THE Rights of the Child Commission (RCC), on Monday morning, held its annual Prayer Breakfast and Mental Health Awareness Programme for adolescence, under the theme ‘Healthy minds; Healthy children; strong communities’.

The programme was held at Pegasus Hotel where the British High Commissioner to Guyana, Greg Quinn, delivered the feature address. Mr. Quinn underscored the importance of protecting and nurturing a child, as it related to mental health, to build a more prosperous and secure future for the children of Guyana.

“The goal is for us all to nurture and support the mental health of young people and to provide them with the protection and support they may need to grow and to develop,” he stated.

The commissioner added that children across the world were exposed to difficult life circumstances, such as starvation, denial of education, and sexual and psychical abuse, which, he noted, could lead to the weakening of their mental health; and the RCC was working closely with The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) to tackle the issues children face to ensure that each child had access to education, health care and emotional support.

Also speaking at the gathering was Child and Adolescent Psychologist, Dr. Jenese October, who noted that adolescence was a period when young people were vulnerable, and experience many psychical and social changes which affect their mental health. Hence it was important that parents, teachers, guardians, and young people themselves, adhere to some of the warning signs, such as excessive anger, isolation and drug abuse.
Dr. October also encouraged the youths in attendance to be more active and speak to someone about any difficulty they may be facing.