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So our website is well under way- real thanks to Scott Renton who joined us this year as a Trustee for his expertise and work in doing this - but it seemed a good idea to update our recent doings. I, Joanna, made the next trip from Scotland in September. An action packed few weeks, some interesting developments. Dr Sheikh from Livingstone had arranged for more training to be delivered to his staff team and for a previous trainee to get certified as a trainer. This necessitated a 2 week trip to Livingstone - someone has to do it! With the support of the Hospital management and the Ministry of Health Humphrey was seconded from Chainama to do this bit of work with me so not only did 11 Mental Health professionals receive the ZTA training but Mwazanje Mwale, a Clinical Officer in the Mental Health unit, is now a Certified Trainer and Humphrey a Master Trainer able to train other trainers! Did manage a bit of down time and saw the amazing sight of the Falls with virtually no water as well as rhinos scarily close. Also caught some of the traditional regional ceremony which was taking place around Livingstone at the time. Either side of this visit I met with colleagues at UTH to discuss how best data about TA use could be collected and had a very productive follow up meeting with some of the people who had attended Liz's training earlier in the year. There is real enthusiasm for more training for people working with children in special education, prison services and the Centres of Excellence. Hope fully we will be able to take this forward during 2020. I joined meetings with ZART and was able to join them for one of the Bongo Hive workshops. These, run by Challenges Zambia and funded as part of this year's Capacity Building work by the Scottish Government have proved very positive and a very good foundation on which to build an operational structure for ZART over the next couple of years. I also met with Dr Jacqueline Folotiya about arranging training in Case Study writing. After discussion it was agreed we had not thought through well enough what was needed and did not at that point have the budget to support this. However we have been allowed to reallocate funds from the grant not now needed elsewhere and are hopefully getting this arranged for early 2020. I also made useful links with the INGO forum so we can link in with other INGOs keeping in the loop and learning from their experience especially about shaping our Safeguarding and other policies. Another useful contact was with Sapphira Mulemba at CIDRZ and we hope that will lead to a fruitful partnership. It was good to also catch up with Maragarate Munakampe about the work she is doing as part of the crucial data collection and other MEL systems. There was a very positive meeting with Zaliwe Banda at the Ministry where the support for expansion of the training was reaffirmed with a plan to extend it to Community Mental Health teams when possible. It was also good to meet up with other colleagues and friends. ZART and ZTA are certainly becoming a recognised part of the Mental Health scene in Zambia and getting the message out about the training to a wider audience. Keep up the good work! All in all an interesting four weeks and as always the base at Gossner Mission really appreciated, it is such a peaceful and friendly place to be. Author: Joanna
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Not before time you might say we are getting our act together and using part of our Scottish Government grant and the expertise of our new Trustee Scott to get a web site up and running-SOON! So we may not use the blog for while as we see how the website goes. Thanks for your interest. The work goes on! Author: Joanna  In the first 3 months of the year we completed work on our first Capacity Building programme. The report on this was submitted to our funders, the Scottish Government, in April. The new ZTA Strategic Plan 2018-2022 was completed and launched in February 2019. It sets out our aims and direction for the next 4 years. It is the culmination of all our capacity building work in 2018-19 and was produced thanks to our grant funding from the Scottish Government. Liz Hall and Simon Willoughby-Booth made a visit to Zambia, in April/May 2019. Liz delivered a very successful workshop for teachers, psychologists and others who work with children. The training workshops were on trauma recovery approaches for children and young people and were held at UTH. Twenty two people completed the training and, based on the very positive feedback we received, this may be a future strand of work for ZTA. Liz's visit was funded in part by MAITS, (Multi Agency International Training and Support). Simon was able to with some key people in Zambia and with the Zambian trainers group, ZART, to support and plan the next phase of the group's development. We held our AGM on 28th May and said goodbye to Colin Boxer, who is stepping down after 2 years as a trustee. His input has been invaluable and he has helped to guide ZTA through a period of development and growth. Two new trustees have joined the Board - Scott Renton and Rachel Bruce and Lesley Hill has re-joined the board. We are looking forward to working with them. Our trustees are now Joanna Pearce, Vera Steele, Simon Willoughby-Booth, Scott, Rachel and Lesley. Joanna gave the Chair's report on our work over the last year and our successful application for a second Capacity Building grant from the Scottish Government for 2019/20. Margarate Munakampe, presented a poster titled "The Zambia Therapeutic Art Course: Improving Mental health in Zambia" at the Zambia Quality Improvement Conference, held in Lusaka from 4-6 June. Margarate is our link person with SCHEME at University of Zambia. Kestone Lyambai, one of the ZART trainers and a lecturer at UNZA, was also able to attend the poster session and the conference. This was the first time we have been represented at this conference and we are delighted to get wider recognition for our work. Joanna presented ZTA's work at the International Art Therapy Practice/Research Conference, 11-13 July in London, England. She