A total 592 students across seven schools attended the Cayman Islands Powerlifting Organisation’s Be Strong Youth Rally inside the John Gray Gymnasium on Thursday, 6 Oct., morning.
The event, which took a two-year pause because of the COVID-19 pandemic, focuses on publicising youth mental health and bullying issues.
“What we’re trying to accomplish is bringing awareness to anxiety, depression and bullying that kids and people in general are going through,” Myrnet McInerney, one of the event’s organisers told the Cayman Compass.
Representatives from the Alex Panton Foundation and United Against Bullying Foundation were among the list of guest speakers which also included professional athletes opening up about their own experiences with depression and/or bullying.
The event also featured several giveaways, an entertainment segment and a physical challenge which allowed kids to tap into their mental strength.
“The strongman event encompasses all of that; it’s not just about your physical strength, it’s also mental strength,” McInerney said.
That mental strength was put to the test during the push-up challenge, where a student from each school pushed themselves, with some participants completing 30 reps.
“That was excellent,” McInerney said. “Doing those push-ups and having the kids involved, they absolutely enjoyed it and some kids came out of their comfort zones. It’s just mind over matter, that you can do it and they did.”
Asking for help
In the most recent Student Drug Use Survey conducted by the National Drug Council in 2020, more than half (55.1%) of the students attending schools in the Cayman Islands reported they had been bullied.
Hristina Nachev, 12, who sang during the Be Strong Youth Rally, told the Compass after her performance that her hope is that the song touched in a spiritual way the students who are victims of bullying.
“I usually sing it in the band at my church,” she said. “It’s saying to stay strong because at one point, God will come and get you If you follow him. Believe in God and he will show you the way.”
McInerny added that kids battling mental-health issues should reach out for help. “We’ve lost a lot of people and the event is really near and dear to our heart,” McInerney said.
“We’ve lost friends, family members and loved ones through suicide and it started because of bullying, started because of anxiety and depression, and it took a toll on them. We want kids to know that they can get help.”
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