Rwanda

Minplan, Rwanda

In January 2020 MyPlan International arrived in Rwanda with the goal of setting up Myplan International in Rwanda and work towards the goal of delivering a county-wide integrated mental crisis management service.

Rwanda has suffered horrible atrocities and post-genocide Rwanda has had to cope with an enduring trauma and mental health problems related to the genocide of 1994. In the aftermath, trauma has been observed not only among those who lived through the 1994 Genocide but also among the second generation. When traumas are not healed, they become a transgenerational phenomenon and today not only genocides survivors suffer but the second generation as well. Trans-generational trauma includes second generational PTSD, stress, anxiety, depression, and suicide.

27.9% of genocide survivors deal with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).[1] Individuals suffering from trauma and with a diagnosis of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) might lead to a feeling of entrapment and entrapment mediate the relationship between PTSD symptoms and suicidal behavior.[2]

Purpose and goal

MyPlan is a digital self-help tool for the management of a mental crisis. MyPlan increases the user’s awareness of early mental crisis symptoms and supports the user and peers in performing deviating actions that reduce the risk of escalation.

MyPlan has been developed in close cooperation with suicidal people, their peers, and highly profiled researchers and clinical staff in Australia and Denmark.

In order to help Rwandan citizens in risk of mental crisis escalation to cope and deviate suicidal ideation an adaption project of MyPlan to suit the context of Rwanda is proposed. 

MyPlan International is currently working on setting up in Rwanda and forming partnerships with local stakeholders within mental health, Universities, and the Rwandan Government. In charge of operations is Managing Director for East Africa, Johanna Solvejg Juel Sandberg.

Managing Director MyPlan International, East Africa

Johanna Solvejg Juel Sandberg has lived, studied and worked in several different countries, primarily  Rwanda but also Kenya, Uganda, Ghana, South Africa, and Denmark. Since 2013 Rwanda has been her home and where she has gained extensive private sector experience. Lately as the founder and CEO of Sandberg ltd, that serves the international organisations in Rwanda with HR and consultancy support. In addition, she is a skilled career coach for local and global professionals. Johanna holds a Master in Anthropology: Global Studies and Development from Aarhus University in Denmark. Johanna also brings her several years of work experience from the Mental Health sector in Denmark, where she has worked with people who suffered from severe mental health problems, into the role of Managing Director for MyPlan International in East Africa.

Contact MyPlan International in Rwanda

Johanna Solvejg Juel Sandberg

Phone: + 250787681118

Email: jsjs@minplan.org

Office:

KG 5 Avenue, Plot 2

Kimihurura, Kigali

Rwanda

---

[1] Rwanda Mental Health Survey (RMHS 2018) conducted by the Rwanda Biomedical Centre (RBC)

[2] Panagioti M, Gooding P, Taylor PJ, Tarrier N. 2013 A model of suicidal behavior in posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD): the mediating role of defeat and entrapment. Psychiatry Res. 209, 55–59. (doi:10. 1016/j.psychres.2013.02.018)