EXCLUSIVE: Riky Rick's mom gets emotional over tragic death of her son
Louisa Zondo, the mother of the late rapper Riky Rick, is trying to let her son's legacy live on by creating awareness around mental health issues.
After suffering from depression for a great deal of his life, Ricky Rick took his own life in February 2022.
In an exclusive interview with Martin Bester, Zondo shared the emotional toll her son's death had on her and her family. The emotional mother recalls having "so many questions" surrounding her son's death.
Zondo has now teamed up with SADAG to create more awareness around mental health issues. She believes that after the loss of her son, she should continue with the work he was passionate about - creating mental health awareness.
Joining Zondo in an exclusive interview with Martin Bester on Tuesday, SADAG's Fatima Seedat speaks out on mental health issues and together they launch YouMatterWalk.
The YouMatterWalk is a 4km walk for suicide awareness which will take place at the Hillcrest Sports Campus of the University of Pretoria on Saturday, 1 October 2022, between 6am and midday. Information and tickets are available via www.youmatterwalk.co.za.
“Suicide is still a very taboo topic in our current society – no one wants to talk about it, no one knows how to talk about it, and parents don’t want to talk to their children about it, in case it ‘plants ideas’. However, suicide is a very real issue in South Africa and we can see that by the increasing number of calls we are receiving every day to the suicide helpline from people all over the country,” (Chambers, SADAG).
The YouMatterWalk was born from the hearts of three women touched by suicide loss and the walk is aimed at creating awareness and saying YOU MATTER, let’s talk about it, there is always hope!
The objective of the YouMatterWalk is to break the stigma regarding mental health and suicide, to give people hope and an opportunity to walk and talk with others.
We want to let people know they matter and that there is always hope!
Our vision is that this will become an annual event that will change the lives of many people.
We need your assistance to make a difference and share HOPE in a broken world.
Please visit our website should you require additional information: www.youmatterwalk.co.za
We look forward to your involvement! Please respond to this email address to make logistic arrangements.
Contact these numbers, if you or anyone you know suffers from mental health issues or thoughts of suicide:
0800 567 567 - Suicide Crisis Helpline
0800 456 789 - SADAG 24h Helpline
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