Sri Lanka Sumithrayo: 42 years of reaching out to those in need
Forty two years ago the first ‘Befrienders International’ suicide crisis intervention centre named Sri Lanka Sumithrayo was set up in Colombo by Mrs. Joan de Mel and a few other like-minded people. This was in response to the increasing numbers of people being admitted to the General Hospital in Colombo having made and failed in their deliberate attempts to end their lives.
Suicide is often not a wish to die, but a final desperate attempt, all else having failed, to draw the attention of those around him or her, that they can no longer face or cope with life as it is for them. It is their final statement on life. Many may have suffered for long periods of time, from feelings of being misunderstood, and misjudged, that nobody really cared about them or cared if they lived or died. Some may have suffered from feelings of extreme loneliness and isolation and felt they had no-one who would accept and understand them. The tragedy is that suicide is preventable.
Suicide is no respecter of class, caste, economic status, ethnicity, religion, or the position one occupies in society. It strikes anywhere, where pain of mind exceeds the individual’s ability to cope with it. Those who have suffered a significant loss or several significant losses in their life are at risk of suicide.
It must also be borne in mind that suicide is a risk factor in those who suffer from mental illness, and in those who are drug dependent. It would be beneficial all round if people were more aware of how to recognise and help those around them who may be distressed, despairing and may even be considering suicide. If each one of us could help another human being in emotional distress, and help him/her cope with his/her negative feelings, the world will be a more stable and happier place for all to live in.
Suicide prevention should be everyone’s responsibility. Every human being and all living creatures respond to kindness and benevolent attention. A smile, a kind word costs nothing & does not take time, but may mean the difference to someone between wanting to die or giving life another chance. All of us may not have the time to spare to be of practical and genuine help to others in distress but we could always help organisations like Sri Lanka Sumithrayo who are dedicated to suicide prevention by providing funding and sponsoring awareness raising publicity material thereby enabling them to provide their much needed services island-wide.
With modern technology at our fingertips and the unbelievable speed of communication and a world full of material temptations, the race faced by many human beings just to barely survive, or provide for their families or satisfy their ever-increasing perceived needs, leaves no room for caring about others welfare. If we find that we have no time to help others ourselves could we not, at least put them in touch with one of the Sri Lanka Sumithrayo Centres situated island-wide?
The volunteers manning these crisis intervention Centres are specially trained to recognise and help those who are in emotional distress and in need of non-judgmental acceptance and understanding. The volunteers are trained to listen with empathy and understanding, for however long it takes, to help the distressed persons to cope with their difficult negative feelings and come to terms with whatever is happening in their lives and see a way forward. Total confidentiality and anonymity are assured.
In this 42nd year of Sri Lanka Sumithrayo, it celebrates the 20th anniversary of commencing work in some of the most suicide prone remote rural villages in the North Western and Southern Provinces of Sri Lanka. The majority of the suicides- 75% of them-takes place amongst the rural communities of the country. The Sri Lanka Sumithrayo Rural Programme presently works in over 100 remote farming villages and has won international recognition having received two International awards in 2008 and 2011 as a successful suicide prevention Initiative at the grass roots level entirely manned by trained volunteers and well trained field officers.
The founder Director of the Programme won the coveted Erwin Ringel Service Award for significant contributions to Suicide Prevention presented at the ‘International Association for Suicide Prevention’ (IASP) conference in Killarney, Ireland in 2007.
(The writer is media coordinator at Sumithrayo)