–President Ali tells child injured in tragic Charlotte Street ordeal
–emphasises importance of working harder to build a secure, prosperous Guyana for families, women, children

PRESIDENT, Dr Irfaan Ali, on Tuesday evening met with the 10-year-old boy who was wounded in the harrowing Charlotte Street murder–suicide of his parents.
Dr Ali, in a post on his official Facebook page, offered the child words of comfort and assurance as he recovers from his injuries at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC).
The child, who was shot in the chest by his father after witnessing his mother’s brutal killing earlier in the day, remains in a stable condition under close medical care.
Speaking after his hospital visit, President Ali said he was deeply moved by the young survivor’s courage in the face of such trauma.

“This evening, I had the opportunity to speak with the young boy who was injured in the tragic incident on Charlotte Street. I assured him that he carries with him the love and compassion of an entire nation, and that we will stand firmly by his side as he works to overcome this painful trauma and ordeal,” the President wrote on his Facebook page.
The Head of State urged citizens to rally around the child in prayer, asking faith leaders and communities to call on the Almighty for his healing.
“I call upon our religious leaders, and indeed all our people, to lift this child in prayer and to ask the Almighty to surround him with strength, comfort, and healing in the days and months ahead,” Dr Ali said.

In a message earlier in the day, President Ali had stressed the critical importance of preserving families in the wake of the incident, which involved the murder of 36-year-old Teekadai Atiya Rambachan-Solomon by her reputed husband, 36-year-old Alroy Solomon, who subsequently took his own life.

In a statement issued shortly after the incident, President Ali said he was “deeply distressed and saddened” by the events, adding that the tragedy underscored the urgent need to safeguard the family unit as the foundation of society.

“The family remains the basic cell of human society, and its preservation is essential to our nation’s well-being. When families break, society bleeds. But when families thrive, a nation stands tall,” the President said.

The President, at a public meeting in Eccles, used the opportunity to call on the nation to confront the challenges of broken families, violence, societal and community failures, which require all citizens to make a stronger commitment to doing better.
He said: “When we stay silent in the pain of others and do nothing in the pain of others, we never could tell where that pain would lead.”

WORK HARDER
The President said that the nation owes it to this recent victim to work harder, to not only secure a prosperous and a dynamic country, but to secure a country in which families must find the joy of living together and children enjoy the comfort of the love and protection of their parents.

He stated that the nation could be the richest but without tackling these issues, we will never achieve full prosperity.
“We must recommit ourselves to bring in these values to the core of our development, to advancing these values, to protecting these values. And this requires every single one of us. It requires all of us to understand what is needed and act in the right direction,” he said.

He reaffirmed his government’s commitment to strengthening support systems for households, noting that families must be given the resources to be nurtured, to grow stronger and to flourish.
Under President Ali, the government is taking several proactive measures to combat domestic violence.

They are rolling out a digital “panic button” system that domestic violence victims can use to quickly alert security agencies for emergency assistance, connected to a central database for immediate response.

This initiative is part of a broader national-scale strategy to address domestic violence and strengthen protection for women and vulnerable groups.
Additionally, the government has launched the iMatter app, which provides direct access to a domestic abuse hotline, educational resources and support services.

They also operate a 24-hour toll-free hotline (914) for victims to report abuse and access help. There are expanded and upgraded domestic violence shelters, with plans for new shelters in other regions.

The government has passed the Family Violence Act 2024 and is training police officers and prosecutors to effectively enforce the legislation through dedicated programmes such as P.A.T.R.O.L. School-based awareness campaigns and community training aim to equip people with knowledge on domestic violence prevention and support.

The Hope and Justice Centre concept offers victims a one-stop centre for comprehensive services, including counselling and legal aid.