People with mental disabilities should be treated with dignity. This was the message during a recent special collective celebration of World Mental Health Day, which was hosted by the Siloam Hospital in association with the Masana Social and Training Development Project.
They, together with the Mphephu Royal Council, celebrated with a special gathering at the Apostolic Faith Mission Church at Dzanani, Nzhelele.
The overall objective of the celebration is to raise the awareness of mental health issues around the world and mobilizing efforts in support of mental health. It provides an opportunity for all stakeholders working on mental health issues to talk about their work, and what more needs to be done to make mental health care a reality for people worldwide.
This year's theme was titled 'Dignity in mental health – psychological and mental health first aid for all'.
The famous local traditional healer, Dr Mmbulaheni Neluvhola, said that they are happy to celebrate the day and to spend a day with the mental health people. "We should show love to those suffering from mental health issues. They didn't choose to be who they are, but it was God's love. We should take care of them and continue to support them," said Neluvhola.
Mrs Ivy Rambau encouraged mentally ill people to have high-self-esteem. "You should never undermine yourself because you are mentally ill," she said. She also said that mentally ill people should continue go for treatment and use their medication regularly.
She further encouraged the people to refrain from abusing the mentally ill people. "Don't misuse their grant money. Use it effectively and continue to support them," she added.
Masana Social and Training Development have been sponsoring the celebration for the past five years. Mr Phineas Muladi of Masana said that they will continue to support the world mental health day in 2017.