Mental Healthcare in West Africa
In 2023 Eugene Southtowne Rotary implemented support of Association Saint-Camille (ASC) de Lellis in West Africa. ASC, an NGO, is a comprehensive mental health care provider in Benin, Ivory Coast and Togo. This project addresses core values of Rotary including the prevention and treatment of illnesses, saving mothers and children and providing access to free and low-cost healthcare in developing areas.
Without treatment, these patients are often found unhoused or chained. They are banished from their families due to a traditional belief that they are possessed by spirits or that the disorder is contagious. Bringing evidence-based treatments and family awareness efforts assist ASC in restoring dignity to their lives and in breaking the chains of stigma for the mentally ill in West Africa.
Eugene Southtowne Rotary will help finance essential medications for 14,000 residential patients with chronic mental illness and seizure disorders (epilepsy) in treatment at ASC. ASC is both a comprehensive outpatient and residential program with integrated general medicine and maternal healthcare clinics. Medication must be imported and costs an average of $900,000 per year for 125,000 consultations. ACS is unique in accepting all patients regardless of ability to pay. If affordable, patients are asked to pay $2.00 per month for medications. The general health and maternity clinics are open to the general public. The first addiction center in the region by ASC is highly anticipated to meet an essential need.
ASC has been recognized with international humanitarian awards. It was founded by Gregoire Ahongbonon who opened the first clinic in 1991 in Ivory Coast. The peer-counseling model has been approved by the World Health Organization.
Jocelyn W. Bonner, MD, a Southtowne member and retired psychiatrist, is an advocate for ASC through the interest group Treatment Not Chains. She toured the clinics in Benin in 2020. Her goals are to increase awareness, recruit volunteers, and arrange health care professionals on rotation visits. Also, to encourage academic research, secure material donations of medications and medical supplies, and raise funds for projects that promote ASC’s self-sufficiency. Please contact Jocelyn for more information.
2024 Update
Jocelyn Bonner has just completed a trip to Benin. While there, she met with Gregoire Ahongbonon, founder and president, asking about his top 3 priorities: medications, expanding into Nigeria, and adding a children’s unit at an existing clinic in Benin.
Jocelyn raised $874 for sending medical supplies to Benin in an independent fundraiser which she will pass on to Southtowne to help offset the $2k from the Club. After she returns, she will arrange for a Zoom meeting between Gregoire Ahongbonon and interested Club members as required by the District. She is currently finalizing a list of medications and supplies with a partner organization, MAP International, to send a 20 ft container by sea for $4k later in September.
The District Grant for Mental Health in West Africa has been approved.
Fall 2024 Update
Jocelyn Bonner attended the District Grants Meeting on November 2nd. She is currently doing the on-line training on grant management; it’s necessary to do that before we can move forward. She said that if other Club members need to renew or get the credentials, that would be good because she will need help. It’s recommended to have 3 people on the grants committee. John Neumeister, SVRGC member, offered to help. As far as SVRGC, she accepted the offer tentatively for 2025.
We were offered by John Neumeister, Co-Chair of SVRGC, to trade our slot in 2027 – 2028 to 2025 – 2026 as Emerald Valley is not able to do a global grant this year and Eugene Metro did not want to move up a year. We tentatively accepted this offer on behalf of Mental Healthcare in Benin. Jocelyn Bonner has started the certification course. She has reached out to a French-Canadian colleague who is very well familiar with Association Saint Camille (ASC) who happens to be travelling to Benin in December. He helped a Rotary Club in Quebec with a community assessment in 2017 in Benin. He has agreed to do a community assessment for Southtowne if approved by Juli di Chiro. She and Jocelyn will talk when she has returned from travelling next week. Jocelyn is waiting on a reply from the Benin Regional District to determine which clubs in Benin are eligible. Communication with Benin Clubs has been problematic.
District grant: money has been received. Jocelyn is in the process of sending medication and supplies with partner MAP International to Benin later in November for $4,000. The next task after the shipment is received will be to schedule a Zoom meeting between club members and the leadership at ASC.