what simply that means is that this is an area where they
(15:53):
hope that if we can intensify our intervention, they know the
trauma is there, but how we habit to help them to live with
the trauma, to adjust with the trauma makes life better in the
community for that. And the cat that tells me at
least the troubles I used to go through, it look like there is
something strongly leave now. And we are hoping that we can be
(16:14):
able to provide advocacy, community wide advocacy, carry
out community wide intervention to educate the current
generation so that this issue ofaccusation will come to an
entry. Because people need information
(16:34):
so that some of the accusations come by virtue of somebody
feeling awful about you. And the reality does they can't
get such a shit to go to the Chief Palace and the
achievements pronouncement and pay that pronouncement.
As a woman, you have no see. And that becomes very difficult
(16:57):
for the woman who has no voice in the community.
What means that while they see it is fine, now you have to deal
with it. And these are the term that they
want to see happen. Advocacy is one of the things we
should go to the community, we should go on the radio, we
should go to the schools, we should go to the organization
and let people understand that what has been happening in this
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our community, it cannot be substantiated.
And so if there is knowledge, many more will come to the point
of saying that no, this is not real.
And if it's not real, what can we do to support these women?
For this has been what the womenare hoping for and what the cow
they want to see their future. So putting it first, they want
(17:41):
economic empowerment makes the one the best of support in terms
of their mental health and they also think that there is a need
educate a lot of more people after ignorant some of them have
been accused. So they want the process where
they can do more education to help them to be able to deal or
live free instead of being underfear.
(18:03):
Thank you so much for that. How is Tolc responding to what
the survivors are experiencing? Yes, political response has been
divest. Divest in the sense that our
fans encounter and and LED what comes in Ghana was to do an
assessment. Following that assessment, we've
(18:24):
since been very deliberate aboutthis group of people in our
community. So we have realized that the
issue of trauma, the issue of depression, anxiety, stress,
PTSD is high among these people.And what it means is that mental
health is not well understood inour community.
(18:45):
So we then said that is even among the general population who
the gamer literature sees that about 98% treatment gap in
Ghana, that's what it starts andless than 200 psychologists
practicing in our system and about 100 psychiatrists.
(19:06):
What it means is that if the general population, lack of this
information let this kind of services, you can imagine what
is happening to people we call excluders from our communities.
So we then decided that we wanted to put in an
intervention. So the women who have been
excluded and they have become like a special project for us,
whether funded or not. Every year we want to go in
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there and provide some level of intervention and that is what we
have been doing at the level of toilet.
So after assessment, we have done interventions almost every
year and sometimes even quarterly is what we go.
And then we're also doing a lot of advocacy.
We are linking up to policy makers, part of the network that
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is championing the legislature that is seeking to criminalize
this concept in Ghana and also to make free this individual
they can express themselves. So we have been involved at the
organizational level, championing our technical skill
because psychology is my area. So I bring in psychologists to
(20:12):
support them. Then I know not everybody will
appreciate. So we need to go on to the
radio, go to the communities to educate.
So many more people will come toappreciate it.
Then we're also connecting with other CS OS like minded
organization that are championing this to shed light
and to put our efforts together towards getting that deal into
(20:35):
force and ensuring that it is active and working very well in
our community. So at toilet, these are the few
things we have been able to do and I would say that we have
also been on the Anti witchcraftadvocacy Bangalore coalition
with like minded organization and ingredient stakeholders on
(20:56):
that witchcraft deal went on livelihood empowerment
opportunities and seeking support.
Because we are hoping that what we have done, we have been able
to provide some relief in terms of mental health.
But beyond that, as one of them said, yes.
And my son, you have come, we have held you but the Judas, I
am hungry. How do you ensure that even one
(21:20):
message you have given me, the hunger that I am feeling now
doesn't take away that information away from me.
And that's what that struck me very much.
