Our Plan

Goal

The goal of this campaign is to raise $25,000 to develop an educational film that can extend the reach and accessibility of mental health information and promote a culture of mental health therapy among the Vodou community in Haiti.

Objectives

Raise public awareness of mental health issues through locally-produced media series that blends the unique aspects of evidence-based therapy with Vodou practice.
Improve access to mental health information, specifically for non-literate groups, by widely sharing the media series with Vodou temples in Haiti.
Build knowledge and skills in mental health care within Vodou communities through continued learning, mentorship and support from expert trainers.

Rationale

Storytelling plays a huge role in Vodou culture and rituals. A greater effort is needed to share mental health information in reflection of this cultural value. We plan to transform the content from culturally-adapted manuals on therapy by blending key lessons with a fictional storyline based on the Vodou healing experience. These storylines will be produced as multimedia episodes with discussion forums to make reference to educational content.

Creating an educational film that integrates lessons about mental health with local practice will be an effective and sustainable tool to build knowledge and skills in mental health care. Through this medium, we can promote continued learning on how to incorporate elements of mental health therapy into daily practice in a way that is:

Culturally relevant.
Engaging.
Accessible by diverse learning styles (especially non-literate groups).
Easily and widely shared.
Sustainable over time.

Storyline

The educational script will be inspired by anecdotes collected through field research with 25 Vodou leaders. Themes will touch on:

Help seeking behavior
Consultation rituals/norms
Diagnostic/treatment practices

The insights from these interviews will be blended with key therapy learning objectives.

As told from the perspective of a Vodou priest, audiences would be guided through the steps taken to help the recovery of a community member with a mental health problem. The objective is to build the knowledge and skills of Vodou priests in mental health treatment so that they can integrate key lessons in daily practice and offer additional support when a person comes to see them with a related problem.

Distribution

This resource will be shared widely with the Vodou community in Haiti, but particularly in the Port-au-Prince area through established connections with a number of Vodou partners and lakous. Copies of the series will be shared through a variety of mediums to ensure maximum reach and accessibility.

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Where will the funds go?

70%

70% Multimedia production

Preproduction:
- Scriptwriting
- Crew
Production
- Equipment (camera, grip, lighting, sound)
- Cast (3-5 characters)
- Transportation and/or car rental
- Meals
Post-production
- Editing
- Film