By Levison Lester

Lilongwe, May 21, Mana: Chief Executive Officer for Maximum Entertainment Company, Steven Chisale, says this year's Maximum Ghetto Festival will incorporate performances that will tackle issues of mental health which have been neglected for a number of years in the country.

In an interview with Malawi News Agency, Chisale said the festival has been organized at a time when the country is struggling to deal with suicide cases and drug abuse, adding that Maximum Ghetto Festival is a platform that can help young people value their lives.

“One of the things that we do during this show is that we identify a theme for each year, so depending on the theme which has been identified, we invite people who are specialized in different fields like mental health to talk to young people so that they should value their lives.

“In Malawi, we have neglected issues of mental health for so long; as such, we are experiencing rampant cases of suicide, drug and substance abuse, early marriages and teenage pregnancies. So when people get entertained, they become motivated and encouraged thereby minimizing issues of mental health,” Chisale said.

He further said the event will slot in performances like traditional dances and spoken word poetry, among others, that will help to discover abilities that young people have in the country.

“This festival is also organized to support young people who have talent but they are not yet exposed. We believe there so many young people who are talented but they don’t know that they are talented so the Maximum Ghetto Festival is a platform that will help to expose that hidden talent.

In his remarks, team leader for Mitchana Dancing Crew based in Lilongwe, Precious Joseph, said the festival is a platform that has potential to unearth talent among the youths.

“Apart from reducing stress through entertainment, ghetto festival has helped our dancing group to gain public acceptance. The last time we performed at maximum ghetto festival, we had few followers but right now a lot of people are following our group. The event has also improved our performances,” he said.

Maximum Ghetto Festival is an entertainment event which was founded in 2015 with an aim to expose talent among the youth, and this year's event is slated for August 25 at Glalle Gardens in Lilongwe.