A well-attended graduation ceremony was held on Tuesday at the SAHAN rehabilitation Hospital which cares for and treats people with mental illnesses in Hargeisa.
The graduation ceremony was attended by former Somaliland Vice President Ahmed Yusuf Yasin, Deputy Minister of Education Abdihakim Said Bustale, Chairman of the Good Governance and Anti-Corruption Agency Liban Ismail Ali, Director. Filsan Hussein, Social Affairs Department of the Ministry of Family Affairs, an official from the Examinations Office of the Ministry of Education, members of the Hargeisa City Council, politicians, doctors, traditional elders, parents, and the administration of the center.
SAHAN HOSPITAL, the largest center of its kind in the Horn of Africa, provides care for people with mental illness, from many countries in East Africa and the rest of the world, equips and teaches people with mental illness when they recover to work. Vocational rehabilitation services to help mentally ill people find work. The center trains them in tailoring, making carpets, electricians, learning the Somali language, the Holy Qur’an, and other important skills.
Each year, SAHAN rehabilitation Hospital treats a significant number of people who return to their communities with the necessary skills which enable them to find jobs.
On Tuesday, a well-attended graduation ceremony was held at the SAHAN rehabilitation Hospital for the 13th batch of graduates who after completing treatment underwent training.
Parents and family members of the graduates speaking during the graduation ceremony praised the SAHAN rehabilitation Hospital administration and staff for their efforts, and at the same time called on the government and the community at large to support SAHAN rehabilitation Hospital.
Mr. Bashir Mohamed Jama, the Chairman and founder of SAHAN rehabilitation Hospital speaking during the ceremony briefed those attending on the workings of the center since its inception. He further pledged to enhance the modernization of the rehab center. He called on the public to assist in the treatment and care of people with mental illness.
“The Hospital currently has more than 550 people with mental illness, and more than 50,000 patients have utilized since the center was established. Most of the patients are under 40s years and that means they are young and the next generation of the country. Also, we have patients caught from the Hargeisa streets because they were a threat to the city’s security,” says Bashir Jama, founder of Sahan Mental Hospital.
He called on the government and the public to assist in the treatment and care of people with mental illness. “There are patients who have had their genitals amputated and cannot urinate. That is why we are appealing for their support from the government. The government and Hargeisa City Council must be responsive to their needs.” Says Bashir.
Former Somaliland Vice President Ahmed Yusuf Yassin, who laid the foundation stone for Sahan Hospital 13 years ago when the hospital site was empty, praised the management of Sahan Hospital for their efforts to improve services. Former VP Ahmed Yusuf Yassin called on the public and the government to support Sahan Hospital, noting that it was an important task that only governments could fulfill.
MP Jamaal Osman Abdillahi and Hargeisa City Councilor Siikawi pledged their support to the Sahan Center and as a municipality plans to develop a separate budget for Sahan Hospital. They promised to raise the issue during the next council meeting.
Liban Ismail Abdillahi, deputy chairman of the Good Governance and Anti-Corruption Commission and Filsan Hussein, director of social affairs at the Ministry of Family Affairs, praised the Sahan Center’s management efforts for improving hospital services and called for continued financial support from the Government and the Community.
The director of the social affairs department of the Ministry of Employment, who pledged at the event to help the hospital create jobs for mental illness patients, suggested that Sahan Hospital set up its own nursing home for women with mental illness.
Speaking at the event, parents and families of the patients thanked the management of Sahan Hospital for their efforts in improving the center’s services and called on the government and the community to support the SAHAN Rehabilitation hospital.
The Deputy Minister of Education, Abdikarim Said Bustale, in his remarks pledged his support for the development of the Sahan Center.
Finally, certificates and awards were presented to some of the hospital’s most successful students for their achievements and well-behaved during their stay at Sahan Hospital.
