The Guyana Golden Lives Organisation, a Non-Governmental Organisa-tion (NGO) which caters to children coping with bereavement, was formally launched yesterday.
According to a Department of Public Information (DPI) press release, founder and Queen’s Young Leader Awardee, Marva Langevine, was inspired to establish the NGO after reading a biblical scripture which called for the care of the less fortunate. She was further persuaded after witnessing the effect her friend’s death due to cancer had on her [the friend’s] two young children.
“The training, the networking opportunities, the knowledge to manage a non-profit and how to take it to the next level… Persons were telling me that this going to get big; this going to blow up… So, the Queen’s Young leaders’ award gave me that push that I needed and here we are today,” Langevine was quoted as saying
Also, addressing the gathering at the launch was the Advisor to the Minister of Public Health, John Adams, who recalled that during his 28 years of teaching and social protection experience, he witnessed how children attempted to cope with the loss of a parent or both, the DPI added.
“If an adult loses a parent it is difficult, much less a child, and for them to grow they need our support. For them to cope they need our support. For them to develop into that adult who will make a positive contribution to the development of their country, and their community, they need our support. I’m happy that Marva has chosen this path,” Adams was quoted as saying
British High Commissioner, Greg Quinn, promised support for the initiative and was quoted as saying, “I hope you will all be able to do likewise. It is the very least we can do for this amazing young woman, the embodiment of everything the Queen’s Young Leaders’ Programme is about.”
Stakeholders also heard an emotional testimony from an orphan, Orlanzo Raghunandan, who had lost both parents. The DPI also stated that Raghunandan, who benefitted from the Golden Lives organisation, spoke of his determination to succeed at his Civil Engineering studies despite having to learn to cope with the loss of both parents at an early age.
Dr. Coleena Brown gave the gathering an explanation of the five stages of grief and was quoted as saying, “We can help them [the bereaved] get to the place of acceptance. Because once you are there, you’re able to manage your life as a child, as a teenager and as an adult in a much healthier way.”
Langevine established the NGO in 2014 and with guidance from the Queen’s Young Leaders’ programme, has so far assisted 30 children. At the conclusion of the launch, a puppy was presented to a Best Village orphan, Angel Shivsanker, along with a certificate guaranteeing lifetime care, courtesy of Luana Pierre of Pawsome Pets.