Project Thabiti

“Project Thabiti”, a Swahili term meaning resilience, is a school-based mental health initiative aimed at reducing stigma, enhancing positive mental health literacy, and strengthening resilience among adolescents aged 14-18 in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. The initiative will be rolled out across four secondary schools and uses a three-tiered delivery model:

• Trained youth facilitators, aged 20 to 24, serve as lay providers to lead a 12-week curriculum and create peer-led mental health clubs in schools to sustain learning, encourage peer support, and promote ongoing mental well-being activities.
• Peer mentors, selected from trained students, lead mental health clubs and provide peer support.
• A psychologist provides oversight, handles complex referrals, and ensures the overall quality and safety of interventions delivered throughout the program.

The intervention seeks to test whether reducing mental health stigma among adolescents can be effectively achieved through positive mental health literacy and empower young people to advocate for mental health promotion and provide peer support. It will also engage school administrators and staff who will support student mobilization, logistics, and follow-up and parents and local government representatives who will participate in dialogue sessions to foster a supportive environment around the youth.