The UPliftment Programme is using joy as a tool to combat South Africa’s mental health crisis through Joy Sessions hosted at shelters and safe havens.
South Africa (17 December 2021) – Joy can be a tough nut to crack when life has been all but kind to a person. That is why the UPliftment Programme is hosting joy sessions; to help people face their fears and move towards love.
The UPliftment Programme was founded in 2003 by Nikki Jackman to professionally train joy facilitators and catalysts who could host joy sessions in the communities who need it most, including hospitals, homes, community organisations, previously disadvantaged schools and the youth.
Karen Christian, an UP JOY Facilitator, shared her recent experience of what it is like hosting a session at a women’s safe house. She explains how many environments catered to protecting people, often don’t have room for emotions such as joy. This is being changed, one Joy Session at a time!
“As I walked into the women’s safe house the mood was sombre. Although the women and children were coming to the end of a full day of activities, an awkward silence hung in the air. Activities such as yoga and creativity had been completed, yet the participants didn’t seem connected. They were tense and withdrawn, a clear defence mechanism.” relates Karen Christian, UP JOY Facilitator.
This is one small example of the multitude of situations that The UP Joy Facilitators face when running Joy sessions in communities. The environment is often not one conducive to joy. Whether in a hospital, community centre, children’s home, or school, people are focused on their struggles and immediate needs.
It’s these spaces that they hope to infuse JOY. The UPliftment Programme facilitators take the organisation’s 18 years of experience in emotional UPliftment and help participants face their fears and move toward love, especially in these most difficult of circumstances.
Karen continues her experience of working with the safe house, “I laid the headsets out, smiled behind my cat mask, and moved into the Joy Session. As the music started, it was though a switch had been flipped, moving participants from darkness to lightness. You could feel and see the change from the beginning of the dance and the subsequent sharing of one of our UPliftment Programme Joy Tools. It was so beautiful seeing how the joy experience had done the trick – shifting the mood from disconnected fear to supportive love.”
The UP’s Joy Session had created space for these moms (who had recently fled desperate situations) to joyfully and safely play with their kids and even start imagining a life beyond their current situation.
For The UPliftment Programme, having brought socio-emotional wellness for 18 years – it is clear, Joy is genuinely one of the solutions to South Africa’s problems.
“We have been actively sharing joy for all these years – whether it’s adults, elderly, children or youth – when participants are given a healthy dose of joy – they’re better able to deal with the emotional and mental challenges they are faced with” says Nicola Jackman the founder of the UPliftment Programme.
By no means are Joy sessions the only interventions that communities need, but they’re an often overlooked aspect of community development.
Mental Health support is critical, now more than ever; globally, 970 million people suffer from mental health or substance use disorders. In South Africa, only about 1 in 4 people who need mental health support receive it. Supporting existing initiatives with Joy Sessions can be a part of closing that gap.
“Following the session at the safe house, there was an immediate request for what the carers called “essential work”,” relates Karen.
“We need more of this type of creative intervention,” says Gerhard Swanepoel, Criminologist, Victimologists and Specialist Counsellor with a focus on Community and Health Psychology.
“I can attest after attending many sessions and camps with the UPliftment Programme, that Joy is definitely a workable outcome and part of the solution to South Africa’s Mental Health Crisis. The inter art and music platform techniques used by The UPliftment Programme really help participants conquer their fears and move toward being Emotional Intelligent Voices with Choices.
I congratulate The UP for taking Victims to Victory, as each learn to dance to the music of their own life, resulting in emotional healing and support of each other in all communities with love even in the most difficult of circumstances. ”
Joy Circles for the Youth
“These past few years of challenging times, has inspired us to ignite numerous conversations (online and in person) with youth around South Africa and through these The UP has committed to provide a solution to the emotional distress of our Youth,” says Nicola Jackman.
The UPliftment Programme has been working with groups of youth, online and in-person, for the past four months and found that most youths seemed to respond with similar requests; ”We need safe spaces to be together, to share our pain and our dreams”, “We need skills to help us to manage the stress”, “We need places to meet and inspire each other to have hope”.
In celebration of their 18 years of sharing joy together with youth participants, the UPliftment Programme has been developing the Youth JOY Circles Programme to address this identified need.
“The Joy Circles Programme compliments many psycho-social interventions and contributes towards their sustained joy,” continues Swanepoel.
The UP boldly envisions a world where enthusiastic youth can lay the foundations of a thriving future for themselves and their peers and believes that Youth Joy Circles are the key to making that future a reality.
Nicola adds, “As we draw close to The UP’s 18th Birthday we are calling on all those inspired to be mentors and financial supporters to join UP – ensuring an inspired and successful roll-out of this inspired new Youth Joy Circles program in 2022.”
They are raising funds for the organisations 18th birthday which you can support here.
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