Finding Me Community

Happy Mashujaa Day from Finding Me Community Today, we celebrate the courage, compassion, and resilience of the everyday heroes who make a difference in our communities. At Finding Me Community, we believe that heroism is not only found in history books but also in the kindness we show, the lives we uplift, the voices we empower, and the positive change we create together. As we honour Kenya’s heroes, let’s continue to be champions of hope, inclusion, and transformation in our communities. Every act of kindness counts, and every one of us has the power to make a difference. Who is your everyday hero? Share in the comments! #HappyMashujaaDay #FindingMeCommunity #MashujaaDay #EverydayHeroes #CommunityImpact #Empowerment #TogetherWeCan

There’s a place for you in our Cohort 9 A new week brings new opportunities to grow, connect, and become more intentional about your mental well-being. At Finding Me Community, we believe that personal growth is easier when you have a supportive community walking alongside you. Through our peer-led sessions, you’ll build self-awareness, develop practical mental health skills, strengthen resilience, and connect with people who are also on a journey of growth. - Learn more about yourself. -Find your community. -Build resilience for life’s challenges. -Give yourself room to flourish. We’re still onboarding Cohort 9 members, and there’s room for you! 📌 Our sessions are held in person on campus, for 2 hours per week over 8 weeks. Ready to take that step? Scan the QR code on the poster to apply! You deserve a space where you can grow, connect, and thrive. Let’s take that journey together. Finding Me Community Building Resilience. Flourishing. #FindingMeCommunity #Cohort9 #MentalHealthAwareness #PeerSupport #Resilience #MentalWellbeing #PersonalGrowth

What happens to the mental health conversation when World Mental Health Day is over? The hashtags slow down. The posts become less frequent. The events end. But the people navigating anxiety, loneliness, academic pressure, difficult relationships, work stress and uncertainty about the future still have to get through the morning after. Their need for support doesn't follow a campaign calendar. Not just about why mental health matters, but about what meaningful support looks like in everyday life. What does it take for a young person to feel safe enough to speak honestly? How can we help people build the skills to support themselves and show up for a friend who may be struggling? And what responsibility do our universities, workplaces, organisations and communities have in making support easier to access? These are questions worth discussing beyond one awareness day. At Finding Me Community, our work centres on peer-led safe spaces where young people can build practical mental health skills, develop supportive relationships and learn to recognise when additional help is needed. Over the coming days, we'll be sharing more about the work, the impact and the bigger questions that should shape how we approach mental health prevention. We hope you'll follow along, not simply to see another series of posts, but to be part of a conversation about what needs to change. Here's our invitation to you: follow Finding Me Community this week, engage with the questions we raise, and bring your perspective to the conversation. If you're working in education, youth development, HR, mental health or community leadership, we'd especially like to hear from you. What is one thing you wish organisations would do differently when it comes to mental health support? Let's keep the conversation going. before, during, and long after the awareness days are gone. Finding Me Community — Where Belonging Begins. #FindingMeCommunity #MentalHealth #YouthMentalHealth #PeerSupport #Prevention #WorldMentalHealthDay

The journey to self-awareness, resilience, and connection starts here! Finding Me Community is still welcoming new members to Cohort 9! Are you ready to invest in yourself and others, strengthen your mental health, and find a community where you feel seen, heard, and supported? Through our peer-led safe space, you’ll have the opportunity to: -Build self-awareness and emotional resilience. -Develop practical mental health skills. -Connect with like-minded peers and build meaningful relationships. -Grow in a supportive community where you can learn and flourish. -Duration: 8 weeks -Format: In-person campus sessions, 2 hours per week. You don’t have to navigate life’s challenges alone. Sometimes, finding your people is the first step toward finding yourself. Ready to become a Cohort 9 member? Scan the QR code on the poster to apply and take the next step toward a stronger, more connected you! Let’s find community, build resilience, and flourish together. #FindingMeCommunity #Cohort9 #MentalHealthMatters #BuildingResilience #PeerSupport #MentalWellbeing #CommunityAndConnection

What if we measured mental health impact by what happens before someone reaches a crisis? We often count the visible things: how many people attended an event, how many saw a campaign, how many people engaged with a post. Those numbers matter. But they don't tell us the whole story. They don't tell us whether someone learned to recognise when they were struggling. Whether they felt more confident reaching out. Whether a friend knew how to listen without trying to fix everything. Or whether someone knew where to turn when peer support wasn't enough. That is the part of mental health prevention we need to pay more attention to. At Finding Me Community, we believe young people deserve more than information about mental health. They need opportunities to build practical skills, develop supportive relationships, and find safe spaces where asking for help feels possible. Our peer-led approach is built around that belief: support should be easier to find before difficulties become overwhelming, and young people should know both how to support one another responsibly and when to connect with additional help. As we prepare to share more about FMC's impact today, here's the question worth sitting with: Are we investing only in helping people respond when things go wrong, or are we also investing in the skills, relationships, and support systems that can help in early stages? Because prevention may be less visible than a crisis response, but that doesn't make it less important. At Finding Me Community, we want to help move this conversation beyond how many people we reach to what becomes possible for them afterwards. What would you want to see measured to know that a mental health initiative is making a meaningful difference? #FindingMeCommunity #MentalHealth #Prevention #PeerSupport #YouthMentalHealth #WorldMentalHealthDay

