Sele Max Fuah
2022 IVLP Impact Award Project: The Young Ambassadors of Mental Health (YAMH)Liberia
Sele Max Fuah is a social worker with 10 years of experience in social service organizations empowering adolescents from impoverished communities in Liberia. Sele has a bachelor's degree in social work from Stella Maris University, Mother Patern College of Health Sciences, Liberia and an advanced certificate in sexual reproductive health and rights, Faculty of Social Medicine and Global Health, Sweden. He served as counselor for Liberia's first post-war premedical camp, CampXsel, where he provided psychosocial support for more than 80 pre-medical and pre-clinical students.
Currently, Sele is the monitor and evaluation assistant and program assistant at Rising Youth Mentorship Initiative supporting the regional project Concerted Action for Zero Tolerance against sexual and gender-based violence in the Man River region. Sele is the co-founder of Smiling Faces International, a youth-led organization that is empowering youth with access to the tools and resources needed to facilitate sustainable change and civic engagement in Liberia. He is a member of many prestigious alumni associations such as the US Exchange Alumni Association and the Global Academy of SRHR.
IVLP Impact Award Project: The Young Ambassadors of Mental Health (YAMH)
The Young Ambassadors of Mental Health Project was a mental health peer educator training and competitive activity designed to create awareness on stigma and discrimination related to mental health in Montserrado, Liberia. The project used creative arts as a tool to inspire 30 high school students to express their thoughts and emotions on the themes "Mental Health is Everybody’s Business" and "Arts is a Safe Space." The one-month intensive training in mental health peer education equipped participants to carry out effective peer to peer awareness within school settings, using creative arts such as drawing, painting, poetry and storytelling to create awareness on mental health issues. The campaigns reached approximately 1,000 students in 10 schools.
Learn More About the Young Ambassadors of Mental Health: Project Video
"Feeling lonely does not mean you are alone. This project changed my life!" - Project participant
IVLP Exchange Experience
Sele Max participated in the IVLP Project Youth and Civic Engagement II, organized by the U.S. Department of State and Mississippi Consortium for International Development in partnership with GlobalPittsburgh, World Affairs Council of New Hampshire and Georgia Council for International Visitors.
U.S. Communities Visited Virtually
Washington, DC; Atlanta, GA; Manchester, NH; Pittsburgh, PA