RHTY&SC, MS, cricket teams and Panthera Solutions launch Say No To Suicide programme

The ancient county of Berbice is widely reputed to be the suicide capital of the world because of the high rate of suicides committed there annually compared to the size of the overall population. The Rose Hall Town Youth & Sports Club, MS, Guyana’s leading youth & sports organisation, and its 10 cricket teams have, over the last two years, spearheaded a highly successful Say No/Say Yes programme directed at more than 70,000 youths in Regions Five and Six.

In this programme, the 10 teams are encouraging youths to “Say No to Suicide, Drugs, Crime, Tobacco, Alcohol, and Yes to Education, Life, Culture, Sports and Religion”.
on Thursday last, they continued to expand the programme by joining hands with Panthera Solutions, a company recently established in Guyana, but originating in Canada. Panthera Solutions has donated by cheque US$1500 which would enable the cricket teams to publish 1000 or more copies of their widely read Youth Information Booklet.
This 40-page booklet will be published at the F & H Printery in Georgetown, and will be distributed free of cost to schools, churches, NGOs and youths. Edited by the Club’s Secretary/CEO Hilbert Foster, MS, and his deputy Simon Naidu, this well researched booklet contains 27 articles on topics such as: Suicide, The Importance of Education, The Importance of Discipline, Personal Hygiene, Do’s and Don’ts on Facebook, General Sports Etiquette, A Sportsman as an Ambassador, Drug Abuse, HIV/AIDS, Peer Pressure, Basic Public Manners, Public Speaking, Teenage Pregnancy and Pre-Marital Sex, Basic Advice for Teenage Females, the Importance of Religion, Choosing Friends, Respect for Elders, How to behave during a Public Ceremony, Table Manners, Manners in the Classroom, and How to Handle a Job Interview.
Since its first edition, published six years ago, the Youth Information Booklet has been read by thousands of youths, and has been of major assistance to them. Foster, a national awardee, has hailed the cooperation of the management of Panthera Solutions and its local hosting partner, Farfan & Mendes Ltd, in making it possible to sponsor another edition of this very popular booklet.
The Rose Hall Town Youth & Sports Club, he stated, would expand the Say No/Say Yes campaign by printing 11’ x 17’ Say No Posters for every classroom in Berbice, sharing out $1 million in school bags, and $500,000 worth of cycles to less fortunate students.
Another major sponsor will shortly be unveiled, who will help to publish another thousand copies of the booklet for the clubs and the BCB.
Foster is urging the Government of Guyana to place special emphasis on the problem of suicide in Berbice, as he said too many youths have been ending their lives too early. He noted that he had been a patient at the Port Mourant Hospital for one week and had observed that a great many youths had attempted suicide. He said the elder section of the population need to promote the message that problems are only a temporary stage of live, while suicide is a permanent solution to a temporary problem.
General Manager of Panthera Solutions, Andrew Dinsdale, expressed appreciation at his company being allowed by the RHTY&SC to come on board as a sponsor of such an important project. This newly established company, which offers major services such as scaffold climbing, among other things, is 51% owned by Guyanese, and has, to date, employed more than a dozen Guyanese who are currently being trained.
A confident Dinsdale has promised that the company would employ about 500 Guyanese within the next five years.
The booklet will be officially launched on Friday July 19, during an awards ceremony at the St. Francis Youth Centre. The RHTY&SC hereby expresses gratitude to Onai Vasconcellos of Farfan & Mendes Ltd for arranging the sponsorship.