‘Walk with Me’, a mental health-oriented group exhibition which merges the role of arts and mental well-being held its third phase with teen mothers at Kimisagara Maison De Jeune. “Phase one was a fixed exhibition for three weeks and after its closure, we then went on with the second phase since February 11, and this time round; it’s moving to different schools and youth centres to talk about, educate and learn together about mental health through art,” said Jemima Kakizi, the brains behind the curation of this exhibition. READ ALSO: Three-week art exhibition to focus on mental health In the exhibition’s second stage of going to different schools, artists have so far gone to African Leadership University and Kimisagara Maison De Jeune with an aim of using art to discuss the effects of teenage pregnancy on the mental health of young mothers. Organisers shared that the first phase was a success as they got a lot of support from the exhibition’s opening to its closure, with a big number of people turning up from various circles. This enabled them to continue the exhibition, expanding teen mothers and some of their male colleagues at Kimisagara Youth Centre-Maison De Jeune. When asked what motivated them to take the exhibition to the youth, Kakizi said that they wanted to go closer to people all over the country. “We normally do fixed exhibitions, for this second phase, we wanted to bring art to people who are even outside of Kigali and to make sure that the message gets as far as possible to all the youth. I am targeting youth and want them to help in educating others about mental health and also make learning through arts a thing.” READ ALSO: Mental health through the eyes of artists Kakizi added that listening to a single teen mother's testimony, who shared her journey after getting raped and all the life hardships she went through, inspired her to raise awareness on mental health for teen mothers. The dream came true with the panel of a Counselling Psychologist and a Life Purpose Coach, Anna Mapendo, a Lawyer, Sharif Yusuf Mugabo, and a Pharmacist who works with HDI, Alliance Stella Ishimwe, led by Jemima Kakizi. One of the participants in the session who requested anonymity shared that they needed the information they gained in the discussion. “We didn’t know that there are some people who think about us and want to help us without expecting any rewards from us. Nobody can understand how important today’s discussions were unless they are single mothers who became parents when they were teenagers and knew nothing to do with life. We have been dealing with depression, being kicked out of our parents’ homes and started struggling at a very young age with zero support from our baby daddies,” she said. She added that not only did they learn a lot in regards to mental health, but they also acquired some knowledge about sexual reproductive health and rights, as well as what the law says which can help them to seek justice for themselves and their children. “We can now raise our kids well while our minds are also at peace since we know how we can handle all the possible issues,” she said. Kakizi revealed that she wants to reach as many youths as she can possibly reach. The next steps will go bigger as they will tackle some upcountry schools which are yet to be determined in the four remaining provinces of the country. “We should take care of ourselves and make it our everyday priority. We merged art and mental health because art is often perceived as a universal language, where people don’t have to speak the same language to communicate,” Kakizi said.
