COVER GIRL: Singer Lisa Punch on the cover of Guyana Entertainment Magazine (GEM)

Donna Makeda is definitely a musical force to be reckoned with. She was born in Kwakwani and grew up in New Amsterdam, Berbice, Guyana. Donna started singing and performing over 25 years ago, her foundation in music came from the church, which she attended when she was a little girl. Donna started out as a dancer; she was trained in Afro-Caribbean Dance, Modern Dance, Folk Dance, Kathak and Classical Ballet. At age 16, she opened…

As we delve into the excitement of Restaurant Week in New York and Black Business Month,  we’re thrilled to spotlight the extraordinary talents of Dale Davidson, the Guyanese female entrepreneur behind the captivating Umana Yana Restaurant in Albany, New York. Umana Yana, derived from an Amerindian word meaning “a place for the people,” is much more than just a restaurant—it’s a celebration of culture, love, and community. Dale Davidson’s vision, shaped by her upbringing in…

This past weekend the people of Guyana felt a sense of pride as Rafieya Aasieya Husain became the first Guyanese in over 40 years to place at the Miss World Pageant. The 22-year-old beauty queen, who is a native of Essequibo County, was one of the top 10 Finalists named at the Miss World competition finale held on Sunday at the Excel London ICC Auditorium. Rafieya also won the ‘Beauty With a Purpose Title’, which…

US Vice President-elect Kamala Harris received her COVID-19 vaccine live on television Tuesday and urged the public to trust the process.  A mask-wearing Harris received the first of her two shots at United Medical Center, located in an area of Washington, DC with a large African-American population. Her husband Doug Emhoff was also to be vaccinated. Patricia Cummings, clinical nurse manager at United Medical Center, administered the vaccine. Cummings was born in Guyana and is…

Martha nee Fung Kee Fung was one of the earliest female business owners in Guyana (1800s). She became a landed proprietor who owned many businesses including a rice mill. She bought two abandoned sugar estates Waller’s Delight and Ruimzight at Windsor Forest which she rented to tenants to plant rice. Martha Street in Windsor Forrest is named for her. Sarah Lam-a-Poo born in 1870, was the grandmother of Errol “Ping” Gillette, Guyana’s first Ombudsman after…

Three women, Janet Jagan, Jane Phillips Gay and Jessica Burnham, were the first females elected as Members of British Guiana Parliament in May 1953 after  the first universal adult suffrage elections were held in the same year. Former first lady Janet Jagan became the first female Deputy Speaker of the Legislature in 1953; the first female Prime Minister in March 1997 and the first female President of Guyana in December 1997.  Jane Phillips-Gay was a…

Mona Williams is a storyteller, children’s writer and educator whose action-packed stories and dramatic presentations enthrall audiences of all ages.  She covers a vast spectrum of stories including myths, legends and heroic tales; folk, fairy and wisdom stories, fables, riddles and autobiographical adventures. Born in the town of Mackenzie, Guyana on 27 July 1943,  Williams secured a place at the exclusive girls’ school Bishops. The school lends it name to her autobiography, Bishops: My Turbulent…

Dr. Oneeka Williams is a Harvard Medical School Graduate who ranks among the top urologic surgeons in the United States. She was born and raised in Guyana and moved with her family to Barbados at the age of 10. From an early age, her science teacher mother and journalist father instilled in her a love for the sciences and writing. “My childhood was filled with the joys of discovery and exploration as my science teacher…

Ms. Valerie Rodway (1919-1970) was a teacher and Guyanese composer.  She is best known for her national songs, which include, “O Beautiful Guyana,” “Kanaïma,” “Hymn for Guyana’s Children,” “Arise, Guyana,” and “Guyana the Free.  She also put to music the famed Guyanese independence poem by Martin Carter, “Let Freedom Awaken.” Ms. Rodway was a member of one of those families whose contributions to Guyana are still evident. Her father, Newton Berthier Fraser was born in…

Marcie De Santos started designing over five years ago. She always had a passion for unique clothes, so she started by designing for herself and soon realized that she had a flair for designing. She prides herself in the uniqueness of the color blends that she uses. Her target is mainly women whose desire is to exude femininity in unique, exuberant, eye catching styles. The Guyana Fashion Week (GFW) 2008 was her debut runway show…

Guyanese, Tracey Lewis, of Engine 222 in Bedford-Stuyvesant Brooklyn has become the second black female in the department’s history to be promoted to Lieutenant.   Lewis has been a firefighter for 17 years, starting off as a cadet in 1997. She was an emergency medical technician before joining Engine 222. “You encounter resistance every day, but I can’t let that stop me from going forward,” Lewis said during  the promotion ceremony at the Christian Cultural…

Congratulations to Dr. Paloma Mohamed, poet, playwright & educator on being named one of four honorees for the Anthony N. Sabga Caribbean Awards for Excellence (Arts & Letters).  Dr. Mohamed  is currently the Director of the Centre for Communication Studies at the University of Guyana. The Anthony N Sabga Caribbean Awards is the only programme in the Caribbean which seeks out and rewards outstanding nominees in Arts & Letters, Public & Civic Contributions, and Science…

Educator, author, researcher, community advocate and TV and radio host Dr. Janice Emanuel-Bunn was born in Guyana and migrated to the United States in 1983 and settled in East Flatbush, Brooklyn. Dr. Emanuel-Bunn has always demonstrated great interest in the community by conducting mentoring, domestic violence prevention, health and youth empowerment programs for many years. She said her passion is to “sow seeds of greatness in others.” She has served the Seventh-day Adventist church in…

Stabroek News Former Prime News reporter Folio Emis Richards was yesterday admitted to the local bar after her petition was presented to Acting Chief Justice Ian Chang by former chancellor of the judiciary Keith Massiah SC. Richards, 28, is the youngest of five children born to Oscar and Violet Richards and she grew up in Sisters Village, West Bank Demerara. After graduating from the West Demerara Secondary School in 2002, Richards first worked temporarily as…

Pauline Melville was born in Guyana in 1948 and has emerged as one of the most accomplished talents on the modern literary scene. Her pre-school years were spent in the then British Guiana. Her father was “mixed-race Guyanese, part South American Indian, African and Scottish”, and her mother came from a “big working-class family” in south London. The family moved to south London in the early 1950s, when she was “five or six”. A professional…