Projects Social Improvement
3 min.
It may or may not have escaped your attention, but back in March, the Dutch Caribbean’s first helpline for children and young adults aged 8 to 21 was launched on the island of St. Eustatius. The telephone line, called Guana Chat 918, was created in Aruba to provide support and a listening ear for children and young people who want to talk about topics they might not feel comfortable discussing with anyone in their immediate surroundings. The initiative turned out to be a considerable success, to such an extent that Guana Chat will also be expanding its services to the islands of Bonaire and Saba over the summer.
What is Guana Chat 918 exactly?
Guana Chat 918 is an initiative by the Public Entity St. Eustatius and the child helpline “Telefon pa Hubentud” in Aruba with support from the Dutch Ministries of Volksgezondheid, Welzijn en Sport (Health, Welfare and Sport) and Binnenlandse Zaken en Koninkrijksrelaties (Interior and Kingdom Relations). The men and women answering the incoming phone calls at Guana are trained mentors who have gone through extensive cultural training with teams of social workers on Statia. Children and young people can call them whenever they feel the need to talk about a certain topic or just to share an experience they have had. The number where the Guana chat can be reached is 918 and the service is available between 2PM and 6PM every day of the week. All calls to the service are anonymous and free of charge.
“It’s great that this helpline is here now”, explains Maarten van Ooijen, Dutch State Secretary for Health, Welfare and Sport, “It’s so important for children and young adults to have some place to turn when they are worried or have questions. A listening ear can sometimes make all the difference in the world. My hope is that this initiative will normalize talking about problems among young people on the island. Through these kinds of easily accessible facilities, we want to contribute to the mental fitness of the youth throughout the Kingdom”.
Success leads to expansion
Just a few months after the launch of the Guana Chat 918 helpline in Statia, Telefon pa Hubentud and the Dutch Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport have agreed on expanding the helpline to the islands of Bonaire and Saba. On the 25th of June, James Sneek, Director at Telefon pa Hubentud, and Dutch State Secretary Van Ooijen signed the necessary collaboration agreement to make this expansion a reality over the coming weeks and months. Saba has been connected to the 918 number since the 27th of June, while Bonaire is expected to follow later this year. The service will be identical to the one provided in Aruba and Statia, namely a helpline where children and young people can anonymously share problems, worries and experiences with trained listeners.
“It’s great news that children and youngsters from all over the Caribbean Netherlands will now have the Guana Chat 918 helpline to go to with anything they have on their minds”, says State Secretary Van Ooijen about the planned expansion of Guana, “I hope that it will now become the new normal for children and young people to get in touch with us whenever they have an urgent question or just want to talk because they feel like it. We all feel that need sometimes to feel more comfortable in our own skin”.
Do you feel like talking sometimes, but are you uncomfortable sharing with your own surroundings? Read more about Guana Chat 918 on their official website and just get in touch with them.
You can always contact Future Islands as well with questions about the helpline and to help you get in touch with them.
The basis for this article was originally published on www.statiagovernment.com and others in March 2022.
