Friendship Bench

1/3 A story of hope, resilience, and community support💚  After going through depression, poverty and unimaginable challenges, one woman found support through a Friendship Bench Grandmother. What began as a simple conversation became…

1/3 Did you know? 💡  Since 2016, Friendship Bench Zimbabwe has supported 1,091,541 people through community-based mental health care and 69% of those people reached are women…

Every day we get to see how safe spaces, empathy and community support can restore hope and bring back joy into people’s lives. Today we celebrate the power of human connection to heal and to uplift one another....Happy International Day of Happiness!  #FriendshipBenchZimbabwe

Everything we need is right here. #FriendshipBench #MentalHealthForAll

5/5 but holistically. We look forward to working alongside partners to shape a sustainable, systems-level response for the next generation. #FriendshipBenchZimbabwe #Studentmentalhealth #SustainableImpact #Strategicpartnerships #MentalHealthForAll

4/5 • Integrate mental health into higher and tertiary education systems • Reinforce broader health system capacity This is a significant step toward embedding mental wellbeing within Zimbabwe’s education architecture - ensuring students are supported not only academically,

1/5 We are proud to announce that Friendship Bench is entering into a strategic partnership with UNESCO to expand access to mental health services for tertiary institution students across Zimbabwe.

When I began training grandmothers to offer therapy in Zimbabwe, I never imagined the model would one day shape First-Year Experience programs on university campuses in the USA. 🔗 Read the full BookPal article here: linkedin.com/pulse/scalable…

“Hello friends of Friendship Bench” - Dr. Esther #FriendshipBenchZimbabwe #MentalHealthForAll

4/4 government systems. These conversations reinforced our collective commitment to sustainable scale ensuring that quality mental health care continues to reach more people through strong public sector ownership and integration. #FriendshipBenchZimbabwe #MentalHealthForAll

3/4 Access to evidence-based community-led mental health care that places people and communities at the centre of support. The visit also created space to deepen a shared understanding of our scale strategy, particularly our ongoing process of transitioning the intervention into

2/4 Mulago has been a crucial partner in our journey, playing a key role in enabling community-led mental health care and supporting the systems that drive sustainable long-term impact. Through this partnership, we have strengthened the Friendship Bench intervention by increasing

1/4 We were honoured to spend two days with representatives from the Mulago Foundation during their visit to Zimbabwe. The visit provided valuable time for shared learnings, reflections, and meaningful engagement with the work taking place within our communities.

New research: Friendship Bench in Vietnam This study shows how the Friendship Bench intervention helped people on methadone treatment living with HIV. Providers reported improved counseling skills, and positive impact on participants’ mental health. link.springer.com/article/10.100…

We are grateful for the moments we get to spend with our grandparents, to celebrate them and the work they do everyday. "The greatness of a community is most accurately measured by the compassionate actions of its members." - Coretta Scott King #FriendshipBenchDandaro

🏆 From the longlist, To the shortlist, And NOW-To winning the USA Outstanding Works of Literature (OWL) for 2025! The OWL spotlights the best books shaping society today. I hope The Friendship Bench inspires empathic community connectedness in the USA and beyond.

@DixonChibanda @FBZimbabwe @NewWorldLibrary @TheFBHub Congratulations Prof. This is well deserved👏🏽

Location: 639H+Q9W, Wenham Close, Borrowdale Rd, Harare

The Friendship Bench Dandaro is gathering for our final Wellness Wednesday of the year, and we’d love to share this warm, joyful moment with you. Come connect, and unwind with us. Donations of any kind are appreciated. Please let security know you’re going to the restaurant