Reported By Benedicto Maguda
Millennium University has organized a Youth Mental Festival which will be held from November 9 to 10 at the Blantyre Youth Centre.
The festival is essentially a vibrant gathering for young people, their friends and families to converge and celebrate life, community, connection and positive change through good mental health.
Speaking with Malawi News Agency (Mana) on Monday, Dr. Sandra Jumbe a senior lecturer and lead researcher in mental health said on the day there shall be different activities that will spice up the day and make the day unforgettable.
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“We have a dynamic programme featuring activities like football and netball tournaments, music, dance and theatre. Alongside that we have inspirational talks, interactive workshops and panel discussions with mental health experts, our stakeholders and other local celebrities,” Jumbe who is also a health psychologist said.
Jumbe added that the festival is part of a bigger research project that she is leading called ARISE, which focuses on improving mental health literacy among the youth using education settings.
“The bigger goal is to work with ministries of education and health to roll this out across the country and create a national framework that embeds mental health into our education system. We also want to reach young people that are not in college or university so they can also learn about mental health,” she said.
She added that this festival is very important to the youth because it gives a chance to educate the youth in masses about what mental health is, how to manage it and also for them to help others.
“As a psychologist, I have always wanted to remove the taboo around mental illness and encourage people to open up when facing challenges. I see this festival as a great way to reduce stigma surrounding mental health,” she said.
In a separate interview, Executive Director for Drug Fight Malawi, Nelson Zakeyu who will be the guest of honour during the event, said this is a very important event especially to the youth because it will help them receive advice from experts on how to desist from drug and substance abuse.
“Drug and substance abuse is very dangerous among the youth as it leads to delinquency; therefore, I’m asking all the youth to take care of their health by doing physical exercises. I also urge all the youth to come in large numbers so that they can receive advice from the experts,” Zakeyu said.
This is the second festival. The first one was held last year at the same venue during World Mental Health Month in October. On the day, there will be other celebrities such as Piksy, Patrick Mabedi, Mary Waya, Hazel Mak and Nicole Kamwendo, among others. This year’s theme is: healthy mind, healthy body.
