The Staff and the Secretariat of the United National Transport Union (UNTU) opened their hearts today and collected R400 in Casual Day stickers for YANA (You Are Not Alone).
Yana is the Pretoria Association for family and friends of Schizophrenic Sufferers. Their aim is to give parents and siblings practical and emotional support and to provide group homes for schizophrenic sufferers. Yana helps schizophrenic sufferers to improve their living skills according to the potential of the individual.
Sonja Carstens, #UNTU Media, Liaison and Communication Officer who heads the #UNTUCares-projects, says schizophrenia is a devastating mental illness whose symptoms are caused by a chemical imbalance in the brain.
The main symptoms are:
• Hallucinations (seeing or hearing things that do not exist)
• Delusions (irrational beliefs)
• Paranoia (believing themselves to be persecuted)
• Flatness of emotions and loss of drive.
Yana currently has two homes, one for men and one for women, in Pretoria. Schizophrenia affects approximately 1% of the population and there is an urgent need to expand the existing facilities.
Carstens says Casual Day is South Africa’s leading fundraising & awareness campaign for persons with disabilities and is the flagship project of the National Council of and for Persons with Disabilities (NCPD). Launched in 1995, Casual Day is an awareness and fundraising campaign benefiting persons with disabilities.
If you would like to donate directly to YANA or join their support groups, phone one of their social workers on (012) 332 3927. For more information on YANA visit http://youarenotalone.co.za
Issued on behalf of #UNTUCares by Carstens.
