Olivia Darby’s Story
WONDER Foundation, UK
Mental health has always been part of my family story, so it’s something I’ve been aware of from an early age. When I started working in South London with migrant families, it became clear just how differently communities experience mental health and trauma. I got to know organisations led by people from those communities, supporting, for example, Vietnamese refugees or Somali families, and I began to see how much culture shapes the way mental health is understood and addressed.
Later, when the WONDER Foundation launched a livelihoods programme in Kenya using evidence-based Mobility Mentoring™, we expected a whole-person approach to improve women’s long-term economic outcomes. What we didn’t fully anticipate was how powerful the impact would be on mental health. The mentoring - led by my Kenyan colleagues Dr Evelyn Tiren and Jacquie Wambua - gave women the space and confidence to speak openly about health issues and life challenges. Programme leaders noticed that many of these challenges were connected to stress and mental health, and the women themselves began asking for counselling, which we then implemented.
Seeing the transformation was incredible - and it made us want to understand why it worked. That curiosity has driven our work to explore and share how African women are leading the way in recognising and addressing mental health. Their commitment and leadership have sparked conversations with our partners across Nigeria, Guatemala, and the Philippines, helping to overturn taboos and inspire culturally rooted approaches to mental wellbeing.
Please share your reflections on what you've learned and you would like to share with our global community.
What I’ve learned through this work is the importance of truly listening, and of recognising that effective practice doesn’t always look like Western approaches. Local communities often create the most sustainable solutions, and we need to pay attention to that. I’ve also come to question the way resilience is often treated as a personal virtue; it shouldn’t be about surviving alone, but about how communities support one another.
In our work in Kenya, it became clear that mental health can’t be addressed in isolation. Individualistic approaches often miss the critical role of social networks, belonging, and relationships. Family stability, loving connections, and community support are central to healing, and embedding these into programmes is essential for long-term outcomes. Recognising these truths has shaped how I approach global mental health advocacy, and I hope it can inspire others to centre local voices, social connections, and culturally rooted practices in their work.
What has been your favorite moment as a member of GMHAN?
It's exciting to be learning from a network with experiences across the world, bringing a truly global perspective.
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