THE Project Sampaguita of Cebu will hold the Mental Wellness Forum at the Oakridge Pavilion in Mandaue City on Saturday, Feb. 22, 2020.
The event will start at 9 a.m. and will end at 12 p.m. It will be graced by Dr. Cornelio Banaag, known as the father of child psychiatry, and his fellow mental health advocates.
According to the organizers, the speakers will address the urgent concern of the public regarding mental health issues that are growing in worrying numbers in the Philippine society.
Organized jointly by Project Sampaguita of Cebu and Families in Art and Culture Inc. in Manila, the forum seeks to help, suggest, invoke and create hope and inspiration for persons, including the children who are affected by mental health realities.
Stopping stigma
Sheila Guevarra Suntay, a mother, will talk about the importance of breaking stigma against people with mental condition.
For her part, journalist and mental health advocate Alya Honasan will speak about her own experience with depression.
A panel of facilitators, together with Banaag and the other speakers, will answer questions from the audience.
The Mental Wellness Forum was first held in Manila, and it was well received. The organizers plan to hold it in Davao City.
The Project Sampaguita, organized in 2014 by a group of women professionals in Cebu, seeks donations for the Banilad Center for Professional Development (BCPD), a technical-vocational school for deserving but underprivileged young women, and Kalinangan Youth Foundation Inc. (Kalfi) Lead, a leadership program for select university students.
BCPD and Kalfi are certified donee institutions, recognized by the Philippine Council for NGO (non-governmental organizations) Certification. Both serve the advocacy of poverty alleviation through holistic education and formation in leadership.