With the rampant depression cases in universities and other institutions of learning including secondary schools (not to mention those in working places), very many people have considered taking their lives and in extreme cases, actually taken their lives.
The Makerere student that poisoned himself in Nsibirwa Hall, the MUBS graduate that took his life last week and most recently, the UCU student that left several suicide notes on his WhatsApp status only to be found at his grand mother’s place in Lyantonde (rather fortunately).
From the background of that, University students online came up with a hashtag #LetsEndSuicide to try and put some content for a brother or sister that may be going through depression to think through their life choices and maybe reconsider not taking their lives in extreme conditions of depression.
“Sometimes life pushes you to the edge and you feel like there is no other way out! But ending your life would not be the answer because you leave behind a track that kills everyone softly to the bone!”, Ryba Lynn of Makerere University Business School (MUBS) said on the hashtag.
The campaign, whose hashtag trended number one for a full day yesterday (Wednesday, March 27th) quickly attracted Ugandans from all walks of life that expressed concern about the worrying trend in suicide cases across the country.
Notable among them was XFM’s Charlie Denzel who hosted a program discussing how to end suicide and hosted expert counsellors and therapists.
“Please check on your friends, talk to them, make them feel loved, give them more reason to stay alive.
Suicide is not the solution”, Martha Kay weighed in on the hashtag.
The students cited expert counsellors around town that could help someone going through depression and some (that are majoring in counselling) opened up their private message portals to allow conversations on depression that could not expressly be discussed for everyone to see.
“There’s life after relationships. There shouldn’t be any reason as to why you take away your life. Someone may hurt you but still that shouldn’t let you commit suicide (because) life is better than everything. Let’s love and respect our lives”, Shaban Khamisi of Makerere University added.
Having cited rejection as the most rampant cause of suicide attempts, and with view of the MUBS student that took things a notch higher when he attacked his ex girlfriend with a knife, the students tackled rejection and availed means to get over it incase it happened to any of their colleagues.
“It hurts to get rejected by someone in whom you’ve invested your heart, your money, and literally your everything; but taking your own life is never a solution” Bash Mutumba from Makerere said.
“We shouldn’t forget that tough times are temporary and suicide should never be seen as a way out. Never!” Liz Nakafeero, a law student at UCU, Mukono further stressed.
In as much as results of this campaign may not come in the short run, the students believe that they inspired a few of their colleagues never to consider suicide as a solution in any circumstances.
