Johannesburg- Founder of Emalenna, a non-profit organisation, which means stand with me, Neo Selebano, has proven to be a great leader in the community of Dobsonville when she established the EmaLenna Foundation in March 2019.
The EmaLenna Foundation was established after Neo was diagnosed with depression.
“I felt stigmatized when people found out I was in the wellness centre and I decided to embark on this journey because no one deserves to go through what u went through,” said Selebano.
“I realized how people are uneducated about mental illness and how it is seen as a taboo in black communities, so I opened my NPO to create more awareness on depression,” said Selebano.
This foundation targets everyone who is diagnosed with depression including people who are keen to learn more about mental illness and ways of fighting it.
Besides the EmaLenna Foundation, they have other campaigns and a soup kitchen is one of them.
The soup kitchen serves a minimum of 2 000 meals a month to children.
“I know what it is like to go to school hungry, I know the pain of going to bed on an empty stomach, hence the soup kitchen drive is there to make sure that kids do not go to school hungry”.
Like any other organization, the EmaLenna Foundation has faced several challenges.
Selebano stated that she has and is still experiencing challenges.
“Not having an office space to host my support group sessions is challenging, having my own space will ensure that people have a safe heaven when overwhelmed by anxiety,” said Selebano.
Even though she faces challenges she continues to work hard as she does not want to regret not doing certain things because of the challenges she faces.
Fortunately for her, Covid-19 has helped her introduce more campaigns for her NPO, such as a sanitary pad drive and R100 food parcels to families in need.
I knw the pain of sleeping without a meal, i will strive to ease the burden of skwatta camps that Emalenna adopted. Turning my scars into stars.@CMasiza thank you for your support.@biphakathi thanks for being an amazing example of the change we want to see.#EmalennaCares. pic.twitter.com/K4yQwohhhV
— EmaLenna Against Depression 👯♂️ (@NeoBAMBINO1) September 8, 2021
“My pads drive helps about 60 girls monthly with sanitary towels. I also launched the R100 food parcels during hard lockdown to feed 100 families.”
“My long-term goal is to have my own land for the EmaLenna foundation, where I can set up a safe house for the people diagnosed with depression and other mental illnesses,” said Selebano.
“EmaLenna, stand by me as I save myself.”
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