Once a month staff members carpool for 1.5 hours to an established general health clinic to provide mental health services in Hekanme. It was an honor to sit with a nurse as she saw 3 patients who agreed to be on camera. The nurse is trilingual speaking Fon, French and English. The patients conversed in Fon.
The young lady is 21 years old and told us that she has been sick for one year and is doing well. Many grow up in a culture believing that people with mental illness are bewitched and are taught by ASC to refer to themselves as sick. The older woman was quiet and also reported doing well. The two men are father and son. The father reported that his son displayed some aggressive behavior that was of concern to him. The son was mostly quiet but took out a notebook and wrote down his new medication instructions.
There are 25 relay stations in Benin, which are pop-up clinics to serve patients where they live. Patients, if able, pay the equivalent of a few US dollars for the visit which does not cover the costs. By helping to offset the cost of medications, our support helps to pay for nursing school for 3 years, medications and rehabilitative activities. Most of the paid staff are recovered patients who desire to give back to ASC.
