Suntosh R. Pillay
In a heartwarming display of community solidarity, over 1600 people showed up for the 10th annual mental health walk hosted by the KwaZulu-Natal Mental Health Advocacy Group on 5 October 2025.
The event began in 2016 as a small community engagement project that I started with my colleague, Prof Suvira Ramlall, during our time working at a public hospital. We wanted to build social capital and a spirit of social activism into the mental health landscape in Durban. It has since grown into one of the largest free mental health walks in South Africa. Prof Ramlall is a specialist psychiatrist and past president of the national College of Psychiatrists. Two of the walk’s project managers are Lynne Richards, chairperson of the PsySSA Trauma and Violence Division, and Rivendri Govender, an educational psychologist and executive member on CaSP.
The decade-old walk is now a firm favourite in the province’s mental health calendar, with almost 50 organisations at the related wellness fair, including Trans Hope, an Umlazi-based non-profit that offers services to transgender people in Durban, and the Bessi Makathini Foundation, a Lamontville-based non-profit that does dementia awareness. Both the KZN Department of Health and Department of Basic Education also attended. Despite no formal government funding, the walk attracts donations from the private sector, including Akeso, Life St Joseph’s Hospital, Ribumed, Healing Hills, iTheku, and Mondia Health. Over 60 volunteers assisted with gazebo setups, on-site registrations, handing out of medals, safety and security, and cleanup.
Each year, the walk is hosted ahead of World Mental Health Day on October 10. In her opening address, Prof Ramall urged people “to remember that every day is mental health day. We take care of our bodies, we clothe ourselves, we take photos every day, but we must also tend to our emotional and spiritual needs,” said Ramlall.
We’ve also spread the message that regular walking and exercise is essential for brain health. Movement is central to psychological wellbeing – often overlooked by psychology professionals who focus entirely on cognitive content in their interventions, rather that bodily ones. For this reason, the walk includes yoga, Zumba, dancing, and aerobic classes in the schedule of pre- and post-walk activities.
The oldest walker was Chatsworth resident Sarah Seedat, aged 85. Research consistently shows that regular exercise in older age reduces blood pressure, decreases anxiety, and improves mood and sleep. Local author Nava Naidoo, now retired, agreed that the walk is “social cohesion” and helps “bring people together” especially where loneliness may be an invisible pandemic.
Dheshni Pullian, from Life St Joseph’s hospital, sponsored caps for the walkers. “By supporting this event we are contributing to a positive and supportive environment for people. This event helps people connect with others, reducing feelings of loneliness and isolation”.
Dr Phatheka Ntaba, a medical doctor at Ngwelezana Hospital in the uMhlatuze subdistrict in northern KZN, said this event reminded her “to invest more in mental health. It also re-ignited my fire and passion to do more in this field”.
Vishaal Jasmat, group marketing manager of Joint Medical Holdings Group, said the walk felt like “a safe space”. “It is a reminder that looking after our minds is as vital as caring for our bodies. We participate in this walk as a commitment to breaking stigma”.
Westville resident Saniksha Ramballie, who participated with her family, also believed that the walk reduces stigma and “encourages education, fosters empathy, and drives action. It makes it easier for people to access assistance without fear of judgment.”
Suntosh Pillay is the chief clinical psychologist in the eThekwini District, KwaZulu-Natal Department of Health, and the chairperson of the PsySSA Community and Social Psychology Division (CaSP).
