The Room Where It Happens (T.RW.I.H) is a project propagated and promoted by Eburajolo Genevieve, a Year 4 Law student of the University of Lagos. This project focuses on Life on land and recognises the diversity of life–from Humans specifying physically and mentally and along with Plants. This project aims to promote mental health awareness and create a platform for people to anonymously express their situations–particularly students.
This project aims at addressing the mental health of students, providing them with the support they need, offering tools to manage stress and emotional challenges while advocating for better counseling services in schools.
In Nigeria, mental health is often dismissed as something "fake" or exaggerated, especially when it comes to students. There’s a strong stigma around discussing mental health struggles, and many students feel like they can’t speak up without being judged. This makes it hard to reach out for help, even when dealing with serious issues like anxiety or depression.
The unfortunate reality is that most schools don’t have resources to offer meaningful support.
Guidance and Counseling (G&C) services are either underfunded or non-existent, and even where they do exist, they often don’t serve students well. Counselors may not lack training and the systems in place rarely create an environment of trust or openness.
Also, Nigeria’s socio-economic challenges adds immense pressure on students. With so many people living in poverty, students often deal with financial stress, unstable home lives, and lack of basic necessities, making it hard for students to feel hopeful.
The establishment of this project would not only affect students positively, but meaningful
awareness would be raised.
Already identying this issue, the gender divide mustn't be ignored. Traditionally, in Nigeria, a woman's worthiness is tied to not only academic excellence or financial success but 'Purity'. And this is a leading factor when it comes to female students mental health, as in my community, where a group of female students are gathered, each and every one has a sexual assault or harassment story to tell; and even where they let go of their 'purity' willingly, they are still stigmatised and ridiculed.
This project also intends to take charge and create a platform for female students to express their experience and not feel stigmatised from assault or harassment–promoting their mental health, preventing suicides, drop out rates and severe depression.
It also creates the 'Name that Plant' operation. Organised events for picking up plastic would be effected, where they would be upcycled and given out along with seeds. This hopes to enable planting of trees, shrubs and flowers and also, personal grooming. In Lagos, Nigeria, there are more buildings than trees. Everyday a tree is fell and not necessarily for even a building to rise, just a perception that trees and flower plants attract and harbour dangerous animals and insects and sometimes it is considered a 'Bad Omen' for a tree to grow in particular places.
This project tends to promote the sanctity of Life–of Humans and Plants.
Some may consider this project as verbose–speaking to too many issues, but I believe that to sustain life where life itself is short, both hands should work at the same time. We should use both our hands to promote and sustain life so we can all be in 'The Room Where It Happens'.