Cape Mental Health is raising funds to provide free mental health care to people who need it most; the hybrid event is taking place for the month of October.
Cape Town, South Africa (16 September 2021) – It is said that imagination is the highest kite one can fly, so this October Cape Mental Health invites you to rise against the wind and join them at the Hybrid 27th Cape Town International Kite Festival. From 2 to 31 October, bold kites all over the world will soar skywards to show that #EveryoneDeservesToFly.
The Cape Town International Kite Festival is the oldest kiting event in Africa and has been proudly hosted by Cape Mental Health since 1994, to raise funds and promote mental wellness. It is traditionally one of the biggest kite festivals on the African continent and attracts professional kiters from around the world who fund their way to Cape Town in support of Cape Mental Health (unlike other international festivals where the kiters’ travel is usually sponsored by the organisers).
Cape Mental Health’s annual flagship event is going hybrid for its 27th edition, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The goal is to raise over R100 000,00 to enable this hard-working non-profit organisation to continue providing essential free mental healthcare services and ensuring that everyone, regardless of who they are or where they live, can enjoy equality in mental health access and care in an unequal world.
The festival opens on 10 October – World Mental Health Day (WMHD). This year the theme for WMH is ‘Mental Health in an Unequal World’ as the world faces a global mental health crisis and people in poor and under-reserved communities and rural areas struggle to access even basic mental health treatment at a community level.
According to Dr Ingrid Daniels, CEO of Cape Mental Health and President of the World Federation for Mental Health, “Mental health is regarded as the third highest burden of disease in South Africa, but remains the most neglected aspect of health care, competing with other medical conditions including the health costs of the COVID-19 pandemic and vaccine roll-out. Naturally, this underinvestment in mental health has a significant impact on access to mental health in poor and under-resourced communities and rural areas. We call for equality in mental health care – our people deserve nothing less.”
Flying against the winds of adversity, this year’s interactive event combines real-life open-air kite-flying with online kite-making workshops, competitions and videos.
Join kiters all over the globe and fly your kite at the Hybrid 27th Cape Town International Kite Festival, anywhere and anytime between 2 and 31 October. Share your photos, videos and messages of encouragement, tagging #EveryoneDeservesToFly and @CTKiteFest, and feature on the official CTKiteFest social feeds.
Access all CTKiteFest online content including a variety of kite-making workshops and interviews with our kiting friends from all over the world and find out why they fly in support of Cape Mental Health. Get inspired by the magic of soaring kites with activities for the little ones, or let your imagination fly high with our creative innovation competition!
The Hybrid 27th Cape Town International Kite Festival promises to be an uplifting mix of magical, carefree fun. In South Africa, October is on the cusp of summer and an ideal time to get outdoors, fly a kite, laugh and enjoy a sense of play and freedom. Hold onto your kite line and let go of anxiety, stress and – most importantly – help raise awareness and funds for Cape Mental Health, because #EveryoneDeservesToFly.
Kite events not to miss out on.
Cape Mental Health invites you to view kites at Dolphin Beach on 10 October (World Mental Health Day), and at Zandvlei Nature Reserve on 23 October 2021. Gather family, friends or colleagues, wear green and plan a ‘flash fly’ to enjoy time together in the fresh air at a safe, social distance while giving hope and raising funds for Cape Mental Health.
You can find out more via the Facebook page here.
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