Grace Yufela as a typical African struggled and was challenged for two decades with mental health. For two decades, the family members abandoned her and viewed her as an outcast. The community members intentionally or unintentionally were hostile to her, assaulted and even raped her numerous times. Grace fed from the garbage, was homeless and sometimes walked naked in the streets. Grace’s life changed and Grace saw the light at the end of the tunnel when Grace was exposed to psychiatric interventions.

The solidified ice surrounding Grace’s illness started melting in December 2010, when Grace’s little sister, after taking some classes to become a Clinical Social worker started educating the family members about Grace’s mental health challenges. The family members were reluctant to listen or belief about the prospect of Grace’s recovery from her mental health challenges. She ignored the family’s disbelief about the intervention and recovery, she went ahead to take Grace for her psychiatric evaluation. Surprisingly, promising and encouraging, the Psychiatrist assured us that Grace’s situation was worth taking a try providing treatment. He placed Grace on medications. Grace’s little sister made arrangements with a psychiatric nurse in in Grace’s nearby town to administer the psychiatric shots and manages her medications. From the USA, her sister monitored her recovery and after a year of intervention, Grace showed great improvement. Grace was able to go for grocery shopping alone. Today, Grace has a room in the compound, take care of her hygiene, and remember to go for her appointments, cook and do most of her chores. Her general activities of daily living(ADL) improved

Grace’s story is a story that can relate to anyone who is having an abandoned family member who is challenged with mental health. Mental Health challenges is controllable, curable and manageable, if we give them the opportunity of interventions, understand the challenges and provide minimal support needed.