After almost five years in the comedy industry, Bigomba Guhinduka duo of Etienne Iryamukuru also known as 5K and Japhet Mazimpaka on December 16, won a 10M prize from I Accelerator 5th phase to fund their mental health-related project.
The I Accelerator 5th phase started on November 1, focusing on two main themes; ‘Promoting family dialogue on Sexual Reproductive Health’ and ‘Creating awareness and Capacity building on Mental Health issues’. The duo applied for the competition under the Mental Health category and submitted their project that provides solutions on the matter.
"We decided to go with the awareness creation and capacity building on mental health issues as a global concern. Since we know how the problem is so big, especially among the youth. We not only wanted to use our comedy talent, but we also had some previous experience in that field as we once worked with UNICEF and RBC in 2021 during the ‘Break the Silence Campaign’ from which we were trained enough and gathered the courage to look forward to helping all Rwandans in that regard,” said 5K.
At the beginning of the competition, the 501 applicants aged 18-30 registered for this phase, 40 projects of them were pre-selected and the top 10 projects went for a one-week boot camp in which the applicants met trainers to ensure that their projects are being enhanced to be the best they could be. Therefore; every category presented two winners after all the stages and presented their pitches.
What the prize means to ‘Bigomba Guhinduka’
"Doing comedy has a way of playing a role in entertaining people and reducing stress. So winning this means a lot to ‘Bigomba Guhinduka’ since we will make a huge impact in society by reducing mental health stigma and enhancing access to information and services as well,” 5K said.
The duo added that they will meet with mental health experts and let people know that whoever might be struggling can access the help the help that they need. "We will go deeper in the community, in rural areas, in schools, in different locations and get on the matter. Create awareness and let Rwandans know that mental health issues are so real and worrying, and people who are experiencing them should be treated.”