ZIMBABWE School of Mines (ZSM) Students Representative Council president Tanaka Gobingo has challenged local entertainers and media personalities to join the fight against depression and anxiety.
Speaking to NewsDay Life & Style at the Mental Health Open Mic Festival held at the ZSM campus last week, Gobingo said: “We are taking note of the significant level of influence that these guys (artistes) have on us as the youths of this country. Why not take advantage of that in a positive way? So, we have invited Enzo Ishal (dancehall singer and Voltz JT (hip-hop) sensation to interact with us and perform as well.
“Despite awareness campaigns for people to speak up or reach out, there is an alarming rate of suicide among young people. In Mashonaland alone, 35 cases were reported in 2021 and increased to 53 in 2022. Therefore, we have to make the calls louder.”
A report by the National Peace and Reconciliation Commission indicated that there has been a sharp increase in suicide cases in Zimbabwe.
The report also highlighted that the most affected age groups are the 13 to 30-year-olds due to substance abuse.
Celebrated hip-hop star SaintFloew recently checked himself into a rehabilitation centre in South Africa, citing his battle with substance abuse.
“We included so many people and we opened the event to everyone. We actually engaged professionals as we had family impact doing massive work on the ground talking to students,” Gobingo noted.
“We also worked with Youth Ignite which has been the key organiser of this project and Family Impact, a non-governmental organisation that provides free counselling to members of the public.”
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“Youth must be taught to work hard to earn a living and there must be control of the media content they consume, both print and electronic. Bring back ubuntu so that people are there for each other,” he added.