was part of a joint presentation, Art Therapy in Africa: Now and Next, with four other presenters who described very varied approaches to developing work in sub-Saharan Africa. The panel session was well attended and was our first opportunity to present the work in Zambia to an international audience of art therapists. We began this year's Capacity Building work during the visit to Zambia in April, focussing on developing training projects for the ZART trainers in response to their requests and on developing the fundraising and digital resources of the charity in Scotland. We have established links with Challenges Worldwide who are a social enterprise training NGO, based in Lusaka, and with the Psychology Association of Zambia. We plan to set up training packages with their involvement. Joanna will be making the next visit to Zambia and will be there from 29th August to 30th September. She will taking forward the training projects, linking to a wide range of key Zambian people and organisations and setting up a new Therapeutic Art training in Livingstone. It will be a very busy month and we have lots to do to achieve our aims in this year's capacity building work! Author: Simon Quite sad to be leaving as the purple haze of the jacarandas is just starting to show and I think they are one of the most wonderful sights you can see anywhere. But time is up and the scheduled trainings all completed. The RMHN students were a lively crowd and entered enthusiastically into the training. The 3 Trainers Trainers also gave it their all so I had a very easy time by enlarge. I managed to catch up with a lot of the senior staff at Chainama to get their views on how the practice of TA might be supported within the Hospital and got some interesting ideas which will be passed on. We also managed another meeting of the ZTrainers group though not everyone was able at short notice but the Group is strengthening its roles and taking on some of the negotiating to be done with places where training might be wanted. It is great to have 7 already to go. So we are well into our Capacity Building year and making good progress! Lesley plans to be out here in November to work alongside Margarate to build on the contacts already made. Author: Joanna After a fascinating visit to Dar es Salaam I am back to Lusaka to undertake 2 training blocks for the RMHNs from Chainama College. The plan is to use this opportunity for 3 more ZTrainers to complete their certification. At Muhumbili in Dar I was lucky enough to be hosted by Paola Luzzatto and her husband Lucio who are based there at the moment. Paola is a very experienced art therapist and it was fascinating to be allowed to see her training programme there in Open Studio Practice. I was able to present our work and to run a couple of workshops. There is a lot of really interesting work going on. I did mange a weekend on the wonderful Zanzibar and then to complete the trip came back on the Tazara train. An amazing journey but unfortunately this time instead of 2 days it took 3! Meaning I had to rapidly appeal to my colleagues here to do some timetable shifting! Today is a holiday so I am just gearing myself up for the next few weeks. Back home my colleagues have been meeting to feedback from the July trip, to catch up on where the Capacity Building programme has got to and to coordinate the plans for the next stage. A lot of work has been done with the help of our Alliance Mentor to develop our Strategic plan and clarify our roles. Author: Joanna I have given this post that title as I am sitting here at Gossner wearing almost every garment I possess! We knew it would be colder but were not prepared for quite such a wintery feel. Thick walking socks, shawls the lot have come into use! Anyway enough complaints - it has been a short but eventful trip as usual and we have been very lax at posting anything I am afraid. We have been three this time, Simon, myself and a new Scottish based Art Therapist, Liz Hall. "Sitting here in the garden sketching the cacti, and reflecting on my first trip to Zambia, I am struck by how well they capture the experience ~ beautiful, thorny, difficult to grasp, and yet full of life affirming substance. The paradox of these aspects all coexisting at once is perhaps what life always is, but in this unfamiliar place they become illuminated in their stark opposition and challenging extremes. During my time here I have given two presentations and a puppet workshop on art therapy and child trauma abuse, and visited mental health facilities, nursery, primary and special schools to gain a broad introduction to childrens' services here. It has been a stimulating, thought provoking time, both professionally and personally, and I am thinking about the possibilities for my next visit already." Liz. Liz is going to be a valuable addition to the Scottish based ZTA group, This trip has been the first of our year of Capacity Building, based on a Scottish Government Small Grant so the emphasis has been divided between completing Trainings and Training of Trainers and starting the consultations with various stakeholders to look at how we build here in Zambia the capacity to integrate, coordinate and develop the training and practice of Therapeutic Art. Margarate Munakampe is helping us with this aspect of the programme. There have been 2 training programmes, one at Chainama Hospital for UNZA nurse students on Mental Health placement, this was delivered by Kestone Lyumbai to complete his certification as a trainer and the other in Ndola general Hospital, Psychiatric Department for unit staff. Here Susan Ntengwe completed her Training so there are now four certificated Zambian trainers. The Scottish Grant sadly does not cover everything we need to do and it was owing to a Grant from the Schehallion Group that we were able both to bring Liz over here and fund the training in Ndola so Susan could complete Stage 2. Though the Hospital there provided funding for materials and refreshments which was a great help. We have had a good range of responses to the training from the different trainee groups with a lot of emphasis on the new experience of what simple art making can