Rwandan innovator launches card game to break mental health stigma

Rwanda’s author and founder of Imagine We Rwanda, an organization dedicated to empowering Rwanda's reading and creative writing culture, Dominique Alonga Uwase, has recently launched a compelling initiative aimed at fostering open discussions on mental health experiences for the youth.

Titled 'Deeper Conversations,' the innovative card game boasts 55 thoughtfully crafted cards, designed to create a safe and supportive environment for emotional and mental expression.

“Rwandans are not the most expressive people, we have a lot of struggles expressing ourselves and trusting people, there’s a lot of trauma that I believe as a culture we have, and what we wanted to do is to make this almost like a game but allowing people to get to know each other better”, Uwase said.

Through collaboration with mental health experts, the game has been proven safe for mental health victims.

Uwase says the cards have received a positive reception from Rwandans but she still encourages individuals dealing with severe mental health challenges to seek professional support.

One of the biggest wins if I could say has been we have sold out these cards twice in less than a year, we have had a lot of positive feedback from couples and parents as well trying to get to know their children better especially parents with teens who want to know their teens better.

According to the Rwanda Mental Health Survey (RMHS) in 2023, a significant proportion of Rwandans aged 14 to 25 are struggling with psychological disorders like depression, anxiety, and trauma, among others.