Longtime Walthamstow resident Dominic Makuvachuma-Walker passed away from a sudden illness earlier this year. His friends and colleagues describe a ‘ridiculously generous’ man who passionately advocated for better mental health care and rallied against injustice
By Alison Faulkner & Sarah Yiannoullou
Dominic Makuvachuma-Walker, who lived in Walthamstow for many years, died earlier this year of a sudden illness. Dominic was a passionate and inspiring mental health and anti-racism activist.
He worked for a number of organisations including being a founding member of Psychiatric System Survivors Together (PSST), project development manager of the Catch-A-Fiya Network, the people participation lead for City & Hackney, East London Mental Health Foundation Trust, national programme lead with the Afiya Trust, and roles with the mental health charities Together for Mental Wellbeing and National Mind.
He contributed to and led ground-breaking initiatives and projects like Catch-A-Fiya, Fan the Flames, Dancing to Our Own Tunes and Reigniting the Space. He used his personal experience and intense passion to support the mental health survivor movement at a local, regional, national, and international level.
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He worked with the National Survivor User Network (NSSUN) for over 15 years where he was respectively an advocate, an advisor, and, from 2009 until 2019, a trustee.
Sarah Yiannoullou, who was managing director of NSSUN at the time, described Dominic as “ridiculously generous, and his enthusiasm was beautifully infectious. He rallied, he inspired, he shared and supported. But Dominic also challenged and never shied away from speaking truth to power, or friends, or colleagues”.
Dominic was also a father, a DJ and erstwhile actor. His roots were in Zimbabwe and it was here that he returned to a couple of years ago.
Dominic was much loved by those who knew and worked with him. Although serious and passionate about fighting discrimination and injustice, he was also someone who seemed to bring sunshine into a room and managed to make you feel special. I first met him in the audience of a mental health event. I can’t remember what he said, but he spoke from the floor with passion and clarity. He made an impact on me that day and always. He is much missed. Rest in Power, Dominic.
Friends and colleagues from Catch-a-Fiya, NSUN, Together and Mind are organising a memorial event for Dominic on 11th October 3.30pm-9pm, at The Parcel Yard, King’s Cross Station, London, N1C 4AH. If you would like to attend, please email Sarah at [email protected]. Tributes are being collected on the NSUN website
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