achieve and how sharing this with patients has challenged assumptions and changed attitudes. We held an gathering last evening of all the Zambian Trainers. It was really great event with a wonderful meal cooked in the Gossner kitchen by Miriam with help from Felisitus and Patricia. We had time to enjoy ourselves and have useful discussions about the way forward and what needs to be prioritised. It is a powerful team and they are going to play an important part in the next stage of the programme. Simon and Liz have now left and I am going to Dar es Salaam to find out more about what is happening there and then returning in August to continue the Training programme and the development work. Author: Joanna It feels like such a short visit for me at least, Lesley is still in Zambia with more meetings for the M and E and planning but I am back to the sleet and snow of a Scottish Easter. The last week was again full. The training at UTH was completed with interesting points coming out of the evaluation and comments on the training. All those who completed the course passed and the certificates have been presented. I certainly learn so much each time I am involved in the training. Monica in delivering this training is now recognised as a Trainer in Therapeutic Art alongside Wala who completed in November last year. There are definite plans now to fit in the delayed training in Ndola where Susan can complete her training. This is to be in our June/July visit. We have been in discussion with UNZA nurse training and Chainama College and the plan is to be able to programme training for some of theses students. We have to recognise our limits as a small group of trainers with a very limited budget and plan to make best use of our resources. We have got funding to include a new UK trainer in our next trip so we are hopeful that our team will grow enabling us to get more Trainers into the system. We are now also able to confirm that we have been awarded a Scottish Government Small Grant for 2018/19 which is wonderful and we are grateful for their belief in what we are trying to achieve. The purpose of this award is to strengthen our capacity as an organisation and also to support the coordination and sustaining of the training and practice of Therapeutic Art in Zambia so it can develop as an integral part of the Mental Health system. On 26th of March we were pleased to be able to arrange a meeting of some of the major stakeholders who have supported the programme and begin the discussion of how we proceed. It was good to get feedback and learn more about the developing Mental Health systems as well as the training schedules of the Institutions/Universities. The meeting was called at short notice and we were grateful that so many people were able to make time to attend; the plan is to hold a further meeting in July to build on these discussions. We need to spend time finding out a lot more from all the experts! Author: Joanna  We gather it is still snowing back home. We watched the rugby match at Twickenham yesterday with an Irish friend and as we sat in the warmth listening to a live band it was strange to watch the snow falling and see everyone huddled in their anoraks! Anyway to more serious matters. The week has been full as always. Joanna has been delivering the training at UTH alongside Monica who is completing her Training as a trainer. It is a large and varied group and as we are delivering it in a new structure over 2 weeks instead of 6 there are always adaptations to be made along the way. The group are very involved and the responses have been interesting and thought provoking. Lesley's focus has been on the M and E, organising follow up interviews with the trainee trainers and contacting MHUNZA about the experiences of those involved in Taster Session last year. Another focus for both of us has been exploring the opportunities for further training venues, this is an important part of our ongoing Training of Trainers programme as well as of embedding the practice. We have also had a lot of support in arranging a stakeholders meeting where we can feedback and start the process of exploring the issues around sustainability. The plan is to follow this up later in June/July with a full stakeholders meeting to present the results of our Feasibility Study in full and move on with the next step. To our friends in the UK we offer sympathy about the return of winter and please get rid of it quickly! Author: Joanna  So finally given so many varied hurdles Lesley and Joanna are back safely at Gossner. The awful cholera outbreak was clearly the main reason for not being here any earlier and it is good to find that it is easing though there are still many issues around it to be worked through. Our departure was rendered a bit nerve wracking given the extraordinary blast of extreme winter conditions that struck the UK generally. But we made it! We discovered just as we were leaving that our arrival coincided with a 3 day holiday period and we are very grateful to our colleagues from UTH who agreed to meet us despite this so we were able to confirm the practicalities for the training starting next week. We do seem to have exchanged the heavy snow for some dramatic rain and thunder which as always has knock on effects on power and internet connection (hence delayed posting!) but everything is looking very green and lush. We are also delighted to announce the publication of the first collaborative article about our work in The Health Press. Zambia. http://znphi.co.zm/thehealthpress/the-zambia-therapeutic-art-course-an-innovative-approach-to-increase-the-psychological-skills-of-zambian-mental-health-professionals/ Comments welcome! Author: Joanna  Joanna and Simon have been back in Scotland for nearly 5 weeks and there has been time to reflect on what happened during our work in Zambia and to get started on the next stage of planning for the completion of our Feasibility Study (which is funded by a Scottish Government International Development Small grant). In particular we are applying for further funding to strengthen ZTA for the future and have starting planning for the next phase of work in Zambia in early 2018.
