Brave friends walk 636km for mental health

JOHANNESBURG duo, Ricardo Neiva and Jason Du Toit walked from Germiston to Durban to raise awareness on mental health and suicide prevention.

The 636km journey which ended at the Pavilion Shopping Centre after 15 days was a bittersweet moment for the two friends.

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The rainy weather on some days and boiling days on others did not prevent them in reaching their goal and destination.

Neiva who suffers with depression came up with idea after being indoors during Level 5 of lockdown.

“During Level 4 when we were allowed to walk around our neighbourhoods, I met this lady who said to me ‘have a beautiful day’.”

Neiva said that truly touched him and made his day, “I said to myself if I had to walk a long distance, how many positive people will I meet along the way so I called my friend Jason who jumped at the chance.

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Besides showcasing the beauty of the world, the duo said they wanted to create awareness on mental health and suicide prevention and break stigmas.

Du Toit said there are many stigmas attached to mental health and is often overlooked.

“There are people who thinks it is not a real issue and people with mental health are just attention seekers, unreliable and untrustworthy which is not true,” he said.

The youngsters said by embarking on this journey, they hope to inspire people to pursue their goal, “it is possible,” said Neiva.

Neiva appealed for people to support this initiative as the donations will go towards helping support the mental health agencies within South Africa; The South African Depression and Anxiety Group and The South African Federation of Mental Health.

“This will help these organisations in their mission to support people with mental health issues, to break the stigma and to prevent suicide.

According to Neiva, suicide is the second leading cause of death for people among the ages of 15 to 25, as well as being the reason for 800 000 deaths annually. He reminded people that ‘it is okay to not be okay’.

“You are never alone, people must go and seek for help,” said Neiva. Du Toit thanked all the people who supported them on the journey.

“This was a team effort, we had so many people supporting us which is the reason this journey was a success.

People who wish to donate to this cause can visit the duo’s BackABuddy page; https://www.backabuddy.co.za/champion/project/walk-from-jhb-to-durban.            

Caxton Local Media Covid-19 reporting

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