Enterprise Youth Group seeks to help SAVE potential suicides

Jul 02, 2016 News

Members of the EYDG launched to assist persons dealing with suicide.

President of EYDG, Samantha Sheoprashad

With suicide at the top of the list of mental health problems, the Enterprise Youth Development Group, (EYDG) has launched a new project aimed at helping persons to deal with the issue.
The Suicide Awareness through Voice Education (SAVE) project comprises short video messages from prominent Guyanese sharing positive messages on the importance of staying alive.
Among those featured in the video project are Minister of Public Health, Dr. George Norton, and President of the EYDG, Samantha Sheoprashad. The messages are being made viral through the EYDG Facebook page.
According to Sheoprashad, the idea is to get the young people within the group to encourage and help strengthen others on matters of battling suicide.
“We encourage each other to stay alive through being there for anyone going through a rough time. We have been a part of the smile project by “Give Foundation Guyana” which encourages someone to smile always which creates a positive balance in the environment to begin with,” Sheoprashad explained.
With this research ,it is evident that suicide is a prevalent issue within our country so other groups like Save Abee has partnered with us in posting short video of young persons and those in prominent positions sharing their advice and experience on tackling suicide.
The EYDG President said that efforts are being made to have a website and mobile App fully functional and available to the public.
“This project is all about reaching a hand out to someone …. Our main aim is to reach to the ears of everyone retaining the vibes of positivity. I will build an App to help people to get counseling but right now it’s about getting stakeholders to invest,” she added.
Once plagued by thoughts of suicide herself, Sheoprashad noted the importance of consistently offering encouragement and hope to those struggling with this form of depression.
“I was once a suicidal person. By sharing your story you can help someone else stay alive or stay strong. What helped me was my boyfriend, and my lectures talked me out of it.
However, she reaffirmed that the task is quite challenging but not impossible. “It is not easy it is very hard,” she said.
The youth leader is currently in the United States conducting her final year research on the algorithm to decipher depressive statements on social media via linguistic and psychological analysis.
Amongst other initiatives, the EYDG head partnered with other stakeholders to produce a short film on the suicide titled “Guyanese Open Yuh Eye” Matters of the Heart.”

“We will do more short films in Guyana, all of which is volunteer work.” According to Sheoprashad, the group has a number of other projects in the pipeline.

The EYDG operates from the Village of Enterprise East Coast Demerara, with more than 200 registered youths.

The group has listed its commitment to youth development and finding solutions to all the suicide happenings to Guyana by extending some empathy humanitarian and universal love to anyone in need.

Suicide is the act of deliberately taking one’s own life. The 2013 World Health Organisation, (WHO) reported over 800,000 people die due to suicide every year.
Guyana has been ranked as one of the highest rate in the World with a percentage of 40.2% of every 100, 000 people.
According to the WHO 2014 report, over 90 percent of people who die by suicide have a mental illness at the time of their death; with the most common mental illness listed as depression. (Rehanna Ramsay)

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