YOUTH ambassador Dr Astell Collins will be leading an anti-suicide initiative on a two-day tour across the country, and schools and other national organisations will be addressed on the growing issue.

A release said the move has been made possible through partnership between The President’s Youth Award Republic of Guyana (M.S.) programme and the Better Defined One (BD1) body, and is aimed at strengthening the capacity to assist young people in depressing situations.

Dr Collins, of BD1, informed that since returning to these shores, he has been responding to young people through inspirational lecturers and his seminars.
His response to a “national outcry” “saw his immediate participation in the anti-suicide initiative. He will speak to 600 secondary school students during his tour across Guyana, and the sessions will also include addresses to the military, police, fire service, religious and support organisations that would assist in addressing the issue.

The initiative commenced at the Kuru Kuru Training Centre on the Soesdyke-Linden Highway with 250 students in attendance. There, he called for the young people to know themselves and have a plan for their lives.

Collins said that his programme, which operates across nine administrative regions in Guyana, includes a social responsibility aspect to assist the needs of youths and seek alternative activities to rid them of idle and dangerous activities.

His partners across Guyana have welcomed the initiative, and have, with the aid of the Regional Education Departments and the Regional Democratic Councils, put in place all the logistics for the lectures.

It is expected that with this programme and initiative and collaboration between BD1 – PYARG (M.S.), lecturers will follow activity areas, the release said.