A group known as “Calabar Mums” has urged women to prioritise their mental health as they go about their daily activities.
The Founder of the group, Mrs Victoria Ekpo, made the call during an event tagged “Big Meet” in Calabar on Thursday.
She said women engage in many routine activities to ensure that their children, the family and the home is in order, in addition to working or engaging in business.
According to her, these activities are mentally taxing for women and can affect their mental health.
She said that the annual “Big Meet” event is a gathering to get the women relaxed, unwind, learn and go home with impactful lessons that will make them healthier, stronger and their families better organised.
Ekpo said “today, the women are out here to relax, away from their daily routine of taking care of everyone in the home.
“We also use this opportunity to carry out social responsibilities like we did last year, distributimg food items like rice, garri, yam and other food condiments to over 200 women in Calabar Municipality and Calabar South.
“We try to reach out to women engaged by the state government to sweep the streets and the roads to impact on them.
“This year, we are making it bigger to reach more women and support them; these women do so much to ensure our roads are clean; so, we want to support them.”
Also, Mrs Enobong UnoAsuquo, a legal practitioner and member of the group, said there is need to ensure women are mentally healthy “because the mental state of a woman helps in producing a stable family.
“When the family is stable, stronger homes are built, which transcends to communities and the nation at large.
“When women get support, families, marriages, homes and communities get support, so, as a group, we teach women to be intentional about their mental health to be stable especially in decision making.”
On her part, Mrs Irene Bangwell, Co-Founder of the Knosk N100-a-Day School, said it is important for women to take care of their mental health, so they could positively guide their children.
She said mothers spend more time with the children, hence the need for them to be equipped with the skill to protect themselves and the family.
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the event, which featured lectures, debate and panel discussions to encourage women entrepreneurs, also featured games to help women relax.
SOURCE: PUNCH