Beyond the Clean-Up: How Collaboration Brought Mental Health Advocacy to Bwaise's Youth

The energy in Bwaise on 14th-feb 2026 was electric. Young people gathered, brooms in hand, gloves on, ready to transform their community—not just physically, but mentally and socially. What unfolded was a powerful example of what happens when organizations set aside individual agendas and unite for a common purpose.

PurpleMinds Foundation was honored to join six other dedicated organizations—We Are Youths, Fiktube, Zebra Boxing Club, Kawayaug, Elfirm, and Eco Space—for a community clean-up and youth sensitization day in the heart of Kampala's Bwaise area.

The Power of Partnership

Each organization brought its unique strength:

Organization Contribution We Are Youths Mobilization and youth engagement Fiktube Media coverage and storytelling Zebra Boxing Club Sports engagement and discipline-building Kawayaug Community connections Elfirm Logistical support Eco Space fdn Environmental clean-up leadership PurpleMinds Foundation Mental health advocacy and sensitization

Together, we created a holistic intervention that addressed not just the physical environment, but the inner lives of the young people who call Bwaise home.

Our Role: Mental Health in the Ghetto

While others led clean-up efforts, boxing demonstrations, and community mobilization, the PurpleMinds team focused on what we do best: creating safe spaces for conversation about mental well-being.

Life in Bwaise's ghetto comes with unique pressures—economic hardship, overcrowding, limited opportunities, and daily stress that can feel overwhelming. For many young people, mental health is a luxury they can't afford to think about. Yet it is precisely in these conditions that mental well-being becomes most critical.

We gathered youth in circles, under trees, in open spaces—anywhere they felt comfortable. We listened to their stories, their struggles, and their dreams. We talked about:

• Recognizing signs of stress and anxiety

• Simple coping mechanisms that don't cost money

• The power of community and peer support

• How a healthy mind is the first step toward a better future

Voices from the Day

One young man shared: "I never thought about mental health before. I just thought life was hard and that's how it is. Today, I learned that my mind matters too."

Another said: "Seeing all these organizations here together—it gives me hope. Maybe people do care about us."

These moments remind us why our work matters. Behind every statistic is a young person searching for hope, for direction, for someone to simply listen.

Why Collaboration Matters

PurpleMinds Foundation's "Climate-Mind Nexus" philosophy teaches us that no single organization can address the complex challenges facing communities like Bwaise. Environmental degradation, economic stress, and mental health struggles are deeply intertwined—and so must be our solutions.

By partnering with organizations focused on sports, sanitation, media, and youth mobilization, we were able to reach young people we might never have connected with otherwise. They came for the clean-up; they stayed for the conversation.

Gratitude and Looking Forward

We extend our deepest gratitude to:

• We Are Youths for their tireless mobilization

• Fiktube for documenting the day's impact

• Zebra Boxing Club for engaging youth through sport

• Kawayaug for grounding us in community

• Elfirm for logistical backbone

• Eco Space foundation for leading the environmental charge

And most of all, thank you to the youth of Bwaise. You are the reason we do this work. Your resilience inspires us. Your voices guide us. Your futures are worth fighting for.