October was Mental Health Awareness Month. The objective is to educate the public about mental health and to reduce the stigma and discrimination that people with mental illness are often subjected to. This was also mentioned by Chris Mgubanto (Principal of Nomzamo High School) and Craig Williams (the Capitec CSI representative), and this new space will further help to reduce this general stigma.
In a special ceremony at Nomzamo on 31 October, the principal, joined by learners, staff and honoured guests, officially launched the Counselling Room.
Two vibrant Nomzamo learners (Linamandla Malusi and Soyama Menziwe) delivered heartfelt speeches to welcome and thank everyone. They said โmental Health is the foundation of academic successโ and โthe establishment of this counselling room exemplifies the commitment towards our well-being.โ
Learners and educators expressed their gratitude with songs of joy and beautiful words to thank the main sponsor, Capitec, the SSCC team and other sponsors for making this dream come true. The schoolโs gardening team proudly created a lovely garden around this new space, enhancing its welcoming atmosphere.
The event was concluded with a beautiful prayer by former teacher Mrs Ncinitwa, who saw her dream come true.
This space, addressing the rising need for psycho-social support and well-being among students and teachers, is truly a God send, and a major milestone for Nomzamo High School. It provides a safe, private and comforting environment where learners can be honest about their emotions, confront challenges, and receive professional support from trained counsellors. Additionally, it will serve as a sick bay, giving unwell learners a peaceful place to rest and recover.
SSCC currently collaborates with two counsellors from our community, Adrรฉ Potgieter (therapeutic social worker and neuro-coach), and Abeedah Hendricks-Lalla (child-focused psychologist from Cedar Psychology). Their expertise and dedication to this project have been invaluable.
๐ ๐๐๐๐ซ๐ญ๐๐๐ฅ๐ญ ๐๐ก๐๐ง๐ค๐ฌ ๐ญ๐จ ๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ ๐๐๐ซ๐ฏ๐ข๐๐ ๐๐ซ๐จ๐ฏ๐ข๐๐๐ซ๐ฌ & ๐๐ฎ๐ฉ๐ฉ๐จ๐ซ๐ญ๐๐ซ๐ฌ:
>Tannie Lona at Tile & Dรฉcor โ generous donation and installation of curtains in the counselling room
>Edward & the Shortz Solar Solutions team โ for powering the space with electricity.
>Renier & the Blue Fox Plumbers team โ for providing running water in the room.
โ๐ถ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ก๐๐๐ ๐ค๐๐กโ ๐๐ก๐๐๐๐ ๐๐โ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ข๐๐๐๐ ๐ ๐ ๐ก๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ข๐๐๐ก๐ฆ. ๐ผ๐ก ๐๐๐๐๐ค๐ ๐ข๐ ๐ก๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐ก๐๐ฃ๐๐๐ฆ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ก ๐กโ๐ ๐๐๐ฃ๐๐ ๐๐ ๐โ๐๐๐๐๐๐, ๐ก๐๐๐โ๐๐๐ , ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ . ๐ต๐ฆ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ ๐๐๐ ๐โ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐ข๐๐๐ ๐ โ๐๐๐ก๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ ๐ข๐๐๐๐๐ก, ๐ค๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ก๐ ๐ ๐๐๐ก๐ก๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ฃ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ก ๐๐๐ ๐๐ฃ๐๐๐ฆ๐๐๐.โ (๐
๐๐๐๐๐)
>Remhoogte Nursery โ for donating some beautiful plants and flowers towards beautifying the garden
โ๐ต๐โ๐๐๐, ๐ผ ๐ค๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ก โ๐๐๐๐กโ ๐๐๐ โ๐๐๐๐๐๐; ๐ผ ๐ค๐๐๐ โ๐๐๐ ๐กโ๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ฃ๐๐๐ ๐ก๐ ๐กโ๐๐ ๐กโ๐ ๐๐๐ข๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐ก๐๐ข๐กโ.โ (๐ฝ๐๐. 33:6 ๐๐พ๐ฝ๐)
Thank you Yaseen Gaffar at The DistrictMail & Helderberg Gazette for covering the launch.