And soon then I have been thinking what is it that we can
go so that this woman during thefarming season can get a parcel
of land supported with some agricultural input so that they
can turn the land and take care of themselves, Go into small
(21:44):
businesses or skills building for financial independence.
Also working on economic integration and strengthening
dignity and reliance of this women in our communities.
They just say what we have been doing and we want to do more.
But the reality is that many of the women will answer the
question mentor have reached true, I am able to sleep now,
(22:08):
but when I sleep and wake up, I'm hungry, what happens to me
and so on. The economic empowerment is the
model that we want to shift our attention to beyond the mental
health because once they have accepted the message, the other
way is to ensure that they are able to sustain that message by
not going into other terms that can affect their well-being.
So our next model of intervention is to look at a
(22:32):
livelihood empowerment. But I don't want the concept
where we have basically to the community and carrying a bag of
rice to them, carrying some water to them.
But we want them to constantly be able to generate their own
income. And this is by building their
own capacity. Because if I send you a bag of
rice, whatever it is, even though that woman is a loan, but
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it may not take you more than a year.
But if I am able to build your capacity, you can grow your
meals, you can tell the land working in the dry season to do
dry season vegetable farming. What it means is that you would
have been building the capacity of this woman for a longer
period. Of course, we can continue to
mainstream our mental health, but they have a livelihood
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support and that's one of the 10.
We are hoping that in each of these five communities, we can't
be able to possibly pilot this livelihood empowerment is
clearly to reach out to this 500individual that we do know who
have been accused while we or the other in our Ghanaian
community. And for this economic
(23:37):
empowerment, do these women havethe skills already for gardening
and for producing from the land,or do they need skills training
for that? I will say if you look at the
Ghanaian population and especially majority of people
that have not been in school, farming has been a source of
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their livelihood. And many of these women in these
camps have been part of these group of people.
So whatever it is, they're able to tell the lamb, they're able
to get the right tiny to plant and when they have it, they know
how to store what they may need.I will say is because we want to
maybe bring in some level of technicality in their way of
(24:23):
living. So what it means is that yet how
then do you ensure you do the farming at the right time,
habits at the right time, how tostore it and possibly creating a
value chain for them. So if the person has habits and
like 20 bags of mils, they don'tneed 20 bags of mils as a
family. What they need is to convey this
(24:45):
into capital to send them to thehospital to probably buy
ingredients. Creating the aggregate value
chain for them is one of the things that we're hoping that if
we're able to get all of this. So that would be the training
area they will need, but for thefarming and tell them of the
land. This are the concern that they
do have. But maybe to enhance it is to
(25:05):
see that we will need more aggregate extension officers
attached to this woman so that they can do the right time of
farming, the right type of cropping and the appropriate
harvesting to ensure that the fruit or the produce do not go
with or square along the line. Then we can add up the ugly
business to this concept to ensure that we're connecting
(25:26):
them to either, to the schools, to the hotels to buy their
produce and put money into theirhands to take care of themselves
and run this. Peter, I'm wondering for those
women who would have the opportunity to leave the camp
when it is safe, possibly due tothe legislation changing, or for
(25:49):
whatever other opportunity wouldallow them to leave.
Would they be able to then have that economic empowerment
outside the camp for themselves?Or would it transition well into
their community life outside thecamp?
Yes. So currently what we're hoping
or working on with the legislation that is happening,
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many of them can do very well even outside the camps, even in
the camps, what it means that some of them are being
restricted. Restricted in the sense that
they come and they overload on the camp what it means they have
a very small space and so someday I think become
difficult. So neither what happens then
they work on the sound of the caretaker and who then also
(26:32):
supply them a little support to feed on to live on.
But some of them who were already doing farming while
we're handing us to themselves and that those last even though
some have been taken because they have stayed there for
longs. But there's you see that they
think they go back and have beenaccepted into community.
They are able to get fine land to be able to continue the trait
(26:56):
that they know. So they can do very well outside
the camps because even the campsthey are being restricted
because of space and the nature of the the number of them who
are there. And so the farming, I think they
can go very well for them. Yeah, that's really important.
