Black Immigrant Daily News

Minister of Health, Dr Frank Anthony is confident that the new Suicide Prevention (Amendment) Bill, passed on Monday in the National Assembly, will significantly reduce Guyana’s suicide rate.

The amended bill outlines several measures, including the establishment of a National Commission on Suicide Prevention and Suicide Prevention Centres in various parts of the country to help tackle the issue.

Guyana has one of the highest suicide rates in the world, however, the numbers have been dipping recently and is expected to fall lower as the measures are implemented.

“We are very confident that with these new interventions we would be able to make a bigger impact on suicide prevention in Guyana and those people who want to commit suicide.

“We are going to see a drop in cases. In 2017, for example, we had 185 cases of suicide and that dropped. Last year we had 165, this year so far, we have just about 100 and I hope that it stays that way, but with all of these measures that we are putting in place, we are going to see a significant reduction,” the Health Minister said.

Dr. Anthony noted that many cases of suicide occur because vulnerable persons were not detected, thereby preventing the relevant intervention.

He said this will change as primary healthcare workers and members of the community will be trained to help identify vulnerable persons and streamline the help they need.

“In many cases, the reason why we have a high number of people committing suicide is that a lot of these persons might have had depression, but when they come to the health system, the depression is not detected and if it’s not detected then we are not able to treat them.”

Newer, more effective treatment methods will also be used.

“In this new legislation, what we are advocating is to have both treatments with psychoactive substances plus to be able to do cognitive behavioural therapy. This has been found to be very effective with patients and we are going to establish several suicide centers where cognitive behavioral therapy will be administered,” Dr Anthony said.

The Ministry will also work with the relevant agencies to restrict vulnerable persons from accessing firearms and poisonous substances.

A mobile unit was also established to provide immediate help for persons. Three lives have already been saved since the unit began operations.

The Ministry has undertaken several studies with Columbia University for an evidence-based approach to address the social issue.

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Black Immigrant Daily News

Niko Terho did not just start acting in 2022!

Landing the recurring, main role as an intern in Season 19 of ABC’s Grey’s Anatomy has been the highlight of his career so far, but the Barbadian actor has been acting from a very young age, thanks to his mother – Suzanne Terho.

I think she was at the nail salon when I told her and she screamed

To mark Good News Day, today, November 10, Loop caught up with Niko and had an in-depth chat.

Loop: What was your first attempt at acting and what motivated you?

Niko: My first attempt was probably during my mum’s acting classes that she would teach in our front yard when we were little. Honestly I feel like I’ve just always loved or been trying to do it. I just had to take a little detour from it for a while because of football.

Fun Fact – Niko attended The St Michael School and played football for Barbados at the U-17 level.

I was a huge fan of Skitsomania. I loved watching the taped performances

Loop: What was your first role of significance to you and how did it come about?

Niko: I’ve only had two real acting jobs I would consider significant. One of which is now Grey’s. My first one was for a Rom Com on Freeform called The Thing About Harry. I played a guy named Harry. I landed it the traditional way by auditioning and sending in a tape. The cool thing about it was that it was the first audition I had done after signing with my manager and agent less than a week prior. It was also a leading role so it really threw me into the deep end and allowed me to learn quickly and grow as an actor.

Loop: How did you feel telling your mum about landing the Grey’s role?

Niko: It was great! I was visiting them for a bit so my mum had known I was up for the role. But it was a pretty great feeling giving her the news that they had actually offered it to me. I think she was at the nail salon when I told her and she screamed; she was so excited.

Lucas is a lot like me

Loop: Many Bajans know your mum for the Arts. How’s it feel being her son in this light?

Niko: I’ve always been super proud of mum and all of her performances. The ones I was old enough to remember at least. I was a huge fan of Skitsomania. I loved watching the taped performances of the show that we had on VHS.

Loop: You described the ABC set as feeling like Disney, but how much work went into learning your character’s personality and lines?

Niko: It’s funny, learning lines is the easy part. After many years of doing it, you’re brain kind of figures it out. Finding the personality of the character is much more difficult. It’s funny because in some ways Lucas is a lot like me. It’s impossible to create a truthful character, in my opinion, without it having parts of you in it. But he tends to react to certain situations much differently to how I would. So it’s about turning the dial up on certain personality traits within me and turning down the others.

Well assuming I can’t say Lucas. I’m gonna go with Mika

Loop: Favourite Grey’s attending and why?

