By Chizitelu Munachimso
As part of its Summer Holiday Programme, the non-governmental organization (NGO, Initiative Supporting Mental Health Inspiring Lives and Empowerment (I-SMILE), has taken a message of mental health awareness and resilience to students across two centres in Somolu, Lagos.
The event, which held on August 26, 2026, was themed, “Mental Health Support in Times of Crisis”, with resilience as the central topic of discussion.
The focus age group was children within 13 to 18 years bracket. I-SMILE Director, Mr. Abidemi Olabowale Okekunle, said the programme was designed to create an open and engaging space where students could talk about everyday challenges, understand their emotions, learn healthy ways of responding to difficulties and recognise the importance of seeking support when needed.
The first session of the programme held at NUT Hall, Agunbiade complex from at 9:30 am. to 11:00 am and featured 92 participants in total. 46 male, 46 female.
The programme began with participants registering their attendance at the entrance. After registration, selected volunteers were invited to lead an interactive placard activity.
The student volunteers walked in with placards displaying different messages. Each volunteer presented their placard to the other participants, read out the statement and shared their understanding of the message. This created an opportunity for the students to participate from the very beginning rather than simply listening to a lecture.
Starting the Conversation
Following the placard activity, participants were given a five-question pre-test designed to understand their existing knowledge of mental health. The students were made to understand that the exercise was not an examination or a grading exercise, but simply a way to understand what they already knew before the session.
Okekunle then led the students through a mental health awareness session centred on resilience. The conversation began with a simple question:
“Have you ever felt like giving up on something?”
The students were then asked to think about situations where school may have felt stressful or when something did not go as planned.
The question immediately opened up the conversation. Students acknowledged that they sometimes experience difficult situations and shared some of the things that can affect them, including difficulty finding the right person to talk to, unkind friends who make them feel less confident about themselves, school activities and academic challenges.
Understanding Resilience
The Director further explained resilience in simple terms:
“Resilience is your ability to bounce back.”
Students were encouraged to understand that resilience does not mean that a person never faces difficulties or never feels sad, worried or frustrated. Rather, resilience is about being able to face a setback, learn from it and continue moving forward.
The message was reinforced through a simple reminder:
“This is hard, but I won’t give up.”
Students were asked what challenges they face in school and in their daily lives. Their responses included bullying, difficulty with subjects such as Mathematics and Accounting, and the challenge of asking for help when they need it.
The director encouraged them not to define themselves by their difficulties or mistakes. A poor result, for example, should not simply become “I failed.” Instead, students were encouraged to see challenges as opportunities to learn and improve.
They were also reminded that resting is normal and that taking a break when overwhelmed does not mean that they are weak or lazy.
An Open Space for Questions
After the main discussion, the students had the opportunity to ask questions and share their thoughts.
The interaction allowed the session to move beyond a one-way presentation into an open conversation between the director and the students.
A post-test focusing on resilience was subsequently administered to assess what the participants had understood from the session.
Prince Sodiq Adeeso, the Chief of Staff to the Chairman of Somolu Local Government, who represented the Chairman at the event, lauded I-SMILE for the initiative noting that it was a novel idea. He charged the organizers to sustain the programme.
He commended the students for their creativity and encouraged them to remain resilient in endeavours in order to stand and become good representatives of their families and communities.
The second session of the programme commenced immediately after at the St. Augustine school complex with 61 students (32 females and 29 males) participating. There, the students were put through the same drill as at the previous session.
Commenting on the importance of the programme, Okekunle said one of the notable aspects of both session was the diversity of the participants. He said students came from different neighborhoods and different schools, with some participants traveling from areas as far as Ikorodu and Ogun State to take part in the programme. He noted that this demonstrated broader interest among young people in having conversations around mental health, resilience, and the challenges they face.
“It was more than a classroom lesson. It created an opportunity for students to speak about real situations they encounter — academic pressure, difficult friendships, bullying, challenges with particular subjects,. and the difficulty of knowing when and how to ask for help. The programme reminded them that struggling with something does not mean they can not improve and that asking for support is a healthy step when a challenge becomes difficult to handle alone”, Okekunle said.
He noted that through initiatives such as the Summer Holiday Mental Health and Resilience Programme, I-SMILE will continue to create safe spaces where young people can learn, ask questions and have meaningful conversations about their mental wellbeing.
“The organisation recognises that young people come from different backgrounds and face different challenges. By taking mental health conversations directly into communities and learning spaces, I-SMILE seeks to make mental health awareness more accessible, practical, and relatable”, Okekunle stated.
