Rotarian brings home mental health support
When Ugandan village elders meet with Stuart Raymond Kasule about supporting people with mental health struggles, they volunteer ideas to show more empathy.
Photograph by Grace Costa
They want to know, for example, how to open a conversation with a person who is suffering. “That shows you that the people are crying out to say, we need help, we need support,” Kasule says. He travels from his adopted home of Australia to his Ugandan homeland about twice a year to share his training on mental well-being and suicide prevention, skills that are part of his job with a counseling firm in Canberra.
He started the campaign Hope for Life in 2023 to increase mental health awareness in Uganda, one of about two dozen countries where suicide is a crime. Kasule, a member of the Rotary E-Club of Brindabella, Australia, says cultural taboos prevent people from seeking mental health care.
Kasule, 30, who grew up in the capital of Kampala, says pressures weighed on his mental well-being when he moved to Australia nearly a decade ago to study. He felt lonely in a new country trying to complete coursework, cover tuition, and support family in Uganda, leading to thoughts of suicide. A teacher who worked with international students provided support, reminding him that he would want to see his brother in Uganda again. “It was a turning point in my life,” he says.
He urges Ugandan leaders to make systemic changes and is heartened that Parliament is backing the African Summit on Suicide Prevention. Kasule works with Rotary members in Uganda and Australia to try to expand training for police, health teams, and Rotary members. He asks himself, “What can I do here in Australia to support my people in Uganda?”
This story originally appeared in the June 2025 issue of Rotary magazine.