Eight Stellenbosch University (SU) students started an initiative on 2 November to raise money and awareness around men’s mental and physical health.
This is according to James North, one of the SU students behind the initiative, and a resident of Astrohouse, a private student residence located in Stellenbosch.
“With men, especially in this environment, [mental health] is not an open conversation,” explained North when talking about why they’ve decided to start the initiative. “When people are going through this, everyone says they are open to the conversation. But actually getting to that stage to speak to people about it is completely different,” he added.
North saw the Movember Foundation as the best opportunity to start initiating conversations about mental health, and how it impacts students on the SU campus, and therefore decided to donate the funds raised through their initiative, to this foundation.
“We [want to] show people that it’s okay to have these conversations, and actually talk about [mental health],” said North.
According to the South African Depression and Anxiety Group (SADAG), the rate of suicide in men is three times more likely than that in women. Men aged 18 to 24 form the highest suicide group in many countries, said Glynis Depper, counselling consultant at LifeLine Western Cape. PHOTO: Alistair Seymour
The students at Astrohouse released a video on Facebook to announce that the funds they managed to raise will be donated to the Movember charity. As of the 29th November, Astrohouse had managed to raise R 1 633,80 for the charity.
“The big thing about the video was to incorporate some humour, ’cause [we feel] you have to,” said North when discussing how he put the video together. “So it gained a bit of traction and then at the end we got deep and spoke about the objectives,” he added.
Movember, according to their website, is a global charity aimed at raising funds and awareness for men’s mental and physical health. Support for Movember is typically shown by men growing out their moustaches for the month of November, said North.
Students of Astrohouse residence are behind an initiative to raise funds and awareness for men’s mental and physical health. Back (left to right): Matthew Martingano, Justin Leonard, James North, David Comrie, Mike Thackwray. Front (left to right): Arthur Fisher, Suvaal Ramdutt, Ethan Kraus. PHOTO: Alistair Seymour
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“I think [men’s mental health] is a countrywide issue, across all age groups,” said North. Residents of Astrohouse felt that students are particularly vulnerable to struggling with mental health because of the academic pressure, said North.
North said that all age groups in South Africa are impacted, “across the board, even like [our parents] were brought up where you can’t express your emotions. And it takes a toll.”
According to Glynis Depper, counselling consultant at LifeLine Western Cape, men in the Western Cape are significantly less likely to seek mental health support. Lifeline, according to their website, is an NPO based in Cape Town that provides a 24-hour support line for people seeking mental support.
A list of helplines people can contact if they are in need of mental support in South Africa. INFOGRAPHIC: Alistair Seymour
“It would seem that in many of our much diversified cultures, the man is expected to be the strong head of the family, and that old age [saying] ‘cowboys don’t cry’, still applies,” said Depper, over email correspondence with MatieMedia.
Depper suggested that men who are unsure of how to seek help, should try to find someone they trust to speak to about what they are struggling with, and to be easy on themselves to slowly take steps to seeking support.
“We are all having mental health issues during these difficult times and ‘being brave can be lonely’,” she added.
The Movember campaign was officially started as a charity in South Africa in 2009, explained Garron Gsell, founder of The Men’s Foundation, a South African-based men’s charity started in 2015.
James North is one of the residents of Astrohouse, a private student residence who have recently started an initiative to raise funds and awareness for men’s mental and physical health in Stellenbosch. PHOTO: Alistair Seymour
As of 2020, the Movember foundation no longer has an official campaign in South Africa, but men are still encouraged to grow a moustache to show their support of men’s mental health, said Gsell.
William Juul, Stellenbosch local and facial hair ambassador, explains what his mustache means to him. AUDIO: William Juul
For the men at Astrohouse, donations were never the main objective for their initiative, said North. “I mean, it is beneficial. But the main thing we wanted to do is open up these conversations,” and so they found the Movember charity the most accessible for this cause, he added.
MatieMedia has reached out to the Movember Foundation, but has not received comment by the time of publication.