MV Barima tragedy: Financial assistance, HEART Initiative for victims’ families, survivors – Pres Ali

With more than 40 victims of the MV Barima tragedy laid to rest in recent days and families across the country continuing to mourn their loved ones, the Government of Guyana will provide financial support to survivors of the disaster and the families of those who lost their lives. President Dr Irfaan Ali announced that the assistance is part of a national response aimed at providing long-term care and compassion rather than compensation for those affected by the tragedy. The announcement was made during a social media briefing, where the President stressed that the support is intended to assist affected families and does not constitute compensation. “I wish to announce that I have asked Mr Iman Harrison Courtenay of Belize to assist in working out the modalities relating to financial assistance for the survivors and the victims’ families. Mr Courtenay brings to this process a wealth of experience as a practitioner of law, as a former Minister of Foreign Affairs, former Attorney General (AG) and Minister of Investment and Foreign Trade of his country.
“I wish to make it clear that this assistance does not constitute compensation for survivors and bereaved families. These measures embody a commitment that every survivor will be supported and every bereaved family will be treated with dignity.”
Meanwhile, while calling on all Guyanese to stand together during this period of national mourning and to never abandon those affected by the tragedy, President Ali urged citizens to unite in support of the survivors and bereaved families. “It is in that spirit that I ask every Guyanese to stand together as one people. Let this, therefore, be our declaration: We are Guyanese. We do not abandon our own. We rise from the ashes of sorrow with arms wide open. We carry the memory of every soul lost, not as a weight that crushes, but as a light that guides us towards a future forged in kindness, unity, and love.”

HEART initiative
President Ali also announced the launch of the HEART Initiative; a national programme aimed at coordinating long-term support for survivors and the families of the victims. “Therefore, to ensure that this support – material, moral, and spiritual – is sustained, I am establishing a national body to coordinate, mobilise and foster this necessary work of healing. It shall be known as the HEART Initiative: H-E-A-R-T – Hope, Empathy, Aid, Resilience and Trust.
“Hope for the grieving. Empathy for the broken. Aid for the hurting. Resilience for the journey ahead. Trust that will never be forgotten. This initiative will be overseen by trusted and respected religious and civil society persons drawn from across Guyana. Led by Mr Carl Stewart, we will carry the prayers of every faith, the hopes of every heart, and the sacred traditions that bind us, whether spoken in the quiet of a church, sung in a temple, or whispered in a mosque.” “We will offer the practical hands of service and provide a safety net of support and compassion so that no family affected by this tragedy will slip through.”
Ali expressed gratitude to the Guyanese people and called on all stakeholders to support the establishment of the HEART Initiative, which is aimed at assisting survivors of the MV Barima tragedy and the families of those affected.
The MV Barima disaster is one of Guyana’s deadliest maritime tragedies, involving a passenger and cargo ferry that capsized off the Essequibo Coast on July 18, 2026.