All of the things that you're working towards to empower the
(27:18):
women to live lives like they had before they were accused,
get them back to some sense of normalcy, is very important for
them. Yeah.
Thank you. Thank you.
What are you working toward withyour December conference and
your upcoming activities? Yes, thank you.
(27:39):
The December conference was excellent.
I presented on last week Thursday that was on the 4th of
December was when I had my presentation and this was to the
mental health for that bodies Global Exchange Conference 2025
and I was asked to present on the mental health landscape of
(28:01):
Ghana local innovation seeking international collaboration.
So I use that as a great opportunity to project to make
and what we have been doing in the last few years.
I also tried as much as possibleto highlight Ghana's economic
(28:23):
gains because I am looking for collaboration and people need to
be sure that they are coming to a land that is see in land that
is welcoming. So I told them the story of
Ghana and how stable we are as ademocracy and how hospitable our
environment is and attractive areas of our country.
(28:48):
Looking at the forest reserve, the animals, basically there's a
place where you can just go and you are engaging with either the
elephant or some Bush animals has been all mean they are part
of the environment because thesehave been kept in such a way
that with the help of the guardsalso you do not a place in a
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trait at all to people who overseas.
So I told the global community about Ghana and what Ghana
stands as a nation and how much we can collaborate to make an
impact especially on the mental health landscape of Ghana.
I also told the international community about the University
for Development Studies, the premier university in the
(29:34):
northern part of Ghana where I work.
So beyond PROLET, which I often describe as passion in my bills,
I paid at the University for Development Study Code, that is
where I climb. I treat as a psychologist and
this university has stood up in the recent past as one of the
best universities in Ghana in terms of teaching, academic
(29:57):
work, staff engagement, student support very outstanding and it
is one university that combine community work with academic.
So most of our students even after third degree are able to
connect with the community. So when it comes to posting to
rural areas, perfect, our students have been #1 accepted
(30:20):
posting to places where there's no light sometimes to places
where what that becomes an issue.
But because as part of their education for three years, they
will go to the city community, come out a project to help the
community should be able to adjust very well.
And then whether which of us level you are on the three years
(30:42):
community service you offer willdo then I also mentioned about
this university that we have started training medical doctors
just in the last few years, but remembers are still limited.
One thing we don't have currently is between
psychologists and that university.
And this is one thing I am hoping that would a
(31:02):
collaboration from a university outside the country.
We can't get the faculty needed to begin the training of most
psychologists who are still in Northern Gamma and project
mental health in the way that way.
I wish we had the level of resources.
Then we have also done projectedConnect and what we have been
(31:23):
doing and what Pullack has been doing as a first mental health
association support organizationbased in the north, which is not
initiating counselors, training for schools, social society
organization and the religious and then providing specialized
psychological services. So totally as a leading advocacy
(31:45):
on harmful cultural practices. One of them being the accusation
that we have yet talked about. But I also projected for like
interventional areas, what have been the areas in Bootleg have
intervened in our society. I talked about our following
form care. I talked about our mental health
(32:06):
and psychosis, supporting peace building, our school based
mental health advocacy, support for alleged, which is but it was
significant for me, a vulnerableadult in our community, issues
of sexual and gender based violence.
And today we mark the climax of the 16 days of activism where we
are, I mean climaxing with the human right D where we are
(32:31):
telling the story. Everybody deserve the space to
operate. It doesn't matter who they are
and where they are, the reality is that people need the support
in order to make the best out. Then we have to veer into what
are called prison mental health and sacrificial supports.
I told the community about what we do in the prison and with
(32:53):
this we got a little grant in 20/20/24 from the United Nation
Office of Grab and Cram to implement a mental health and
sacrificial support services in sex out of over 50 prisons in
Ghana. And so going in there and
(33:15):
providing that intervention, we told the story.
