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On a bench in Washington, DC, a trained older person, known as a ‘Grandparent' sits beside someone they have never met before. They listen. They ask questions. They help that person discover solutions for themselves. Thousands of miles away, in Zimbabwe, the same conversation has been changing lives for two decades. When Dr. Dixon Chibanda began training 14 grandmothers on wooden park benches in Mbare, Zimbabwe, he could not have known that the same model would one day take r

When communities face challenges around mental health, sometimes, the solution is much simpler: creating more spaces where people feel heard. That is the idea at the heart of Friendship Bench. Founded in Zimbabwe in 2006 by Dr. Dixon Chibanda and a group of 14 trusted community grandmothers, Friendship Bench is built on a simple belief: communities already have people who understand them, know their challenges and can offer support when they are given the right skills. Years

Most of us know what it feels like to watch someone we care about struggle, and not know what to say. We want to help, but we worry we will say the wrong thing, so sometimes we say nothing at all. The Friendship Bench was built on a different idea: that ordinary people, given the right tools, can do extraordinary things for one another. Ordinary people can learn to sit with others in their hardest moments, and that this simple act can change lives. If you have ever wanted to

From a single wooden bench in Harare to campuses and communities around the world, the Friendship Bench model has transformed how we think about mental health. Dixon Chibanda’s book, The Friendship Bench: How Fourteen Grandmothers Inspired a Mental Health Revolution, has just won the 2025 OWL Award in the First-Year Experience category, recognizing its impact in shaping conversations about wellbeing and community.

Since 2016, the Friendship Bench program has been bringing hope and mental health support to communities across Malawi. What started as a small initiative in two facilities with twelve trained counsellors has now expanded to over 12 districts, reaching hundreds of clients each month.