Help IS AT HAND

South Africa ranks as one of the worst countries when it comes to mental health, says the Annual Mental State of the World Report 2021. As we mark World Mental Health Day on 10 October, we meet two entrepreneurs aiming to change that.

- CHARIS TORRANCE

WORRYGOBBLERS LINDA JACKSON

Linda Jackson found a unique way to combine her creativity with her desire to help children. She previously worked in interior design, but considered freelancing to have more time with her two sons. And then came the pandemic. Inspired by the general anxiety around everything going on in the world, she created Worry Gobblers, quirky fabric creatures to munch away children’s worries.

START-UP COSTS: ‘I’m completely self-funded. The costs were very low, as I already had a sewing machine and lots of fabric to create my initial prototypes.’

TURNOVER: ‘Over the past 12 months we’ve had an influx of orders. A lot of my sales come from word of mouth, so it’s all very encouraging; we’ll just see where it takes us.’

What is a Worry Gobbler?

Essentially, it is a tool to assist both children and adults in managing their anxieties and worries. There are six characters to choose from: Lipsey, Mr Smiley, Pirate, Nosey, Toothless and Curley; and I do custom orders. The character has a zipped mouth, which opens to reveal a pocket inside – a designated space to hold your worries. You write or draw your worries and then ‘feed’ them into the pocket, allowing the Worry Gobbler to munch on your concerns.

How did you come up with the idea?