Tomorrow, our CEO and Founder, Maina Wangui, will be facilitating a workshop at the Loughborough Institute of Advanced Studies on: “Ubuntu as a Counter-Narrative: How Peer Dialogue Is Reshaping the Language of Mental Health Among University Students in Africa.” Drawing on the implementation and research work at Finding Me Community, the workshop will explore how group-based, peer-led safe spaces are shifting the ways university students perceive, interpret, talk about, and respond to their own mental health and that of others. Finding Me Community, we believe that young people are not simply recipients of mental health support. They are active participants in shaping how mental health is understood, discussed, and supported within their communities. Through peer dialogue, shared experiences, and a sense of belonging, we are exploring how the principles of Ubuntu can inform more relatable, community-rooted approaches to mental wellbeing in African universities. Join Wangui in this conversation! 📍 Venue: International House, Loughborough University 🕛 Time: 12 noon to 2:00 PM British Summer Time 💻 Virtual participation: Join via Microsoft Teams Register using the link below https://lnkd.in/ezPNFWTW We look forward to sharing our work, learning from others, and contributing to conversations shaping the future of mental health in African universities.

Deeply excited to share that tomorrow, I’ll be facilitating a workshop at the Loughborough Institute of Advanced Studies on: “Ubuntu as a Counter-Narrative: How Peer Dialogue Is Reshaping the Language of Mental Health in African Universities" I’m looking forward to sharing the implementation and research work we’ve been doing at Finding Me Community, exploring how group-based, peer-led safe spaces are shifting the ways university students perceive, interpret, talk about, and respond to their own mental health and that of others. At the heart of this work is a question I keep coming back to: What happens when we create spaces where young people can make sense of their mental health experiences together, through dialogue, shared understanding, and a sense of belonging? I’m excited to explore how the spirit of Ubuntu can help us rethink the language of mental health and how we approach mental wellbeing in African university communities. You’re welcome to join the conversation! 📍 In person: International House, Loughborough University 🕛 Time: 12 noon to 2:00 PM British Summer Time 💻 Online: Join virtually via Microsoft Teams Register to join in the session using the link below: https://lnkd.in/dezgTvkw Cannot wait to share, learn, and engage with you all! 🤍

An organisation can talk about mental health all year and still leave people unsure where to turn when they need support. That is the uncomfortable gap we need to talk about. A workplace can host a wellness session. A university can organise a mental health awareness event. An organisation can publish thoughtful messages on World Mental Health Day. These things can open doors. They can give people language for experiences they have struggled to explain. They can help someone realise they are not alone. But what happens after the event? A student recognises that they are overwhelmed, but doesn't know whom to talk to. An employee knows their organisation promotes wellbeing, but worries that admitting they are struggling could affect how they are perceived. A young person wants to support a friend who is having a difficult time, but doesn't know how to listen, what to say, or when to help them find professional support. The awareness exists. The pathway to support may not. And that is where the conversation needs to move. Finding Me Community we believe mental health support should not begin and end with telling people that their wellbeing matters. Young people also need spaces where they can speak honestly, build practical mental health skills, develop supportive relationships and learn how to connect themselves or others to appropriate help. That is why our peer-led approach matters. It creates opportunities for young people to learn and practise how to support one another responsibly, while recognising when support beyond their peers is needed. Because a conversation is a beginning, not the entire response. As organisations, universities and communities prepare for World Mental Health Day, perhaps we should ask a more useful question than “What are we doing to raise awareness?” What will be in place for someone who decides, because of our campaign, that they need help? Will they know where to go? Will they feel safe enough to speak? Will there be a meaningful next step? These are not questions meant to dismiss awareness campaigns. They are questions meant to make them count. Finding Me Community, this is the shift we want to help advance: from conversations that simply acknowledge mental health to communities that are better equipped to respond. We would love to hear from people working in organisations, universities, HR, education and youth development: what happens after your mental health awareness activities end? What support, if any, remains in place? Let's talk about what it takes to turn awareness into action. Finding Me Community — Where Belonging Begins. #FindingMeCommunity #MentalHealth #YouthMentalHealth #Prevention #PeerSupport #WorldMentalHealthDay