MAD Aid – Make A Donation
EleMental Centre for Recovery and Thriving
EleMental Directors, Marion Aslan and Mike Smith have a combined experience of over 60 years working with people in the mental health field. Their work has encompassed the learning disability and physical disability sectors, drug and alcohol services, in addition to working with the homeless and those involved in the sex industry. They have extensive knowledge of setting up charities and N.G.O’s and have worked at governmental level in a number of countries. Projects in UK which they have initiated and developed include Soteria Project – Anam Cara and Selene House in Birmingham and Krysalis User Group in Coventry. They have set up Sponsor Crisis Homes internationally and developed Peer Specialist Programmes in America and UK.
Marion, a teacher and Mike, a psychiatric nurse are now utilising their skills to work in countries across Africa. Together with the EleMental Lead for Africa, Julius Otieno, an experienced social worker, communities’ development officer and activist, they are developing Recovery and Thriving Centres and supporting local communities in capacity building ventures. One such venture is EleMental Great Hope School in Kayole, Nairobi, Kenya where a hundred and eleven orphans and poverty vulnerable children are fed and educated by volunteers. 25% of these children are known to be HIV positive; it is suspected that these are conservative figures.
Many of the children have disabilities and a range of serious illnesses. Few get treated as food currently is a priority. Emotional wellbeing and building on innate resilience is vital. Challenging the stigma of mental distress is a huge role in Kenya where often people who become mentally unwell are outcasts.
MAD AID – Giving something back!
EleMental has worked in many countries in the world and knows that those with mental health problems in UK are relatively financially comfortable – there are support organisations and networks, money to live well on, food, access to education, hospitals and befriending services. We also know that for those in mental distress a large part of recovery and moving beyond that to thriving happens quite naturally when they have a Survivor mission, a purpose and something that makes them feel valued and connected to society, i.e. interdependent. The very act of supporting someone who lives on the poverty line has enabled many of our sponsors to look outside of themselves and their own problems – often a turning point in recovery – and to feel a sense of pride and achievement through their act of generosity. Even £1 per month can change a life in Africa. For example, many young women at Great Hope School are forced to cease their education once they start menstruating as they cannot afford sanitary towels, and embarrassment leads to them leaving school and giving up any dream of going on to further education. £40 per month feeds the entire school a basic diet of maize – for most of the children the only meal per day they receive.
MAD Aid offers the opportunity to get involved and make a difference! Through sponsoring programmes to support Great Hope School where every single penny donated goes directly to its development, individuals can offer hope to others less fortunate than themselves. We are more than happy to link people with children and teenagers at the school so that communication and friendship between parties is established. Many EleMental members and colleagues have been doing this for a number of years and know the rewards it brings in terms of personal satisfaction. Please consider offering your support. Our website www.elemental.org.uk offers further information on this project and our other charitable ventures in Kenya and Zimbabwe. A video of the school is available on YouTube elliemental1 Great Hope School
If you can help in any way or for Donations to Elemental Mad Aid (Charity reg1142634) please contact Mike on 0776 476 4587 or Marion on 0793 467 5237
or email mikesvoice@aol.com / marionaslan@aol.com
To set up a standing order for EleMental Great Hope School go to your bank and give them the following details
- Cooperative Bank business banking
- Elemental Wellbeing
- Sort 08 92 99 account number 65469136
Standing orders can be stopped by you at any time and all our income and expenditure is available and auditable by sponsors. For one off donations you can either use the above details or pay via paypal to mikesvoice@aol.com
Alternatively send a cheque payable to EleMental Wellbeing to:
EleMental
40, Beanfield Avenue
Green Lane
Coventry CV3 6NU
What your money can do…
£1 per month provides sanitary towel for one young woman to remain in school.
£1 per month buys pens and pencils for a whole class
£5 per month supplies educational aids, paper etc. per class
£20 per month clothes, educates and feeds one child for an entire month
£20 per month enables an internet connection via mobile telephone for an entire month for each laptop
£25 provides materials and work for a school desk and chair in a classroom
£40 provides a sack of Maize, enough to feed a basic diet for all the children for one week
£50 purchases windows
£180 provides materials and labour to build a latrine and hand washing facilities
£250 enables us to pay a stipend to the voluntary teachers for their expenses and materials
£500 enables us to provide railings and barriers to the staircases and make safe improvements
£500 enables the purchase of a laptop and educational software for an entire class
Please help us help the children of Great Hope School by donating, however small an amount
Please pass this information on to anyone you know – schools, colleges, workplaces, mental health organisations, friends and colleagues
Thank you
Give a child a fish and you provide them with a meal,
Give them a fishing rod and you give them a future.
Phoenix is the editor of this site and was diagnosed with bipolar twenty years ago. In between 8 periods of illness and hospitalisation she trained as a garden designer and was a awarded an RHS Diploma, gained a first class degree in Cultural Studies and a Certificate in Education that enables her to lecture in Recovery in Mental Health to psychiatric nurse students and mental health professionals at universities.
Phoenix leads a diverse life which she attributes to Wellness Recovery Action Planning and all aspects of Recovery. In the last 2 years she performed stand up comedy. Laughter truly is the best medicine! Now she is concentrating on being involved in improving conditions for inpatients and service receivers trustwide. And training in WRAP, Recovery Star and the new Advanced Statement and some gardening for health. Also with some great new art projects. 
