The founder of Mpondomise Cultural Development, Mercy Mayisela, is appealing to community members to accept people who are suffering from mental illness, stating that they are also human beings who need to be treated well.
Mayisela said she, herself, was diagnosed with bipolar disorder and she knows how people who are suffering from this illness are treated by some community members.
“People always stigmatise you, and they call you names,” said Mayisela. She added that people have a lack of knowledge, and that they need to be educated about mental illness.
Mayisela said that some people were not aware that mental illness could be managed and that those who are diagnosed can still live a full life.
In order to assist other people who have mental health challenges, she launched Mpondomise Cultural Development and Qumbu Health Care, which deals with disability and mental illness, as well as drug and alcohol abuse.
The founder of the Maduna Nkabinde Foundation, Maduna Nkabinde, said she would assist Mayisela to start a soup kitchen, with the aim of assisting people who were living in the informal settlement in that area.
“I will assist her to start this initiative. People who are living in that area are struggling to survive, which is why I want to do something to help. We also wish there could be a rehabilitation centre in Qumbu, so that those who need help could get it,” said Nkabinde.
