Scout Association Of Malawi - SAM

🕊️🇲🇼⚜️ This month, we recognize Safe from Harm Week, and we are also carrying out mental health awareness. Creating a safe environment for everyone in Scouting means looking beyond physical safety. It also means caring for mental health and emotional well-being. A Scout should feel safe to be themselves, free from fear, bullying, and emotional harm. When young people and volunteers feel respected and supported, they are more confident to learn, lead, and grow.🕊️⚜️

Now is the time to make intentional choices that strengthen our culture of safety. This starts with how we speak to one another, how we respond when someone is struggling. In practice, this means promoting open conversations about feelings so that sharing emotions during tough times feels normal rather than awkward. Let’s be there for each other. A supportive word, a listening ear, or a quick check-in can make a huge difference in someone’s day. When we build this culture, Scouting becomes more impactful and life-changing for everyone involved⚜️🇲🇼🕊️

Through the Messengers of Peace Fund from the kingdom of Saudi Arabia in partnership with World Scouting, we are amplifying It's Okay Not To Be Okay initiative across Malawi which helps our scout groups create safe spaces for mental health conversations and gives leaders tools to support young people effectively.Together, we can make every Scout group in Malawi a place where young people feel safe, valued, and empowered to thrive.🕊️🇲🇼

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What does “harm” actually mean, and what should you do if something doesn’t feel right?

Harm is anything that negatively affects a person’s physical, emotional, or psychological well-being. In Scouting, everyone deserves to feel safe.

🚫 Feeling humiliated, uncomfortable, scared, or threatened is never okay.
💬 You have the right to speak up
🛡️ Reporting is about safety, not getting someone in trouble

If you feel unsafe, you can talk to a trusted Scout leader or your Safe From Harm Coordinator.

Let’s create a space where everyone feels respected and protected.

🔗 Learn more: https://learn.scout.org/resource/youth-and-adults-scouting-together-safely-toolkit

Last weekend, scouts gathered in Manyowe, Blantyre for an intensive Messengers of Peace training in Mental Health and Wellbeing. 30 Scouts came together from across the Southern Region. The training was very practical, not just theory in a room. Scouts were introduced to the Sustainable Development Goals and spent time understanding how these global goals actually connect to the everyday realities in their own communities. There was a particular focus on SDG 3: Good Health and Wellbeing, with deep dives into mental health, stress management, and how young people can take the lead in creating healthier environments around them.

The Scouts looked at what’s actually affecting young people around them, who is already taking action, and what good practices they can learn from. Then we worked on self-awareness, helping each Scout identify their own motivations, talents, and passions. We also covered how to pull together the right knowledge and skills for their chosen projects, how to plan them properly, and how to carry them out while monitoring progress and evaluating the impact. Reporting and sharing wasn’t treated as an afterthought either. The Scouts practiced how to tell their stories, share what worked, what didn’t, and what they learned along the way.

With the new tools and knowledge on mental health and wellbeing, these newly trained Messengers of Peace are now better equipped to spot early signs of stress and mental health challenges among their peers. More importantly, they are ready to act. The hope is that they will launch initiatives that reach not just their fellow Scouts, but the wider youth population and the communities they live in. The end goal is simple but powerful: to build resilience, open up conversations around mental health, and make sure no young person feels like they have to face it alone.

This initiative has been made possible through the generous support of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, in partnership with World Scouting, under the Messengers of Peace Fund.

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Last year, data released by the Malawi Police Service showed that since 2022, the country has recorded more than 2,000 cases of su***de, with the majority linked to depression and other untreated mental health challenges. What’s most concerning is that the bigger share of those affected were people in their productive years. Within our own Scouting family, we felt this loss deeply. We lost 5 individuals from our scouting family who died by su***de. It was a painful reminder that no community is untouched, and that silence is no longer an option.

Scouts have always stepped forward when overwhelming challenges face young people and communities. In Malawi, Scouts have chosen not to stay quiet when mental health distress appears. Instead, they have turned compassion into action. In February 2025, Scout leader Edward Nyamz launched an initiative called It's Okay Not To Be Okay and shared the vision with his fellow Scouts. What started as a single idea has, through collective effort, grown into a national programme. As an association, we have already seen the difference it’s making in the lives of young people and in the wider communities we serve.

The scouts have been running mental health retreats and training mental health ambassadors who can carry the message further, supporting peers in their Scout groups and in local communities. They have had "Footpath for Mental Health" hikes. As Scouts conquer mountains together, each climb becomes a metaphor for resilience. Reaching the summit reminds them that they are stronger than they think, and that the same determination can help them overcome real challenges in life. Alongside the hikes, the "Brush Strokes for Mental Health" sessions have given young people a creative outlet. Every brush stroke and the conversations that flow with it have helped build trust, reduce stigma, and create a strong community that puts mental health first.

This year, the work received a major boost, the Messengers of Peace Fund from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, in partnership with World Scouting, selected "It's Okay Not to Be Okay" for support. The fund will help amplify the initiative’s reach and deepen its impact. It’s a huge achievement for Malawian Scouts and a promising step forward for many young people and communities who are seeking better mental health and a stronger sense of hope. The project has already kicked off in Blantyre with a Messengers of Peace training focused on mental health and wellbeing. From here, the hope is to keep building, keep talking, and keep saving lives, together.

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We are scouts, We are messengers of peace