Guyana joins in International Men’s Day celebrations

As the world celebrated International Men’s Day, Guyana observed the occasion under the theme “Stop male suicide – Let the men speak”. The Gender Affairs Bureau within the Social Protection Ministry in collaboration with the Ambassadors for Buxton Development Association on Saturday hosted a grand men’s forum in the community of Buxton, on the East Coast of Demerara.

The men’s forum was held at the Tipperary Hall, Buxton, where Citizenship Minister Winston Felix delivered the feature address encouraging men that attended the forum to “rise up and be strong”.
The forum was attended by a large number of young men in the community while the older men laud the bodies involved in the initiative for selecting their community.
Felix told the audience of men that they were created to have a partner whom they can share their internal battles with but noted at the same time that that is not the case in today’s society.
“In some cases the home is the source of the depression and so it is going to be extremely difficult, not impossible but challenging for us to really come to a position where we can remove people from their homes and probably have them in homes for counselling. I believe in counselling where they can understand or they can receive empathy and a sympathetic hearing which helps them to feel better about themselves and the situation,” said Felix.
He continued that many men need nurturing and households that understand them.
Meanwhile, Deputy Permanent Secretary Adrian Ramratten of the Social Protection Ministry delivered brief remarks to the men, urging them to be role models in their communities. He further stated what the international day means to the men in society. “International Men’s Day allows the people of the world to set aside some time for men’s and boy’s health, improving gender relations, promoting gender equality and highlighting positive role models,” said Ramratten.
Ramratten continued that the internationally recognised day for men promotes an occasion for celebration of men’s achievement. He further added that according to international statistics on suicide, in most countries men have fallen under the higher bracket while local statistics in Guyana shows men are likely to kill themselves three times more than women.
In addition, Pastor Diego Alphonso briefly disclosed that in today’s society, a lot of misconceptions and labels are placed on certain communities in which the collaborative efforts into the initiative main objective is to make a statement in the community.
“We wish to make a statement in the community in which the boys and men are prepared to take up their responsibilities as men and be to know that they are making a difference,” said Alphonso.