Zanele Hlatshwayo

Zanele Hlatshwayo, 34, was affected by depression and suicide after she lost her father to suicide. She started running to relieve stress and raise money to raise awareness.

For almost 10 years, Zanele never spoke about the incident due to the stigma attached to mental illness and depression. After seeing a friend suffering from depression, Zanele decided to start a campaign called #Rise18 with the aim of raising funds and awareness on depression and suicide.

The campaign highlighted that people should speak up and get help so that less people could end up where her father did. Through her efforts, which includes running 18 races, Zanele raised R203 000 for the South African Depression and Anxiety group and continues to build a society that is supportive towards people who suffer from mental illness.

She is in the process of building an app where people can get mental health support. She will be raising funds for this again in 2020. 

Find out more about #Rise18.