PR students acknowledge need for mental health awareness
PR students acknowledge need for mental health awareness
Mr and Miss Kanana Finalist
Puleng Maphisa
October is Mental Health Awareness month in South Africa. The Vaal University of Technology Public Relations second-year students, therefore, visited Kanana Mental Healthcare Centre and the Lapeng Home for the Aged on 13 October.
The PR students are required to adopt an NGO for their semester’s module and attend to it as part of their projects.
The purpose of the visit in October was to show love and support to people who suffer from mental illnesses as well as to show appreciation to those who care for them. As PR student and MC, Puseletso Monama, mentioned, people are afraid of those with mental illnesses and not many willingly want to take care of them. The ones who do, however, deserve to be honoured for the great work they are doing.
Kanana patient: Portis Yingwane giving an address
One of the patients, Portia Yingwane who suffers from bipolar disorder said: “It is fundamental for people to know about mental illness just like it is fundamental to know about HIV”. She further mentioned that she appreciates the service being rendered to her by the workers and for being kept safe.
The owner of the centre, Mme Lydia Ngubane shared her appreciation to the students for remembering their centre and to her workers for assisting. She said it is unusual for their centre to have visitors and that students’ care was a privilege.
