The second lady Pastor Dorcas Rigathi has called on Kenyans to help those dealing with mental illness to help them overcome their situation.
Speaking when she opened the Storytelling for Mental Health Forum at Daystar University, she called on communities to embrace those suffering from mental illnesses.
“If you can control mental illness and have a family that is supportive, a community around you that understands you, it is possible to overcome it. That condition becomes your platform to help others," she said.
Pastor Dorcas said if the community around those undergoing mental illness is judgemental, it might drive the victims to the grave.
“If your working community or the people around you do not understand you, it will drive you crazy and might even drive you to your grave. Mental health is a crisis in our country and the world even in universities," she said.
The Chief Executive Officer of My Afya Africa Nancy Mwangi backed Pastor Dorcas' sentiments adding that mental health is a societal responsibility.
“Mental health is not a personal issue but a societal responsibility. If one of us is not affected, I am sure we have had an experience," she said.
The forum brings together Universities, Colleges and TVET students, therapists among other stakeholders.
