The world commemorates World Mental Health Day on October 10th every year with an objective to raise awareness of mental health issues around the world and to mobilize efforts in support of mental health.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the day provides an opportunity for all stakeholders working on mental health issues to talk about their work and what more needs to be done to make mental health care a reality for all people.
This year’s theme is, ‘Make Mental Health and well-being for all a global priority’.
Kenya News Agency had an opportunity to meet a unique couple living at Nairegie Enkare area in Narok East Sub County, who both suffer from mental health disorder.
Beatrice Gakeri and Njenga Pemba, who have mental health illness, married in May this year in a colourful church wedding attended by hundreds of people.
Njenga’s father Francis Pemba said his son was born mump, but can understand instructions from close relatives and friends.
The father explained that when his son approached 30 years, he became uncontrollable because he had a strong desire to get married and pushed the family to look for him a wife.
His father confessed that however much he tried to approach a young girl to marry his son, they turned him off saying his son was not mentally stable.
“At last, this young girl came to live with her auntie in a home near my homestead. When we approached her to ask if she could marry my son, she graciously agreed,” he said.
The father recalled that at the night his son married, he was too excited and kept saying he is still in shock.
“The day after the wedding, he started behaving weirdly. He became too violent and broke the cups and thermoses in the home. No person could handle him because he became too violent. We were forced to tie his hands with a rope,” said Pemba.
This made them to visit the Mental Health Clinic at the Narok County Referral Hospital, where he underwent counseling for a month before he became stable.
His father says that his son behaves unusually when he is too excited or too sad, hence the family is always on watch.
“We do not force him to do what he doesn’t want because he can do an awkward thing that can be dangerous. We allow him to do what he wants,” he said.
On the other side, Gakeri, the young wife, speaks too much when in good or bad moods to the extent of screaming and shouting when not in agreement with her parents in law or the husband.
The neigbours said in case she is not given enough food by her mother in law, she makes a lot of noise and moves from house to house informing the neighbours of the challenges she is facing.
Elizabeth Sempere, a close neighbour and a spiritual mentor to Njenga said the couple lives under the mercy of their parents as they cannot do casual labour to support them financially.
“Gakeri cannot cook food for her husband because she will mix all the ingredients in the same sufuria at the same time. This makes her mother in law cook for the couple,” she said.
Sempere called on well-wishers to support the couple that she says love one another, but suffer mental health challenges that hinder them from living a comfortable life.
The medic in-charge of Mental Health Clinic at the Narok County Referral hospital Ms. Ivy Wambui said mental health is the wellness of someone mentally, but not necessarily the absence of illness.
“We have mental wellness and mental illness. What we major in is the preventive measures of mental illness,” said Ms. Wambui.
She explained that Mental illness is caused by a variety of things, among them inherited diseases where new born children inherit the condition from the DNA of their parents.
In other cases, a child can develop mental illness through Injuries at birth; especially when the baby is born at home, he or she can get head injuries that can cause a permanent disorder.
Other mental disorders can be caused after an accident or excessive stress or substance and alcohol use.
The medic revealed that she handles over ten cases of suicide attempt every week saying most of her clients are between the age of 12 and 80 years old.
“We are currently managing a 12-year-old child who attempted suicide because of a dysfunctional family. The child is admitted in the hospital and is in stable condition,” she revealed.
“For the younger ones, conflicts at home may lead to attempted suicide while for the elderly, they may give up in life if they notice the society is no longer interested in them,” she said.
Most of the young people aged between 20 and 40 years old suffer harsh economic times that discourage them from living.
“Many men want to feel men enough and provide for their families; but because they do not have a source of income, many opt of committing suicide,” she continued.
On the issue of the couple, Ms. Wambui asked the community to treat them with a lot of love and provide help when need be so that they can feel part of the society.
“Give them social and economic support. Let them feel they are part of the society so that they can remain stable and live a good life,” she advised.
She reiterated that the couple could be blessed with normal healthy children, but called on the close family members to help in raising the children so that they can grow up to support their parents.
“The couple could not be able to raise a child. But it is advisable for the parents or close relatives to help bring up their children, who will slowly accept the condition of their parents and support them in future,” said Ms. Wambui.
By Ann Salaton
