POLOKWANE – MIAMP will be solely online because, Nhlala says most victims of cyber bullying usually feel comfortable to have their voices heard rather than their faces seen. “This campaign will officially be launched online, on my birthday, 29 August. This is just my way of giving back to the community, a voice to the voiceless, the youth whom most of the times are unheard and pushed aside because they are said to have their emotions all over the place, and said that it is normal because they are going through a transition phase from being teenagers to adults,” she explained.
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The 19 year old referred back to when she was in high school, and that she witness cyber bulling both on a personal level and in her immediate environment. She says she saw her peers slowly falling into depression and they had no idea how to pull themselves out. “It is a very unfortunate situation for one to be mentally healthy and downtrodden and unfortunately in a quest for a quick fix or a quick way to get out they turn to substance abuse. On MIAMP victims and culprits will be afforded an opportunity to engage with one another and address the underlying problems which may have led to rivalry or conflict. We live in times where technology has evolved and almost everything is done and happens online, both personal and professionally, which is where ‘trolls’ or cyber bullies hide and attack victims, and they are just cowards, ” she added.
The campaign according to the youngster is inspired by her own struggles of body insecurities and she wants to help where she can with this. “I am on a healing journey and I want to inspire young people to heal and find their purpose in life so that they can be productive and flourish. Victims can just use the hashtag #MyBodyMyTerms on social media, Facebook and Twitter when they post/vent and we (me and my partners) will be able to pick up those posts and take it from there by contacting that person directly via inbox and have a chat to find out what the underlying factors are,” she concluded.
She partners with friends, photographer/ director: Harris Clive Malebe (22) and Dorcus Mokhari (18).
They can follow @nmfoundations and subscribe to the YouTube channel Nhlanhla Mashile by N M Foundations.
