SUICIDE INDABA NEEDED
…It’s no longer personal but a national crisis – NGO
By Tony Nkhoma
SUICIDE is no longer just a personal issue but a national crisis which requires an urgent national conference, Swala Pilu (Hold Your Heart), a non-governmental organisation (NGO) dedicated to the fight against suicide, has said.
In an interview with The Mast, founder and chief executive officer Mary Kufanga said the nation needed a national stakeholders’ conference on the rising number of suicide cases.
The problem was affecting individuals, families and organisations.
“I think the nation does need a national indaba to address the root cause of suicide because suicide is not only a personal issue. It is a national public issue that needs serious attention from the public, economical experts and social experts and spiritual experts,” Kufanga said.
She said the national dialogue was key as it would provide a platform for co-ordination and open dialogue and the corrective responsibilities for all Zambians regardless of their social and political affiliation.
She said despite the Church making efforts to address the problem, more needed to be done.
“I think the Church has made efforts but it is not yet doing enough to open constantly and practically address suicide and mental health challenges. My appeal to the Church is to preach openly about suicide with or without judgment. Silence allows stigma to grow,” Kufanga said.
She urged the Church to centre its preaching and emphasis on the fact that mental health was not lack of faith and that seeking help was not a sign of weakness.
“The Church should focus on the vulnerable youths, children, widows, unemployed and people facing addiction or domestic violence. They need support and mentorship within the Church,” Kufanga said.
She said people who committed suicide were people in deep distress who needed help and care and protection from everyone in society.
Kufanga urged society to uplift one another in distress moments, which might lead one to attempt to take his or her life.
“So we as a society, we need to talk to those people. Let them express their views, their challenges that affect them. But what is killing us nowadays, you find that your relative is suffering we can’t even help our relative to stretch the hand that ‘no, let’s just leave him’,” she said.
Kufanga said Swala Pilu had embarked on a robust suicide community sensitisation programme under the theme ‘Stop! Suicide’.
