Rita Auma is a Ugandan lawyer, author, award-winning mental health advocate, and founder of Heart to Heart Spaces, a community dedicated to creating safe environments for emotional healing and wellness. She has become a leading voice in reshaping how mental health is understood, discussed, and supported in Uganda and beyond. Her openness, her commitment to building spaces of care, and her ability to connect with people through words and action make her one of the most inspiring leaders of her generation.
A Voice of Hope and Transformation
Rita’s influence stems from her ability to turn personal experience into collective healing. After being diagnosed with multiple mental health conditions, she discovered the power of community support in recovery. Rather than retreating into silence, she used her journey as a foundation for advocacy, proving that resilience and openness can transform lives. By sharing her story and encouraging others to seek help, she has become a beacon of hope for many facing similar struggles.
Building Heart to Heart Spaces
Through Heart to Heart Spaces, Rita has created a platform that offers therapy, healing journeys, and safe spaces for individuals seeking emotional balance and restoration. The organization provides access to professional counseling and fosters peer support groups where people can share stories, learn from each other, and find solidarity. Beyond therapy, Heart to Heart Spaces champions advocacy, raising awareness about mental health while challenging the stigma that often silences conversations.
By integrating professional support with community-based approaches, Rita has ensured that mental health care is not only accessible but also compassionate and relatable. Her vision is to make healing a shared experience, grounded in empathy and collective growth.
Writing, Storytelling, and Public Engagement
As an author and blogger, Rita uses her writing to open conversations around mental health, grief, self-care, and resilience. Her first book, Dear Me, reflects on themes of self-acceptance and healing. Her second book, Dear Us, broadens the lens from individual healing to collective wellness.
She also co-hosts the Hearty Conversations Podcast on Youtube and Talk Tuesdays on Instagram, where she guides discussions that dismantle stigma and normalize mental well-being. Through her blogs, public speaking, and media appearances, she has cultivated a language of empathy and courage, encouraging individuals and communities to embrace mental health as an essential part of human dignity.
Inspiring Advocacy Beyond Mental Health
Rita’s work is not confined to her organization. She has spoken at events, engaged with policymakers, and collaborated with communities to improve mental health services and create systemic change. Her background in law and her experience advising organizations have equipped her to combine advocacy with structural solutions, linking mental health to wider issues of governance, leadership, and empowerment.
Her advocacy demonstrates that mental health is inseparable from social well-being and that policies must reflect the urgency of addressing it. By engaging stakeholders at multiple levels, she ensures that her impact is both personal and institutional.
Why Rita Auma Moves Nations
- Rita Auma moves nations because she is changing the way mental health is understood and addressed in Uganda
- She challenges stigma by speaking openly about her journey and encouraging others to seek help
- She builds accessibility by offering affordable therapy and support through Heart to Heart Spaces
- She influences systems by engaging with policymakers to improve mental health services
Her leadership is not only about care but also about transformation, ensuring that individuals receive support while society at large develops more inclusive and compassionate approaches to mental wellness.
A Legacy of Healing and Empowerment
Rita Auma’s legacy is unfolding through every safe space she builds, every story she tells, and every life she helps to restore. She is shaping a future where mental well-being is recognized as a cornerstone of thriving communities by normalizing mental health discussions, expanding access to care, and advocating for systemic change.
Her work is a reminder that healing can be a collective journey, and that one person’s voice can create ripples of transformation across an entire nation.
