Uplift your mental health by flying a kite
THE CAPE Town International Kite Festival is gearing up for its 22nd instalment this weekend.
The festival, which has seen 18 000 visitors, is set to take place in Muizenberg on Saturday and Sunday.
Yesterday, international kiters arrived in the city in support of the hosts, Cape Mental Health, a non-profit organisation enabling mental health services in the Western Cape.
Sandra Ellis, donor development manager at Cape Mental Health said: “This is our 22nd festival and we use the festival as a tool to raise awareness about mental health issues and about Cape Mental Health.
“It’s an organisation that has been around since 1913, and we focus on mental health promotion and prevention, offering a range of community services too.
“There is such a fantastic link between kites and being uplifted, and also raising the connection between physical and mental health, encouraging people to be outdoors, be active and spend time with families, and all of those things enhance mental health well-being,” she said.
She added the theme this year was #BornToFly, which has a key focus on the event’s mission to motivate people to be active and use their abilities, despite having mental health issues.
Yesterday, kiters visited the Cape Mental Health’s Heideveld Special Care and Education Centre, where an official welcoming of kiters took place and later took to the Heideveld Sports Centre to give children the opportunity to fly a kite.
They will also be visiting Khayelitsha today and fly kites with a group of children from Cape Mental Health’s Imizamo Yethu Special Care and Education Centre.
Ellis added they chose the areas to give disadvantaged children opportunities to experience the activity.
Lucas Maserski, 24, of Germany started kite flying at three and advised those who would like to join the activity to “just go for it”.
“I would say firstly that kiting has changed in the past 20 years, especially for me.
“It has extended to a lot of countries, and that’s what makes it fun.
“It has taken off as far as Singapore, New Zealand and Canada, and we have had the opportunity to meet different people, so it’s a nice experience,” he said.