Montserrat Youth Contribute to UNICEF Mental Health Workbook
Three of Montserrat’s young voices have shared how a recently published UNICEF activity book will help young people navigate the intertwined challenges of climate change and mental health.
Nianna St. Claire, Sandrae Thomas and Narissa Farrell-Bramble, worked alongside thirty-seven other youth from across twenty-one Caribbean nations to refine and adapt the second edition of Young Caribbean Minds, released last week.
St. Claire, who was also involved with the first edition of UNICEF’s mental health workbook, helped shape this volume’s activities to ensure relevance and engagement.
She crafted exercises that encourage students to process emotional stress alongside environmental concerns and anticipates that the book will serve as a practical tool for schools and community groups.
Sandrae Thomas joined the project during its final stages, offering targeted feedback on what content would, or would not, resonate in Montserrat.
He also engaged Montserrat’s senior officials- meeting with the Minister for Education and Youth, the Parliamentary Secretary- to name a few, to gather their perspectives and pass those insights back to UNICEF.
Narissa Farrell-Bramble joined the project after being nominated as a climate change advocate.
She emphasized that the colouring pages and hands-on activities offer youth a non-verbal way to process their feelings and noted that having tools to cope emotionally during the hurricane season can be just as vital as understanding the science of climate change.
All three participants stressed the importance of making the activity book freely accessible. While digital copies are already available online, they are lobbying to have physical editions distributed through Montserrat’s schools during the upcoming academic year.