Another neglected population. So we told the story and people
are beginning to appreciate whatI mean individuals in our
prisons do need and how we can support it.
Then we also told the story of maternal mental health issues.
Many of our Ghanaian women do not really have any mental
(33:38):
health assessment during pregnancy.
And so we have been projecting this and in May we often will
call term as the maternal mentalhealth month where we are
projecting. So I told the community what
we've been doing every year in May it may just happen to be the
month. But beyond that we tried as much
about visiting health facilities, antenata clinics and
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providing intervention. And we are hoping that we will
get to a point where Ghana can rectify or can make use of The
Who standard of every pregnant woman having three mental health
assessment before delivery, which doesn't easily happen.
What we do is that at the first trimester, we are supposed to do
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a few more of laboratory investigations but nobody does
anything mental health. And so that is an area where we
try to project our and ideas to also support them.
I also told them about our what our concept called Site Connect.
Site Connect is our online version of what I called Tele
(34:40):
therapy or Tele mental health services.
So we try to use that as a conduit.
Many Ghanaian young people have Internet access and Internet
penetration in Ghana is very high.
So what it means is that when you go on to the social media,
you are able to reach a lot of young people.
And so we use that as a medium to talk to the young people,
(35:01):
especially the issues of substance use, which is very
relevant in my community. So we often want to use that as
a medium. So using the radio stations,
using the TV stations and also the traditional or the more than
the social media handles like Facebook eggs.
And then you just to tell the story because they are there and
(35:23):
we got we need to find a way of reaching out to them because
that is where you can easily getthem and they will hear you.
Because once you use a system, aconcept that they understand,
they are more likely to be with you.
Then I also spoke to them about our research.
Our activity has been driven by the data that we have got it
because in 2018 when we started,everything was about advocacy
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and following that advocacy thencame the idea that people needed
intervention and we realized if you needed to do that
intervention, you never really need to employ more
professionals. But in our community,
professionals are not big. Hence the reason why we are
beginning a training for leadingpersons, teachers, CSO's,
(36:07):
workers and religious leaders tohave a little understanding
because government is generally a highly religious, as I mean we
often would put it. So if the man of God at the
pulpit will say something about mental health, if the man of God
in the mosque will say somethingabout mental health, we can't be
going better because almost every Friday and every Sunday
(36:31):
many people are being LED to themosque or to the church.
To what happens in the church beyond the Bible, can we tell
the story of the mental health esteem?
So that's the sort of thing thatwe are hoping to do.
Even though I don't have the full faculty members, I am
hoping that I will be able to borrow from other regions who
will come as part time facilities to train a few of all
(36:54):
people who will then become lecturers or tutors for this
intervention that we are trying to roll out in our community.
And the whole idea is to improvemental health, transit and make
service really available for thepeople of the North and by
extension the entire Ghanian community.
(37:15):
Then I never said I mentioned atthe Global Exchange Conference
was our model. Over a period of time now we
have developed a model I call the NRC Dash LE/PE model.
What does it stand for? It stands for advocacy and it
stands for rehabilitation. T stands for therapy.
(37:37):
LE stands for livelihood empowerment and positive
engagement. Thus, we think that if we really
want to get people to appreciatewhat mental health is, number 1
is advocacy. You need to go to the community
and explain it in the world thatthey will understand it.
Many of them after they have understood it, we need some
(37:58):
support. And so we tell, we say that
sometimes some of them come verylate.
A reason why they will need whatI call rehabilitation.
Then put down the habitation process.
We need to have a continuous intervention therapy.
But beyond the when you do mental health intervention,
excluding the livelihood empowerment which I have
(38:19):
introduced during the engagementwith the alleged witches, what
it means is that you won't have a full term impact.
And the woman asked me what happens to me.
I am hungry. You're saying something nice,
but I can't even hear you so reliably.
Wood empowerment components fit deeply into our intervention,
but we're also seeing that sometimes someone maybe it's not
about live and it's about connection.
(38:42):
And so here's we're talking about positive engagement.
