Dear Editor,
First of all, I wish to say a big thank you to the two young men, who jumped into the Demerara River to save the woman on 19 April, 2016 who attempted to take her own life. You are our latest heroes, I will be among the first to advocate for National Awards for both of you.
To the woman, I am not sure where to start, oh where do I start. I guess that I will just write as my thoughts flow. We are happy to have you here for another day and we sincerely hope that the days would turn to weeks and the weeks to months and the months to years.
I would like to share a true story with you. About 15 years ago, a friend walked into my office one morning and told me that she was going to commit suicide and she explained to me how she was going to do it, she already had a plan. In the middle of any work day, that is hardly what anyone would be expecting to hear, I did not know what to do. However, I dropped everything and tried to talk her out of it but I realized that I needed help. So I got her into the car and rushed down to First Assembly of God Church on D’urban Street looking for help, fortunately we were able to talk with a Pastor and guess what? Today, about 15 years later, she is married, is a qualified professional in one of the noblest professions and is living the best life anyone can live. At the time, she was a student, single, not working and her life was challenged in many ways.
I did not remember that incident for many years, however, she came to me at her wedding and reminded me of that morning ; I am so delighted that she chose life on that day.
I would just like to say to you as one human being to another, as one woman to another; I know that life can be hard, difficult, tough, unfair and frustrating… I know that people can be unkind, abusive, uncaring and difficult. I know that the system, people and things can come at you from all angles and you sometimes feel like giving up and as if life is not worth living anymore but in all of my going through, two things kept me going; a few people who I know have my back, and I have learnt to fight back. One of the best things someone has said to me in my difficult times was, ‘I got you, I have your back’.
I would therefore like to extend this invitation to you to attend our group ‘Christians Affected By Crime’ (CABC). We meet on the 2nd Monday of every month in the Conference Room at the National Library on Church Street. Our next meeting is on 9 May, 2016 from 17:00 to 19:00 hours. While our focus is not on suicide but on crime reduction, we are learning how to fight back and we will be grateful for the opportunity to teach you how to fight back. We got you! You don’t have to go through alone anymore, we got you!
We don’t have much but I promise that the little we have we will share with you; all you need is to get there we will ensure that you get back home. I must be honest with you, many of us are challenged on many sides too but we will not give up.
Please don’t feel embarrassed about living, you have been given another chance, you now have an awesome testimony, please fulfill your purpose, please. Life is about seasons and surely, I can guarantee you that this season of your life will pass.
We can be contacted at iam_guyana@yahoo.com. Remember that Christ hath come that you might have life and have it more abundantly.
Finally, I think that one of the greatest purposes that we can serve is when someone can come to us and say, I planning or thinking about committing suicide, can you help me?
Yours faithfully,
Audreyanna Thomas
A mother, a woman and a human being