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We are raising money for the Umoza Trust.

The Umoza Trust aims to improve the lives of people living with mental health difficulties, disability or disadvantage around the globe. The charity is a not-for-profit organisation recognised as charitable by HMRC. The word umoza means "together" in Malawi, the birthplace of The Umoza Trust. Their guiding principal is working together with professionals in Malawi to learn from each other.

Currently in Malawi 50.7% of the 19 million population live below the poverty line, with 25% of these people living in extreme poverty and 12.7% of 15-49 year olds are living with HIV/AIDS. Socio-economic and health-related deprivation is known to increase the likelihood of mental health difficulties across the population. Despite this, there is a limited number of mental health professionals working in Malawi, with only 4 psychiatrists (1 per 4.7 million people) and 2 clinical psychologists in the country. Mental health as a sector only receives 1.3% of the national health budget, which equates to $0.20 per person per year.

We are Rosie, Nicole and Laura and we are third-year clinical psychology trainees at Lancaster University. Money raised through the current fundraising efforts will contribute to funding a placement opportunity to visit mental health services in Malawi. During this placement we will experience and support developing mental health services and learn from services managing with limited resources.

We are really excited for this opportunity to learn about different cultural beliefs around mental health and approaches to supporting holistic wellbeing. Our hope is that we will be able to take learning and skills developed in Malawi and use them to inform our practice as newly qualified psychologists working in the NHS. Any and all donations provided are greatly appreciated.

If you have any questions and would like to reach out before donating, you can email us on: r.austin2@lancaster.ac.uk

For further information about the Umoza Trust, please visit the website: http://umozatrust.org/