Namibian occupational therapists assist children with mental health

Windhoek, Namibia — Poverty, family dysfunction, hopelessness and learning challenges are among the reasons children, sometimes as young as 9, take their own lives. The Namibia Association of Occupational Therapists on Saturday brought together children, parents, and health care workers to teach children how to cope and adapt into adulthood.


When Samuel Njambali was 11 years old, he began drinking and smoking with his peers.


This destructive behavior led to fights and failing grades at school.


His grandmother helped him get his act together.


Now an intern occupational therapist, Njambali gave a peer talk at a #Be Free Youth Campus workshop Saturday on the impact of substance abuse on adolescent mental health and the role of occupational therapy in treating and correcting negative behavior patterns.


"Occupational therapy is a profession that helps people who are using substances to quit, and we help to rehabilitate them through activities," he told VOA. "So, we will help them with restructuring their activities of their day so changing their routines providing more structure to their habits so that they don’t have free time and opportunities for them to use substances."


Karlien Burger from the Namibia Association of Occupational Therapists organized the event, which attracted more than 150 students, parents, teachers and health care providers.


Given Namibia’s past of apartheid and colonization, she said, its citizens experienced inter-generational trauma that manifests in poor mental health outcomes.


As occupational therapists, she said, they want to reach families when their children are young to re-model their behavior into healthier lifestyles.


"There are a lot of difficulties with mental health, and because these difficulties are starting earlier and earlier, we wanted to take a pro-active and a preventative approach. And that’s why we are looking at adolescent mental health today at this event and different facets of it. The emotional development that happens and how to look after that, how to prevent substance use, how to support the adolescent learning processes and then lastly, we looked at spirituality and how we can foster health promoting spirituality in our everyday tasks."


Monica Amukoto, a student at the event, said she now has a greater understanding of how her body works and how she can communicate her boundaries with her parents and her peers.


She said greater awareness in the community can help children like her avoid common substance abuse problems.


"I practically learnt about self-love and how as a young person I am supposed to control my emotions, and we encounter a lot of young people on a day-to-day basis," she said. "On how I am supposed to control my anger and all these things."


Occupational therapy is a branch of health care that helps people of all ages with physical, sensory or cognitive problems. It is relatively unknown in Namibia and Africa and the Occupational Therapy Association used the opportunity at the #Be Free Youth Campus to create awareness of its practice.


A first of its kind in Namibia, the #Be Free Youth Campus provides sexual and reproductive health services, counseling, sports and learning facilities in the underserved township of Katutura to teens and young adults.