So this model have driven the interventions and product and
that was one of the things I also projected to the
international community saying that this is a local innovation,
it's made impact. We are only working in huge
regions in the country. We're hoping to expand this to
(39:03):
cover all the 16 regions of Ghana.
But why have the resources? No, one thing I know I do have
is a passion and the enthusiastic team members, the
international community here on us who want to invest in this is
something that we are excited about so that we can carry this
to our schools, to our organizations and to our
(39:25):
communities to ensure that issues of mental health are well
appreciated. But I have come to say put it
very squarely when I think that having put a statement, mental
health is one of the greatest needs of our time, often
neglected in our development space.
In terms of discussion, all I'm looking for is productivity.
(39:46):
For what is productivity when there is a lot of absenteeism in
our workplaces? What is productivity when there
is the whole concept of presenteeism?
The teacher is there, but he's not teaching.
He has come and written his name, so he will be marked as
having come. But what is the level of
intervention he asked for the children for that particular D
Nothing. And so this concept, I think
(40:08):
that I am the I'm just hoping that I can push to the level of
policy and understanding. But the beautiful thing is that
we have a very beautiful law, government, mental health
practice in government. And that was about community
interpretation. So where we don't want to
institutionalized, but we want to deal with individuals and the
community level so that community can play a role.
(40:30):
And that is that connection thatwhere where this model is trying
to see and emulate so that we can expand this in Ghana, in
Africa and can go with this model and can probably present
the best of data for the global community when it comes to what
is it that we are doing in Ghanaas regard mental health.
So this, I will say, have been our intervention or what I have
(40:55):
actually told the global community about the Mental
Health Bodies Conference, Globalization Conference 2025.
Thank you so much, Peter. So yeah, you're, you've done a
really great job today. Thank you for sharing all of
this and really helping us visualize the efforts that are
(41:18):
going on, the needs that are there.
When we talk about meaningful international support, 'cause
you are giving the data, you're telling the story, what should
an individual organization do tojoin you?
What is meaningful support? What does that look like as an
(41:40):
action and engagement? Thank you very much.
This is a question I actually look forward to putting a
response to. So what does that mean for
intervention or what meaningful international support look like
for us or for the work that we do?
And I think partnership is one of the things because we do have
(42:03):
the cultural context, we have the local expertise.
Partnership in terms of Technical Support, training and
enhancing the capacity of my team members is what I think
that a meaningful international support will look like for me.
Strengthening our advocacy for ending issues of witchcraft
(42:25):
acquisition, improving mental health literacy in our
communities and media services available.
So I am anticipating that peoplelistening to us can be able to
that towards this and also issues of infrastructure as I
speak now, I will say that we have tried as much as possible
(42:46):
to have the best of people come to my the facility and then it
wow, you have all of this but wish we had something more than
what we do. But at least what do we do have?
We are making use of it and people appreciate it.
But we are thinking all can we get other local or satellites
infrastructure even though we are based in one city, can we
(43:09):
say that in one of the regions we have a satellite office where
people can go out there, not necessarily we mean online but
physical presence to be able to.So we are looking for that
international collaboration to have satellite offices in some
of the regions. While I will see, I want all,
but at least there's so few regions so that the impact that
(43:30):
we are making in the northern part of Ghana can be solved
elsewhere. Then I also think that the in
this technological era in which we are our site for net can
become meaningful if you can getthe best of gadgets in order to
be able to enhance our Tele mental health opportunity or
(43:51):
what I call the site connect. And then also a global exchange
and capacity building opportunity for the people that
we work with. But let me also say that while
you have this question 1 conceptI've presented somewhere else
came to mind. Why?
Because I had presented earlier to another group and I was
saying that one of the areas arelooking for in terms of
(44:14):
collaboration is what I call theIT approaches and Prof
opportunities for international collaboration.
