Residents run to create awareness about mental health

Karwan-e-Hayat organises event to highlight importance of mental disorders and treatment

KARACHI: With the aim to raise awareness about the importance of mental health, Karwan-e-Hayat organised an awareness run at Seaview on Sunday, in collaboration with sports groups, Born 2 Run Karachi and Speed Stars Track and Field Club.

The theme of the event was 'No Health Without Mental Health'. The awareness run took place at Seaview, from Burger King till Village Restaurant and back. The runners covered a total distance of seven kilometres and a large number of people who were not athletes also participated in the walk in order to help and support the cause.

Fitness and lifestyle coach Mantahaa Maqsood and actor Syed Shahroz Sabzwari were chief guests at the event. They awarded trophies and medals to the top five runners. The purpose of organising the run was to raise awareness about mental illnesses and to let people know about Karwan-e-Hayat 's services in the field of mental health.



Karwan-e-Hayat is a non-profit welfare organisation that has been providing treatment and rehabilitation services to poor and underprivileged mentally ill patients in Pakistan for the past three decades. Last year alone, Karwan-e-Hayat treated nearly 55,000 patients at its facilities. These services include consultation, hospitalisation, providing medicine and rehabilitation.

"We at Karwan-e-Hayat are advocating that mental illnesses are treatable and that there is no health without mental health," said Dr Omar Farooq, head of communications and marketing, representing Karwan-e-Hayat at the mental health awareness run. He added that only through consistent efforts focused on developing awareness will aid people in getting them the much-needed help.

According to Dr Farooq, they believe that raising awareness about importance of mental health is extremely important, therefore their organisation keeps holding such events to engage the community and help them learn about mental illnesses.

"We at Karwan-e-Hayat not only provide medical aid to patients of mental illnesses but also invite families of the patients for therapy and tell them how to deal with such patients at home," he said.



Speaking to The Express Tribune, a participant of the walk said that although she cannot run but has taken part in the event just to support the cause. "Sometimes people do not consider mental issues illnesses and try to deal with them through old remedies," she said, adding that mental health problems require society's attention.

Another participant, Muhammad Mustafa, said he brought his children to the event so that they understand what mental health is all about. According to him, one of his own brothers was a victim of mental illness after he lost money he had invested in his business. "My brother was addicted to drugs, however, organisations such as Karwan-e-Hayat helped my family and brother and he was given rehabilitation," he added.