World Mental Health Day 2026: How losing my father and surviving illness led me to mental health advocacy

World Mental Health Day 2026: How losing my father and surviving illness led me to mental health advocacy This World Mental Health Day (10 October), the theme is "Lived Experiences Heard: Real Voices, Real Change." It recognizes that people who have lived through hard moments hold knowledge that no manual can replace. For some Red Cross and Red Crescent volunteers and staff, that knowledge becomes a calling. For Serah Kalumbilo, Mental Health and Psychosocial Support Officer at the Zambia Red Cross Society , it began in Lusaka, Zambia, in February 2021, barely two months after she joined the Red Cross. Her experience of illness and loss became the reason she started training others in Psychological First Aid. This is her story. My journey from survivor to mental health advocate Barely two months after joining the Zambia Red Cross Society, my life changed in a way I never imagined. I became seriously ill with COVID-19 and spent more than 30 days in isolation. What began as an illness soon became one of the most difficult experiences of my life. Isolation meant being physically separated from the people I loved and depended on. There were moments of fear, uncertainty and loneliness,

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