Because strategic opportunity for international collaboration
can support to lack greatly in aculturally grounded mental
health and supposition which andenhance service usability and in
(44:38):
each of our Ghanaian regions. And so I see that the capacity
burden of our staff is somethingthat I think is needed.
And under that I look at the global local training
partnership, north-south collaboration is what I'm
looking at. We have the local expertise when
(44:59):
we get some touch with what is happening, best practices
somewhere, I'm sure we can do even better.
And then what I call the cross-border membership and
e-learning opportunities is an area.
So after this then comes the research evidence generation and
knowledge exchange and that comes with two major
(45:21):
opportunities drain to research to turn our story data system
for implementation of science isone of the terms.
I think that we globally or collaborating.
We will be seeking for integrating programs and
integrated programming and systems strengthening, inclusion
of the toilet, mobile or humanitarian and developmental
(45:44):
theme work or creature or culturally appropriate tool kit
so that we are able to tell our people understand this language.
How then do we use that to access the issues of technology
and digital mental health innovation, global local digital
mental health collaboration, their financing and
(46:05):
sustainability? I haven't been put the issue of
finance when I come, when I'm talking about what is it that I
want first and hopefully make ittoward the tail end.
Certainly look over so that we can iron us.
What we develop need is a littlebit of capacity done so we can
tell what we have, which our people do understand into
(46:29):
something meaningful for them, so important, so concerned that
they don't even understand and fear.
So this is one of the things that I have been pushing for.
So then find reason and global investment and I am beginning to
think that we as an organizationto begin to look at establishing
(46:49):
as a social enterprise where we are able to use our leverage,
make a little income employed back for the less privilege.
Because I grew up to the community.
And this year, thanks to the opportunity you shared in our
team on our aid and provided us about 500 donors and therefore
100 donors really reached out toa lot of people.
(47:10):
We were able to go to communities and they were so
excited that we have been able to do more than what we have
been doing. So if we get that opportunity to
continue this activity, what it means is that collaboration like
this will be very, very helpful for us so that the foundries and
parts. And we're thinking that if we
can even then get to a point where Tulacan become like
(47:33):
something like a shoe shell enterprise, we're generating our
own income, employing it back tothe less privileged society.
There. You are looking at advocacy and
global solidarity, internationaladvocacy alliance where we are
advocating for culturally harmful practices and also
advocating for mental health in our community.
(47:55):
Then the cross cutting sectorialcollaboration because obviously
one sector cannot achieve it all.
We need everybody on board. So integration of mental health
into our educational sector, into our employment sector, and
above all into the general economic sector.
Then we're looking at cultural diplomacy and exchange.
(48:17):
That's the if and when we're looking at opportunity #4 being
cultural healing and estate programs for our communities.
Because all of our women are well endowed, some skills, how
do we ensure that even one community can move to the next?
But while they are moving, how do you facilitate?
(48:37):
So we want to be able to say that from community one that is
10 and like which has come and community B, how can they share
ideas and continue to exist? But if we can only do that, if
we can be able to remove these people between their
communities, I will call for collaboration because people may
(48:57):
have resources that we do not have.
And that is an area that we're hoping that we can be able to
leverage on and make the life ofour people better.
But at least as an organization delivery, we haven't gotten and
what we have been able to, what we stand for, all that we do
need now is the best kind of support.
And I'm sure many more people inGhana will understand what
(49:19):
mental health is and enjoy the services as and when they do
need it. Thank you so much for joining us
today, for letting us know aboutall these important concerns.
This is just such an important issue, the topic of mental
health in general and of course the women in the camps.
(49:42):
Was there anything else you wanted to talk about today that
you haven't had a chance to speak to yet?
Yes, what I have to say is an appreciation, appreciation today
and which hunt a nonprofit because when you identify that I
said this was a global communitythat we have come and I did the
(50:07):
encouragement and the frequent connection with other global
communities. I want to appreciate you for
connecting us to the people thatcan really make meaning in the
life of the vulnerable that we work for and we work with,
because at the end of the day, your connection happened given
(50:27):
us a lot of leverage. People listen and they are I I I
listen to this podcast and I wasexcited about your presentation.
