World Suicide Prevention Day will be commemorated on Sunday September 10, 2017. To mark the day the Indian Action Committee (IAC) has spearheaded plans for a public march to which the public is invited. The event on Sunday, which is intended to serve as an awareness initiative, will be done in collaboration with the Better Hope/LBI Neighbourhood Democratic Council.
The theme for this year’s World Suicide Prevention Day is “Take a minute, Change a Life!” and the IAC is appealing to “all Guyanese to make the effort to really ‘Take a minute and Change a Life, the life you change may be the one that saves you.”
Participants will include representatives from the business sector, educational institutions, religious organizations, and civil society, all of whom will assemble by 15:00hrs (3:00pm) at the entrance of the Massy Distribution (Guyana) Inc. compound located at Starlite Square, Montrose, (East Coast Demerara Public Road).
The assembled contingent will then proceed west to the Better Hope Community Centre Ground where short presentations will be made by prominent members of the aforementioned groups.
The IAC since its establishment in 2003 has focused on suicide prevention as part of its social work programmes in various communities.
The IAC, in the past has conducted several suicide prevention workshops in rural areas with emphasis on the contributory factors of alcoholism, unemployment and spousal abuse. The IAC strongly feels that given the ongoing scourge of suicide in Guyana, especially in rural Indo- Guyanese communities, that it is imperative that the organization and other such bodies continue to observe WSPD.
The IAC urges persons who may be struggling with suicidal thoughts to contact the Suicide Prevention Helpline on telephone numbers: 223-0001, 223-0009, 623-4444, 600-7896.