FamConnect — Creating Change
Throughout my time working with Famconnect and my fellow group members, I have had the opportunity to think creatively and critically. I have found that my understanding of cultural contexts has expanded significantly given the close relationship we formed with our NGO in Kenya. Melding my understanding of psychology with project design has been challenging at times, as my personal academic and professional background has centered around research rather than implementation. However, in having the opportunity to speak with and listen to a plethora of guest speakers during our lectures, I feel that I have grown in this area of knowledge and have learned how to implement the techniques that they shared.
Creating a new intervention is a very daunting task. At the beginning of this course, I was apprehensive given the possibility of creating something that ultimately doesn’t have long-term effects. My team and I wanted to make sure that the final deliverable we present has practical application, is creative, and sets the girls up for success on a wider scale than just the coming months post-intervention. One particular challenge we undertook was looking into pre-existing frameworks. We looked into the possibility of applying Project Management Plus (PM+) as our intervention. This model has been used in various locations around the world, in both individual and group settings. Kenya is actually one of the regions where they implemented it to alleviate the consequences of gender-based violence, however, it was for adult women. As our work revolves around secondary-school-aged girls, there were a lot of factors that needed modifications. Additionally, we had the obstacle of working around time constraints — notably that the timeline required for the facilitators of the intervention wouldn’t work given those who would be implementing it for the students would be the teachers who have rigid schedules and more limited availability. As a result, we decided to opt for a ‘toolbox’ that our NGO can use. In this toolbox, we are including practices and principles that PM+ promotes, however, our alterations will allow for more flexibility. Additionally, we are tailoring our intervention to our exact context and population.
One of the aspects that I appreciate most about the opportunity to work with FamConnect has been the relationship we’ve formed with our Kenyan counterparts. Getting to collaborate with others, especially those who come from a different cultural context, is extremely important within the realm of psychology and project management & design. I feel that throughout the past few months, I have cultivated my understanding of working internationally. Additionally, working with my group members within this course was lovely because I got to form connections with others in my program who have similar mindsets and ambitions.
Ultimately what we want to accomplish in this course is to develop a better understanding of child and adolescent global mental health. I feel that we succeeded, through the readings, lectures, and partnerships. We want to create sustainable change that ameliorates the lives of those we work with. It is about humans helping humans. Fundamentally, it is about learning, listening, and internalizing. I am thankful for the people that I have met, professionally and personally, who have helped me grow as an academic but more importantly, as a person.