First, our time in Zambia resulted in several successful outcomes; including people trained, models of training tried out, contacts made and contacts renewed. Three training courses were delivered during September and October 2017 and 30 people successfully completed the course: ten staff at Livingstone General Hospital, Southern Province, nine staff at Chainama Hills Hospital, Lusaka and eleven student nurses from the Chainama Hills College of Health Sciences. One of the local trainers completed her training and is now certified as a Therapeutic Art Trainer in Lusaka. She is the first of the Zambian trainers on whom the future sustainability of the ZTA training in Zambia depends. Four new trainee trainers began their first stage training, and will hopefully complete their work over the next 12-18 months. This will mean we are well on the way to having a pool of Zambian trainers who can deliver the course. We evaluated three different models of training delivery during thus visit, in response to local conditions. At Chainama Hills Hospital the training was delivered in six 3-hour sessions over a period of 5 weeks; at Livingstone General Hospital the training was delivered over 4 ½ days and for the students of Chainama Hills College the training comprised 10 sessions of 2 hours each. Whilst each of the 3 courses worked well and participants were able to complete them successfully, we felt that delivering a shorter, more intense training was a way to make better use of trainers and participants’ time and we will focus on this in future courses. During our visit we were also able to make progress with the monitoring and evaluation of the training, to fit with the plan for our Feasibility Study. We met with Margarate Munakampe from SCHEME, Department of Public Health, University of Zambia. Margarate is the M & E expert working with us to evaluate the ZTA training model and she has quickly grasped our approach and begun work on an evaluation model. We are enormously grateful for her help and advice and that of Professor Charles Michelo, the head of SCHEME. We were also able to meet with mental health and nursing personnel from the Zambian Ministry of Health, to keep them informed of our work and to build our links with the wider health system in Zambia; with Dr Ravi Paul, Head of the Department of Psychiatry, University of Zambia Medical School at UTH Hospital in Lusaka and with senior staff at Chainama Hills Hospital. We met with Sylvestor Katontoka, the Chief Executive of Mental Health Users Network Zambia and with his help and support, delivered a “taster” session to his members in Kanyama, a compound in southeast Lusaka. We had planned to deliver a second session but this had to be cancelled due to circumstances beyond our control in Kanyama. The response to the first session was very positive so it was disappointing not to be able to follow this up but we met with the MHUNZA Chief Executive again to discuss whether they might offer therapeutic art sessions in future. All in all it was a very busy but successful seven weeks and the thirty successful participants in the three training courses gave us very positive feedback on the experience. During the evaluation sessions we conducted, participants commented on how their views of patients had changed for the better, how their skills and confidence had increased and how working with patients was a positive experience for them. A frequent comment concerned the importance of a mutually empathic and understanding relationship between patients and staff and how art making facilitated this. Since our return to Scotland we have been taking a critical look at our capacity as an organization both at home and in Zambia and can now focus on developing this to ensure the sustainability of the training and practice within Zambian health systems. We have submitted our new grant application, have begin to plan for future training courses, and to look at how to develop ZTA and the Therapeutic Art training model in Zambia! |
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November 2019
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