The Executive Director of Dhamira Moja CBO in Busia, Sarah Martha, has underscored the need for media employers to look at the welfare of their employees in order to promote mental health.
Speaking during a sensitisation forum for Busia based journalists on Friday, Martha noted that a number of journalists are suffering depression due to poor payment by employers.
“Through our interaction, we have found that their pay is too low and even others are not being paid. These situations have led to many being depressed. We are appealing to the media owners to ensure the personal and mental wellness of their employees is well taken care of. We are also advocating for good pay so that the journalist enjoys self-esteem and is empowered economically to avoid professional stress,” she said.
Martha stated that the daily working condition of journalists covering different crisis and stories expose them to situations that lead to mental stress and depression.
“A depressed person cannot be productive at work. When they are stressed, they can project this at the workplace. Some of the stresses are from home and at work. These are among the frontline people when there is a crisis like disasters and accidents. They witness some horrible scenes that can drain them mentally thereby creating a need for counseling and mental wellness sensitizations,” she emphasized.
Roselyne Wandaki from Friendly Innovative Development Solutions (FIDS) said having a person whose role is addressing mental issues to the journalists will play a major role in addressing the situation.
“The employers should have a counseling psychologist who will be helping these journalists as they do their work so that their mental health can be well addressed,’ she said.
Wandaki said the expectation of the community towards the journalists have made it difficult for them to express themselves when they are going through difficulties.
“The community just hears their voices on radio and TV and they know these people have good lives. When they meet, the reality is different. It is difficult for journalists to express themselves when they are going through a certain difficulty,”she said.
Winny Ongere, from Bulala FM said as female journalists they face a lot of trauma and mental issues when they cover stories on abuse to women and children.
“When you are in the field and you encounter a story of a child being thrown in a latrine, as a woman you feel the pain of a mother. The same happens when you encounter stories on abuse of women rights and incidents like fire and accidents which result in many deaths. These stories leave us with trauma and mental issues. At the family level, we have challenges at the workplace; this training is helping us mentally so that we are safe at work and home, ”Ongere said
Emmanuel Jumah from Busia Border radio said the training is helping to address the mental challenges they experience at work.
“I have covered many stories involving people who have been killed, when you get there, some of them have been brutally killed and that picture cannot get out of your mind. This training is essential as it is helping me to be mentally fit when covering stories,” Jumah said.
Dhamira Moja CBO in partnership with Trust Lab and European Union is training Busia based media practitioners and bloggers on mental health.
The programme named safe voice 040 has been creating awareness on the mental wellbeing of the media professions.
By Salome Alwanda and Rodgers Omondi
