Some meetings feel like a formality. This wasn’t one of them. The SHINE Annual Partners Meeting 2025 turned a virtual setting into a space for real connection and clarity. I’ll admit, when I saw it stretched across two weeks, I braced myself for screen fatigue. But the format was surprisingly light: two to three hours a day, spaced out enough to stay engaged and still get other work done.
The project consortium consists of LVCT Health and APHRC (Kenya), JPG BRAC (Bangladesh), and LSTM (UK). At the meeting, we gathered our voices not just to exchange updates, but to realign, rethink, and reimagine how we support community health workers and their mental well-being. Community health workers play important frontline roles in linking communities to healthcare services. They, however, bear many burdens in discharging their roles. We must care for carers. The SHINE study strategically employs mixed methods- quantitative surveys and a range of community-based participatory methods, to explore motivations, stressors, coping mechanisms and policy environment for mental health and wellbeing for community health workers in Kenya and Bangladesh. This study is in its third year, and we were convening a virtual annual meeting to reflect on progress, celebrate collective achievement, and, in true collaborative spirit, map the way forward towards the next exciting stage- dissemination of study findings and co-designing appropriate interventions, based on data.
What set this meeting apart was its design. Beyond live sessions and presentations of various stages of the research and emerging findings, we worked through breakout rooms to dive deeper into thematic discussions. These smaller sessions allowed for more candid and collaborative thinking, whether we were shaping country-specific workplans or adapting evaluation frameworks to fit local realities. In those rooms, the tone shifted from presentation to co-creation, and the insights felt rooted, practical, and bold.
We also used discussion boards throughout the meeting to actively gather feedback, exchange ideas, and surface priorities. These boards became living threads of reflection, helping us clarify complex issues and collectively shape the way forward. Whether probing intervention strategies or revisiting partnership values, the responses guided key decisions and amplified voices that might otherwise get lost in the flow.
A recurring theme throughout was the importance of context. As we reviewed and refined the project work plan, it became clear that timelines and strategies couldn’t be one-size-fits-all. Teams surfaced the unique rhythms, opportunities, and constraints they face in their respective countries. This awareness of local realities led to more adaptable planning and reaffirmed our commitment to inclusive implementation.
We explored formative research, mental health literacy, capacity strengthening, and advocacy, all underpinned by a consortium-wide focus on equity, agency, and resilience. There were moments of challenge, plenty of insight, and a deepening sense of unity and duty. One of the most powerful moments for me was revisiting our core partnership values: a community health worker-centred, equitable, sustainable, and transformative approach. It was an opportunity to ask ourselves if we’ve stayed true to what we agreed on in 2024. That reflection urged us, urged me, to pause, take stock, and confront that question with sincerity. It was an opportunity to recalibrate or reemphasise.
As we step into final stretch of the project-2025/2026, I’m carrying with me not just action points, but a renewed appreciation for the brilliance that emerges when we design together, listen deeply, and stay rooted in real-world impact. The SHINE consortium is more than a partnership; it’s a collective driven by shared values and vision.
The SHINE Project aims to develop a comprehensive approach that promotes well-being and resilience among Community Health Workers (CHWs) while incorporating training, community cohesion, and support within the health systems of Kenya and Bangladesh.
Read More: https://lvcthealth.org/nihr-shine/
Written by: Nkatha Mutiga, Project Management Lead at LVCT Health Kenya.