Niko: My favourite attending would have to be Amelia Shepherd. To come from the kind of past she’s had, to being an incredible neurosurgeon is pretty remarkable. Plus she’s hilarious.

Loop: Favourite intern and why?

Niko: Well assuming I can’t say Lucas. I’m gonna go with Mika. I love her dark sense of humour and lack of filter. Can’t wait for you to see even more of her character as the season goes on.

Meredith, Simone and Niko on set (Source: Niko Terho)

Loop: How much medical knowledge do you feel like you have acquired so far? By the way, how long has filming been happening?

Niko: We’ve been filming since August I think. Honestly we’ve learned so much. They organise these medical boot camps for us every now and then. We learn basic skills like how to suture, give chest compressions and check for issues with the lungs. But definitely not confident enough to practice any of this on an actual human being. There’s a reason real doctors go to school for so many years.

Loop: Finally, what’s been your favourite scene to film so far if you can share?

Niko: I can’t actually say what my favourite scene to film has been so far because it comes later on in the season. But I’m really excited for everyone to see it and how Lucas’ story progresses.

We can’t wait watch Lucas and Niko grow on screen right before our eyes! Check him out on Grey’s Anatomy on ABC every Thursday night.

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Black Immigrant Daily News

Tekst en beeld Jason Pinas PARAMARIBO — “Er gaan bepaalde harde besluiten worden genomen. Het is dan niet te danken

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Black Immigrant Daily News

Two men were recently arrested and charged for burglary in less than a month, police said Monday.

Orville Christopher, of Sea Cows Bay, was arrested and charged with illegally entering a villa in Long Bay, according to the Police Information Office.

He appeared before Magistrates’ Court and was remanded, police said, noting that jewellery and grocery items were taken during the break-in. Timron Layne, 30, of Josiahs Bay, was also charged in late September for illegally entering a home in Lambert Bay, as well as unlawful possession of cannabis, police said.

Virgin Gorda burglaries

Following more burglaries last week in which cash was taken from three villas and a residence on Virgin Gorda, police said officers are working to stem break-ins on the sister island as well.

The police also said 14 burglaries were recorded during September, which represented a 22 percent decrease when compared to September 2021. But they added that burglaries of dwellings dominated the burglary category. They did not provide statistics for other months.

The police are asking the public to make security checks around their premises and install security cameras to help detect trespassers.

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Black Immigrant Daily News

If a survey should be done across the length and breadth of Jamaica to identify some of the most noted set of nation builders on the island, the name Sharon and Vincent Fyffe would have to be added at the top of the list.

The wife and husband, are the vice principal and principal of the New Dawn Learning center, an early childhood institution, located in the heart of the St Andrew-based community of Pembroke Hall.

And with limited resources, the two educators, have for the past 18 years been helping to mold and shape some of the nation’s brightest minds.

“We normally cater to children between the ages of two to five years old and we normally work to prepare them for life at the primary school level and beyond,” the vice principal told Loop News in an interview.

In fact, if an even deeper check is carried out it would reveal that children, who would have passed through the halls of the small educational institution have gone on to take up positions in all sectors of society.

“We have students who would have gone on to join the Jamaica Constabulary Force, the army, those who would have gone on to become teachers themselves,” Ms. Fyffe, the principal revealed.

The teachers have however revealed that the task has not been an easy one.

The teachers reveal that while they don’t get paid enough to do what they do, the joy and fulfillment that they get when they see the students attending the school and later going on to excel and do great things is more than words can explain.

“This is something that we have been doing for approximately 18 years and the reason we continue is not because of the pay,” the principal disclose.

Her husband shared a similar sentiment.

“For example, I am also an artist by profession, and the money that I can make doing one art piece is more than I make teaching for several months,” said Mr. Fyffe.

The teachers also spoke about the challenges that they have to face trying to keep the school doors open.

“We are faced with a number of problems, one of the biggest is to secure enough funding to keep the school going,” said Ms. Fyffe.

The school administrators said the task of keeping the institution running was made even harder following the COVID pandemic.

“It has been rough but it is something that we continue to do,” said the principal.

Moving forward the teachers are making an appeal to all those who are able to help, to do what they can as the administrators at the institution try to upgrade the school to reach out to the next set of youngsters who will be attending and preparing to take on the role of leaders of tomorrow.

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