Photo: Canva/
‘Give Hope’ at this year’s virtual Cape Town International Kite Festival
Cape Mental Health will host their first Virtual Cape Town International Kite Festival as an annual instalment of their October Mental Health Awareness Month campaign.
Photo: Canva/
Everyone everywhere is invited to the first-ever virtual Cape Town International Kite Festival that is set to take place from 10 to 31 October 2020.
For Mental Health
Organisers of the event are inviting anyone with a kite to “fly with us and give hope by helping Cape Mental Health provide free mental health services to people in low-income communities at this time of unprecedented need”. They ask that kite-enthusiasts (or anyone for that matter) simply give a donation or buy a ticket to their virtual Kite Festival as it is Mental Health Awareness month this October.
“The theme for this year’s Mental Health Awareness Month is ‘Mental Health for All – Greater Investment – Greater Access’“, writes Cape Mental Health. “The aim of the theme is to highlight the global mental health crisis and lack of investment that prevailed before the COVID-19 pandemic which has exacerbated and compromised the mental health of billions of people globally. The theme highlights the urgency for greater access to mental healthcare and calls for inroads to be made for increased investment and mental health resources.”
The organisation says that isolation, the pandemic itself and many more factors ultimately cause stress and increased pressures on the mental well-being in communities.
“Only a small percentage of people seeking mental health services are getting the help they need. This includes the underfunding and under-resourcing of mental health in comparison with other health priorities; i.e. only 5% of the national health budget is allocated towards mental health services.
That’s why they are calling on the South African government to overhaul health systems and provide sufficient funding to prioritise and increase provision for readily available services.
“The COVID-19 pandemic has thrust the urgent need for greater investment in mental health to the forefront for us to head the calls and start making proactive decisions to address this. This investment should flow into a mental health response plan to COVID-19 as well as to mental healthcare workers who are experiencing increases in their already overflowing workloads.”
Cape Town International Kite Festival 2020: How it works
Join kiters all over the world and fly your kite at the virtual 26th Cape Town International Kite Festival. Share your pics on social media, tagging #HopeOnTheRise and @CTKiteFest, to feature on the official CTKiteFest feeds and for a chance to win fantastic prizes.
When purchasing your ticket (for R50), you will receive:
1. Kite-making workshops: exclusive online kite-making workshops for children and adults including an easy-to-make diamond kite; a traditional Cape Swaeljtie; applique feather banners and miniature kites.
2. The #HopeOnTheRise Virtual Showcase (7:00 Saturday 24 October) a live online concert featuring singer/songwriter Jarrad Ricketts, comedian Dalin Oliver and drag artist Manila von Teez.
3. Official certificate of participation
4. Entry to a variety of competitions
Find out more over here.
