The Crazy for Walking initiative kicked off in 2017 with a walk from Pretoria to Cape Town in order to de-stigmatize mental illness and to promote mental wellness. The walkers arrived in Cape Town on the 10th of October 2017, World Mental health day, having completed the 1500 km journey over five weeks.
Stigma associated with mental illness is still a major barrier to treatment worldwide. The reality is that even in modern society people who suffer from a mental illness are still being labeled as “Crazy”. Instead of avoiding the word “Crazy” we have embraced it head on … The message: You are NOT “Crazy” if you suffer from a mental illness… it is CRAZY to walk 1500 km from Pretoria to Cape Town.
This year’s Crazy for Walking initiative will be bigger and better. Instead of having only one Crazy walk from Pretoria to Cape Town, we will have different Crazy for Walking events across South Africa. The walks will be hosted by the participating private Psychiatric hospitals supported by the national Crazy for Walking PR and media campaign.
One of the key focus areas of Crazy for Walking is mental health and wellness education. Last year we had different mental health speakers delivering talks on mental health and wellness along the route from Pretoria to Cape Town. This year there will be an even stronger focus on community talks on mental health throughout South Africa.
