By Thabo Motlhabi
Children with disabilities are equally entitled to an exciting and brilliant future. Thusong Disability Centre, based at Kagiso 2, West Rand, in the south of Johannesburg, recently organised a Mental Health Awareness Campaign in celebration of Mandela Day 67 minutes. This event was hosted at Thusong Disability Centre on Thursday, 18th of July, 2024.
According to the South African calendar, 18 July is dedicated to former President Nelson Mandela for his contribution to the struggle and the democracy of South African. Different events are hosted across the world to show appreciation to his legacy.
The community members of Kagiso came out in numbers to celebrate and support children with disabilities. It was a day filled with fun and entertainment and an opportunity to mingle with these children who are often sidelined by the community.
This day was a turning point as the centre was clean and its walls painted to create a clean environment. It was also an opportunity to inform and educate society on mental health awareness as most people do not fully understand mental health issues as most people go through these issues. Attendees were advised to visit nearest medical facilities, see a counsellor or seek social workers’ services whenever they suspected symptoms of mental health.
Stakeholders included Mogale City officials, the Speaker of Assembly, Mr. Lucky Sele, the MMC of Mogale City , Mr. Peter Modise, the local ward counsellor, staff from Department of Health and the Kagiso Library staff members.
As a manager of Thusong Disability Centre, Mrs. Gertrude Thibini said, ” Today’s event was to create an awareness for mental health in celebration of our former President for what he did to this beautiful country and to keep his legacy alive. It’s also to encourage our beneficiaries that having a disability is not the end of the world but an opportunity to be equal participants in our community”.
Prior to this event, Mogale City officials visited the centre to discuss challenges they face, such as electricity disconnection, challenges with landlords and lack of sponsorship to keep the centre running. The officials promised to deal with these issues as a way forward.
The Speaker of Mogale City, Mr. Lucky Sele concluded by saying, ” Today’s event is significant because we are dealing with children that have different disabilities and this is their space where they get to express themselves. You can see by the type of activities that are happening here today. It demonstrates to the community the level of confidence that the children have in themselves. Ours is to believe in their talents and encourage them to live up to their potential”.
