Marking World Suicide Prevention Day, observed on September 10 annually, the Guyana Equality Forum (GEF) held an awareness-raising event for its member organizations and the local media at the Herdmandston Lodge in Georgetown on Monday morning.
The keynote address was delivered by the acting British High Commissioner to Guyana, Ray Davidson, who is a mental health specialist. Davidson challenged many of the myths surrounding suicide and urged persons to help break down some of the barriers to proper mental health. “You don’t have to be mentally ill to commit suicide,” Davidson said, pointing out that “ordinary people can fall into despair and ordinary people can help. Don’t be afraid to approach someone and ask that difficult question.”
Acting British High Commissioner Ray Davidson giving the keynote address.
The GEF also remembered Zenita Temall Nicholson who completed the act nearly three years ago. Managing Director of Society Against Sexual Orientation Discrimination (SASOD), Joel Simpson, read short extracts of the letter to him Nicholson wrote just a couple of days before she passed in October 2015. Nicholson’s letter stressed on the importance of confidential mental health services and urged the community to strengthen their mental health services. “Let them know that I would still be alive today, if I got treatment. Not just treatment, but treatment in a confidential way,” the letter stated.
SASOD’s Joel Simpson reading extracts of Zenita Temall Nicholson’s letter.
The GEF event aimed to inspire civil society groups to include mental health in their work and strengthen collaboration among key stakeholders at the community level to prevent suicide in Guyana, while raising awareness the general population, through the media, about the simple things that ordinary people can do to save lives in our societies.
Prompted by this year’s global theme, “Working Together to End Suicide,” this is the first time that the GEF organized an activity to observe World Suicide Prevention Day.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), each year close to 800,000 people die owing to suicide, which is the second leading cause of death among 15 – 29 year olds globally. As at April 2018, data on WHO’s website indicates that Guyana has the fourth highest suicide rate in the world with 29.0 for every 100,000 inhabitants.
Formed in May 2011, the GEF is a network of civil society organisations working cohesively to achieve equal rights and justice for all Guyanese. The GEF currently has 26 registered member organisations from the coastal regions of Guyana. SASOD serves as the secretariat of the Guyana Equality Forum. Civil society groups who are interested in joining the GEF can contact SASOD on 225-7283 or 623-5155 for more information.
