Kolabo 2025: Day One Blog
Kolabo 2025 - Calgary to Mwanza 🌍
Our Kolabo 2025 team is made up of two dedicated groups travelling from Calgary to Mwanza, Tanzania:
Week 1 (April 28 – May 2, 2025):
Drs. Elizabeth Merner, Paige Durling, Taelina Andreychuk, and Sana JawadWeek 2 (May 5 – May 9, 2025):
Drs. Elizabeth Merner, Paige Durling, Rita Watterson, and Rory Sellmer
We were thrilled to finally arrive in Mwanza to kick off the first week of the Kolabo 2025 trip!
For over a decade, the Kolabo partnership has collaborated with local leaders in Tanzania to strengthen psychiatric education. Past Kolabo teams helped develop a comprehensive Psychiatry curriculum at the Catholic University of Health and Allied Sciences (CUHAS), which is now fully delivered and managed by CUHAS faculty and educates over 200 students annually — a huge achievement!
Currently, Tanzania has two Psychiatry residency program, located in Dar es Salaam and Dodoma. One of our major goals during this trip is to contribute to the long-term vision of establishing an additional Psychiatry residency program in Mwanza. This week, our focus is on delivering seminars to CUHAS staff on educator development, residency curriculum design, novel teaching strategies, and emerging areas in Psychiatry.
Learning from CUHAS Experts
Our day began with the Clinical Meeting, where we had the privilege of observing three senior medical students collaboratively present a patient history, Mental Status Examination, differential diagnosis, and treatment plan. About 40 medical students on their Psychiatry rotations, 8 Internal Medicine residents, and CUHAS faculty attended the session. in addition, the patient was present throughout much of the discussion and actively contributed additional insights into their experience.
Following the Clinical Meeting, we joined the Ward Rounds, where CUHAS psychiatrists led patient interviews while the medical students attended their morning lecture. It was a rich learning experience to see local approaches to patient care firsthand.
Jambo! - A Warm Welcome 🤝
In the afternoon, we enjoyed an inspiring Introductory Session where CUHAS faculty and Calgary team members got to know one another. We shared our "why Psychiatry" stories, exchanged cultural insights, and celebrated with some sweet Canadian maple treats! 🍁
We are deeply grateful for the warm welcome we've received and are excited to see what the next two weeks will bring. Stay tuned for more updates from Kolabo 2025!