The Ministry of Human Services and Social Security is expected to launch a national online counselling platform this week as part of its psychosocial support programme for families affected by the MV Barima tragedy.
Human Services Minister Dr Vindhya Persaud announced the initiative, called EMBRACE, during an interview on the Starting Point podcast yesterday, according to a Department of Public Information press release.
Persaud said the platform would allow affected persons to arrange confidential audio or video sessions with counsellors and specialists, including Guyanese volunteers in the diaspora.
“It’s going to be a system where persons can request a time. They will see the list that is available, their specialities, and they can have confidential therapy and counselling from any one of these persons,” she said.
According to the minister, the platform was tested last week and will initially serve survivors and relatives of those involved in the MV Barima disaster before being made more widely available.
Persaud said the ministry had also formally requested assistance from the Red Cross, the United Nations and other organisations. She noted that the Office of the UN Resident Coordinator and the Pan American Health Organization had already responded.
Meanwhile, the minister said financial assistance for households that lost their sole breadwinner was being assessed individually. The support, which is separate from any compensation, could cover food, transportation and other immediate needs.
“If it’s a breadwinner, we need to make sure they have food support, we need to make sure the children are taken care of, [and] we need to make sure that the parents have that kind of support,” she said.
Persaud added that the Office of the First Lady would directly oversee assistance relating to children and their parents.
The breadwinner assistance is being provided under the HEART initiative, which the government has described as President Irfaan Ali’s framework for responding to tragedies.
Persaud acknowledged that relatives still awaiting the recovery of their loved ones were experiencing a continuing and particularly difficult form of grief. She appealed for empathy and cautioned against exploiting the suffering of affected families amid criticism of the government’s response.
She added that private-sector organisations were welcome to contribute to the relief effort.
The MV Barima capsized on the night of July 18 while travelling from Georgetown to Port Kaituma. Authorities estimated that 179 passengers and crew members were aboard the state-operated vessel. Seventy-six people were rescued, 73 bodies were recovered and approximately 30 persons remain unaccounted for.
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