On May 23rd, JA Africa, in collaboration with the Z Zurich Foundation and Toli Wekka Mental Health Initiative (U) Limited, hosted a powerful Mental Wellbeing Webinar as part of this year’s Mental Health Awareness Month, under the theme “Social Emotional Learning as a Tool to Build Mental Resilience in Youth.” This was the third mental wellbeing-focused webinar since 2023, continuing a vital conversation around youth mental health across Africa.
At the heart of the session was a powerful message from Janet Thiongo, JA Africa Board Member, who shared:
“If you think you are a failure, you will act like a failure. And if you think of the situation as a failure, you will act successfully. Mental resilience is deliberate.”
That spirit of intentional resilience resonated throughout the webinar. Speakers included mental health experts, youth development professionals, and SEP alumni who spoke passionately about the emotional realities faced by young people today—and how we can better support them.
Dr. Maretha Visser, the keynote speaker, offered profound insights into the psychological skills youth need to manage life’s challenges, especially in communities with limited access to mental health resources. Her reflections on scalable, community-based interventions gave all participants a renewed sense of what’s possible when mental health is treated as essential, not optional.
Other panelists shared deeply personal experiences, from how the Social Equity Program (SEP) helped them develop emotional resilience to practical, low-resource strategies that can support youth mental health across Africa. Their stories were not just moving, they were a call to action.
In 2024, JA Africa and the Z Zurich Foundation took a bold step by integrating mental well-being content into the SEP curriculum. This content has been fully embedded into SEP programs in Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, DR Congo, South Africa, Tanzania, Togo, and Uganda. The results have been clear: mental well-being isn’t just a component of youth development—it’s a catalyst for entrepreneurial thinking, leadership, and long-term success.
With each webinar and every shared story, we are reminded that mental well-being is foundational to how young people see themselves and shape their futures. This is not a side conversation—it’s central to building Africa’s next generation of confident, capable, and compassionate leaders.
Mental resilience is deliberate. And together, we are making it possible.
Didn’t catch the webinar live? Watch the full recording here and hear directly from the voices shaping Africa’s youth mental health movement.
