– emphasises importance of youths in societyYouth will remain Guyana’s driving force to building a harmonious society,Bryan Bickell Jersey, Social Protection Minister, Ms. Volda Lawrence, told the non-profit organisation Prevention of Teenage Suicide (POTS) yesterday.Minister Lawrence receives a bouquet of flowers from Lisa PunchLawrence, who on Friday was made a POTS patron, issued another call to the nation’s youths to be an active part in helping solve the many social issues challenging the 50-year old independent and only English-speaking South American State.“The Ministry of Social Protection will always be there to help…Guyanese youths (who) can be part of the solution to the country’s social ills,” Lawrence told the group before being sashed and presented with a bouquet and yellow ‘T-shirt’ the signature colour of POTS.“Our doors are always open to embrace you,” Lawrence has assured the nation’s youths.Guyana’s international beauty pageant representative, Lisa Punch, said POTS is working to help reduce Guyana’s spiralling suicide rate, especially among youths.Punch said that the group’s key strategy is to do so through education, information and the use of other pertinent resources.Guyana has the highest suicide rate, globally, based on its population size and the number of suicides committed annually.Some 800,000 people globally (this figure is more than Guyana’s population) die from suicide every year.In the Americas it is estimated that between 19 and 24 percent of the population have some form of mental disorder. Using this figure, one can estimate that between 140,000 and 180,000 Guyanese suffer from this malady.To worsen the issue, Guyana does not have a sufficient number of psychiatric specialists and physical infrastructure to cater for these patients many of whom are suicide-prone.Recent police statistics however blame domestic violence, alcohol abuse and terminal illness, in that order, for the high suicide rate in Guyana here.Punch and the POTS group have so far visited more than 30 schools around the country to sensitise students about suicide warning signs which include: remaining sad for a prolong period; displaying sudden anger; rebellion and giving away the things they love.The government’s ‘olive branch’ is continuously extended to youths since the Ministry of Social Protection alone cannot eliminate all the social ills of the society, Lawrence reiterated Friday.“The Ministry needs more people to come on board to help build capacity to meet those needs,” Lawrence said.
