Faith in action : the smile of Nalin Katryan ( June 24, 1952 to March 6, 2017 )

Group Discussion : Police Recruits, workshop on prevention of Gender Based Violence Roadside Baptist Skills Training Centre, October 2016

"You don't know what you talking about, why don't you shut up" - the retired headmaster told me. We were talking about alcohol and domestic violence in the space under the No 68 Village Roadside Baptist Church.

Nalin Katryan smiled at him and I took courage from that smile. The man was a respected elder and she had invited him to the workshop on preventing domestic violence.  I was young in the facilitation work, nervous about breaking uncomfortable silences and not wanting to offend anybody.
The smile was encouraging. The man calmed down and did not walk out

That smile was always present. Always encouraging. 

The first time I met Nalin Katryan and her husband Pastor Almond Katryan was in 2001. I was nervous, taking on the challenge of a workshop in Black Bush, a place where I did not know anyone.  People of Indian origins, especially in rural areas, were not taking up the issue of domestic violence even though the PPP government had passed the legislation. Faith based organisations were not keen to be part of the work.

Nalin Katryan understood all the dynamics and she pressed on, determined that the issues would be dealt with and that concerned people could be mobilised to do the work.

Nalin Katryan was determined that faith was not only about church, but it was about dealing with  domestic violence, child abuse, HIV prevention, poverty, suicide and providing opportunities for education and learning. She included a range of organisations and individuals in doing the work.

Roadisde Baptist  innovated a community response to suicide prevention, a Life Savers club , in an effort to fill a gap in service provision.

My parents used to joke about if I had converted (I am Hindu) when I said I was going to Roadside Baptist.

I was blessed by the confidence she had in my abilities to do the training with groups of people from diverse organisations. That training included my own politics on human rights and equality which might not have been the same as the theology. However, the intention was that no one should have to live in violence.

I was always inspired by the young people working at Roadside Baptist who decided to get involved in the work. It is sad that economics and other circumstances meant migration of many of the young people away from the area.

On the way to her funeral, I saw the billboards to break the silence on domestic violence with the phone numbers that people could call for help.

The work that Roadside Baptist has done in the Upper Corentyne is significant.  It is not recorded and probably not known since Corentyne is not Georgetown and the media does not always reach that far to report on efforts being made to counter some of the problems.

Nalin Katryan initiated the work with schools, police, community groups , religious leaders. That work was funded but without any official recognition for the sustainability needed to keep it going but she persevered.


The last time I saw the smile was in October 2016 as she joked about the illness which she did not know about, and which the doctors did not diagnose.

There was a workshop with police recruits on the prevention of gender based violence. The Police Training curriculum had been changed so this NGO intervention was the only one of its kind for the recruits. The sessions were intense.

At the end of the workshop, one of the recruits wrote in the evaluation

"“Everyone here at the RBSTC are very loving and kind hearted people and I pray that God will bless each and everyone of them”

Blessings come in different form  I am grateful for knowing Nalin Katryan. That smile will be in my mind as I try to do the work she believed in doing.

(edited 14 March, 2017)