A number of different organisations such as the Masakhane, TaCumi foundations, Tserelife, Football without Borders and Mageba Wellness have collaborated to organise a fitness day to raise awareness about mental health.
The fitness day will include a boot camp and yoga session, with the aim of raising awareness about mental health and highlighting the connection between mental well-being and physical fitness.
In line with the objective of increasing awareness of mental health issues and promoting fitness among young people, the initiative will focus on using exercise as a tool to help educate and support the challenges of mental illness among young people around the world.
The organisations have joined forces with Football Without Borders to draw attention to mental health issues in boys.
Statistics show that the higher suicide rate among males with mental illness is around 2.1% of women, and 4.3% of men diagnosed with a mental illness died by suicide, versus 0.3% of women and 0.7% of men without a mental illness.
The programme aims to raise awareness of the general benefits of exercise, which not only
improves physical health, but also reduces anxiety, depression, negative mood, and improves self-esteem and cognitive function.
Mental health promotion and prevention activities aim to manage a person’s emotions, strengthen alternatives to risky behavior, build resilience to manage difficult situations and challenges and develop a supportive social environment and social network.
Ofuze reality TV show star Shoba Nyce (Nathi Ngcobo) will be the MC of the day, and there will also be a mental health awareness session, talks from two keynote speakers, a question-and-answer session, and donations to poor communities as a way to give back.
The event will take place at Bertha Solomon Recreation Centre in Johannesburg on May 1, 2023.
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