Psychosocial Support - Case Study

Hamdiya, a 24-year-old woman and the youngest of eight siblings, hails from Bono East Region of Ghana. Her father passed away before she was born. Hamdiya relocated to Tamale following her mother’s death in 2018.

Hamdiya began selling various brands of soap and detergents to support herself. The onset of her illness was sudden. A year after relocating, she started quarrelling with neighbours and siblings over trivial matters and stopped respecting anyone in the house. Her family sought help from a herbalist. Despite using the prescribed herbal concoction for bathing three times, her condition did not improve. At a naming ceremony, Hamdiya’s uncle met a volunteer from BasicNeeds Ghana. He explained Hamdiya’s situation, and the volunteer encouraged him to seek help from a mental health worker.

In 2018, the volunteer and her uncle accompanied Hamdiya to a hospital in Tamale, where she was diagnosed with a mental health condition and medication was prescribed for her. However, her family struggled to afford the medication since the hospital did not have any in stock at that time. Later, BasicNeeds Ghana supported Hamdiya’s treatment by taking care of the cost of a year’s medication for her which improved her condition. The volunteer also invited her to join ‘Bohiri Nye Bangda,’ a Self-Help Group at a suburb of Tamale. Married in 2021, she and her husband were blessed with “I always look forward to the Self Help Group meetings because there my views and opinions are respected, and I interact with people who don’t judge or look down upon me.” a daughter.

Presently, she performs her house chores without challenges. Hamdiya sometimes spends time with her best friend. Hamdiya’s elder siblings continually call to check on her and encourage her to take her medication as prescribed for her.

According to Hamdiya, attending the Self-Help Group meetings keeps her interactive and makes her feel worthy as a person. “I always look forward to the SHG Meetings because my views and opinions are respected there, and I interact with people who don’t judge or look down upon me”. Hamdiya said she almost lost hope when she was not responding to the herbal treatment. “Meeting BasicNeeds Ghana is the best thing that ever happened to me; that was a turning point in my life”.