Kites will be flying high in the sky at the Cape Town Kite Festival. Picture: Supplied.
The Cape Town Kite Festival will be taking place tomorrow, October 9, at Melkbosstrand Beach between 10am and 3pm. The event, now in its 28th year, is hosted by Cape Mental Health to raise funds for the non-profit organisation to continue providing free mental healthcare services to adults and children who are in need.
Cape Mental Health believes that our dreams begin in our youth, and so they are encouraging children and youth to #FlyYourDreams in support of mental health awareness. The event is being promoted under the tagline: “Invest in your mental health – invest in our future”.
“Failure to ensure that every child and adolescent has access to emotional support and mental health services will be a failure of our society to prevent this generation from being resilient adults with good mental health,” said Dr Ingrid Daniels, CEO of Cape Mental Health.
Cape Mental Health believes that investment in children and youth, in particular, helps prevent mental illness that can progress into adulthood and limit the potential and dreams for the future of young people.
Singer-songwriter Jarrad Ricketts is a friend and supporter of Cape Mental Health and shared his thoughts on why it is important to support the cause.
“They offer free services which I think is so important because we still have so many communities out there where individuals cannot even afford mental health services and so we need to keep the service free so that we can affect communities positively,” said Ricketts.
Actress Monique Rockman, who has starred in popular shows such as Suidooster and Binnelanders, also expressed her support for Cape Mental Health. Rockman encouraged the public to atend the Cape Town Kite Festival and raise funds for those who cannot afford mental health services
“I would like to encourage people, especially the youth, to be aware of their mental health. I myself suffer from mental health issues,” said Rockman.
“I will also be flying my kite at the Cape Town Kite Festival. I will fly my kite so that you know that you are not alone, we are not alone and we can do this,” added Rockman.
October is recognised internationally as Mental Health Awareness month, and countless organisations worldwide host events in person and online to educate the public about mental health issues. The 28th Cape Town Kite Festival will be a hybrid event with real-life kite-flying and fun online activities.
To learn more about the Cape Town Kite Festival’s real-life and online activities such as community flies, the EduKite competition for learners from mainstream primary and special schools, interviews, activities for the little ones, the online store or to donate to the cause, visit the official website: https://capementalhealth.co.za/FlyYourDreams/.
The event is free to attend for all – young, old and everyone in between – and will take place on Melkbosstrand Beach (opposite Die Damhuis) between 10am and 3pm on Sunday, October 9. Cape Mental Health encourages everyone to wear green if you can in support the cause.
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