D-Naff Entertainment on Saturday hosted a music show aimed at contributing towards the fight against mental health stigmatisation and to encourage people to seek help for mental health problems.
The ‘Speak Out, Seek Help (SOSH)’ event was a collaboration with the Ministry of Health and Social Services, Lifeline/Childline and the Office of the First Lady, amongst other partners. It brought artists together to spread mental health awareness and to fight stigmatisation through music.
Founder of D-Naff Entertainment and SOSH organiser, Naftalie Amukwelele who is well-known in the music industry as D-Naff, said he got the idea to host such an event because many musicians battle mental health issues, especially due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Amukwelele said musicians suffered huge financial losses as no music shows took place because of the pandemic. He added that mental health problems are not only experienced by musicians, but by many young Namibians who suffered various losses due to COVID-19.
He indicated that the show was an extensive call, as the world observes World Mental Health Day on 10 October, to musicians and young Namibians to speak up and seek help, and to end the stigma associated with mental health.
“It is important for society to demonstrate love towards each other. Parents especially should listen to their children before judging because mental health is a reality and too prominent in the young generation, but as a society, we are quick to judge. Most musicians did not know where to seek help, so they approached D-Naff Entertainment knowing that I too went through the same publicly, hence the concert,” he noted.
Speaking at the event, the Windhoek Mayor Sade Gawanas said mental health awareness is vital for society, saying talking about depression or mental health is a taboo in many cultures. People therefore end up suffering alone and sometimes, even committing suicide.
“When people speak out on mental health issues, in many cases their message does not get across because a lot of us are dealing with trauma through alcohol and drug abuse. It is very sad that we do not understand how trauma begins and how to deal with it,” she said.
Gawanas noted that it is important for initiatives such as Sosh to take place so people can become comfortable with speaking up and seeking help.