The local Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) franchise made a monetary donation to The Caribbean Voice (TCV) on Monday which would go towards the launching of a nationwide Lay Counsellor Programme in July 2019.
The lay counsellor is trained in basic mental health so that he or she can act as gatekeeper within a community to proactively and preemptively deal with mental health issues such as suicide and abuse.
TCV needs to raise $6.4 million to facilitate a highly-experienced and credentialed trainer, whose service is offered free of cost for one year via the Non-
KFC Training Manager Charissa Rampersaud making the presentation to TCV National Coordinating Director Nazim Hussain
Governmental Organisation (NGO) Seva International based in India.
On behalf of the fast food franchise, Marketing Manager Livasti Bhooplall explained that KFC was very proud to be contributing to the lay counsellor initiative and she encouraged corporate Guyana to donate to the cause.
Bhooplall mentioned that many social issues that were prevalent in Guyana, such as suicide and abuse stemmed from mental health issues. The training programme will be facilitated in all 10 Administrative Regions in Guyana. The KFC Marketing Manager noted that Guyana was in critical need of these types of training programmes, since the daily news was filled with domestic violence, and she wished the team every success with this initiative.
TCV National Coordinating Coordinator Nazim Hussain noted that the donation would play a significant part in executing the Lay Counsellor Programme.
