Children participated in a kite-decorating competition at the Liberty Promenade shopping centre, in Mitchell’s Plain, on Saturday October 19.
Cape Mental Health and Liberty Promenade partnered to host the competition as a run-up to the annual 25th Cape Town International Kite Festival at Zandvlei Nature Reserve, on the corner of The Row Street and Axminster Road in Muizenberg, from 10am to 6pm on Saturday October 26 and Sunday October 27.
The children were invited to decorate a kite using paints, recycled paper and various other craft materials.
A panel of judges will select the top four decorated kites in various age categories and each winner will receive a Liberty Promenade gift card to the value of R150.
Cape Mental Health is a registered non-profit organisation and public benefit organisation that provides mental health services in the Western Cape.
Tomorrow, Thursday October 24, between 2.30pm and 4.30pm, Italian kite-maker Edo Borghetti will fly kites at the mall’s Supa Quick parking area after his visit to Cape Mental Health’s Training Workshops Unlimited.
Dr Ingrid Daniels, director of Cape Mental Health and president-elect of the World Federation for Mental Health, said this October, Mental Health Awareness Month, their focus is on suicide awareness and prevention.
“Our kite festival theme, ‘Let Hope Fly’, is intended to encourage everyone, especially those personally affected by depression or suicide,” she said.
She likened the kite to someone with a mental health condition – holding onto hope.
“Just as kiters use a line to hold onto their kites, hope can be a line to life. Sometimes you may find hope inside yourself; at other times, it may need to come from a friend, a loved one or a professional. The important thing is to hold on and not let it go,” she said.