I said yes, somebody made that possible.
And then the international network against accusation of
witch hunts and rituals attack in our in fact, an item with
them was just like a Blizzard because I put that proposal to
(50:51):
and I didn't even know how I gotthat too.
And the e-mail came, you have been successful and that gave me
a lot of exciting. So I have expressed my
appreciation. But whichever we would read them
to say that for like in Ghana isexcited about being support and
we are hoping that we can collaborate going forward in the
(51:12):
near future. Then I will also want to
appreciate my team members at the Tolect because these have
been phenomenal because I can't,this is a work I can't say I'm
doing alone as I don't even wantto assume it, but their help has
been something phenomenal for mebecause I put together a team of
(51:34):
psychologists and they are readyto go even when I don't even
have a something like a compensation for that.
I just put a car and then they're like, OK, I'm ready to
go. And that is so refreshing.
I get a radio station I have I go there for an activity and the
next time I'm not able to go whois available and somebody is
ready to volunteer and they don't even ask how much Are you
(51:57):
ready to pay me and that it is quite impression.
So I want to use your medium. Even though I keep telling my
team member I want to use your medium to appreciate them for
these years of dedication. I can only tell them that there
is more better days ahead. Let's keep united then I also
want to appreciate the communities in which we have
worked in, especially the five communities that are housing the
(52:23):
so-called allied which is comes in gone.
The leaders have been quite phenomenal, especially from the
government sanctionaries to the religious leaders and to the
Kaitika. We have enjoyed a lot of
leverage from them and I want touse your medium once more to
appreciate them and to say that this sound little might, I mean
(52:45):
are we those might were given and we want to do more in the
year 2026. We only can ask for the set up,
collaboration and connect them after the right people.
And above all, I know that this surely can be taught.
When you dedicate yourself to a certain course, there is, there
often will be a certain part of you that surface.
(53:06):
And that's how I want to say appreciating my family, my wife
and children because they reallydonate me to society and that I
will take for granted because wecan understand that I will have
to travel when they need me. But I want to use this
opportunity also to thank them for giving me the Peace of Mind.
And I, we often will see it in the Ghanaian palace.
(53:29):
All that I do is by the strengthof somebody who is supernatural
God. And I must, I must admit that
the health, the knowledge, the connection and the experiences
that I have, I think it's gift from him.
And I often say that what is knowledge when that knowledge is
not dished for another person asa meal, it doesn't make meaning
(53:50):
for me, but the next person he makes meaningful.
And so given out the people is something that I think that is a
gift and I want to give it back.And God has given me that
strength that help to continue to do this.
And I want to appreciate the Alpha and Omega and go for more
good health and strength. I won't ask for money.
It will come when it will come. Thank you.
(54:12):
Thank you, Peter. Your expression of appreciation
across all the intersections of your work, all of those
individuals, it's powerful, it'sgenuine.
We also want to extend our appreciation to each of those
workers in your family. But it also really demonstrates
that it takes all these people, all of us, so many individuals,
(54:38):
but together there is power. It feels slow sometimes.
Mental health needs is a massivecrisis across the world.
Witchcraft accusations is an extensive crisis across the
world. But we can address it together a
step at a time. And thank you for giving us such
(55:03):
an important talk today and for also demonstrating who the
people are who need support and who it takes to get the support
there. Thank you so much.
Peter, thank you so much for rejoining us and sharing these
important updates. The work you're doing is truly
(55:25):
transformational. This discussion was a great
demonstration of how mental health support requires
addressing the whole person, their trauma, their economic
security and their dignity. For our listeners who want to
learn more about Toilet Ghana orexplore partnership
opportunities, we'll have links and contact information in the
(55:48):
show notes. Thank you for listening and
thank you, Peter for your dedication to this critical
work. Have a great today and a
beautiful tomorrow.
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