GGR Book Club: The Black Man Drought by Lorraine Jonelle Stephens

Victoria Marianna Gunraj is the owner of  Miami-based Caribbean clothing line and T-shirt Company “DeportedTEES.”  Born in Miami, Florida on December 17th, 1989, Victoria’s parents hail from the villages of Wales and Vreed-en-Hoop in West Demerara, Guyana. A graduate of the University of Florida, this 24- year-old business woman earned a B.S. Degree in Food Science and Human Nutrition.  Victoria’s passion for fashion and design led her to start her own fashion company in 2011…

Guyanese Singer Charmayne (Maxee) Maxwell of the 1990s R&B group Brownstone, mysteriously died Saturday, members of her family have confirmed.  Maxee was born Charmayne Maxwell on January 11, 1969 in Guyana.  She was best known for her work with Grammy-nominated band Brownstone and her 2000 solo single “When I Look into Your eyes.” She was 46 years old. Brownstone was  popular during the mid-1990s. Their  1995 hit single “If You Love Me”,  was nominated for…

Rochelle Porter has never met a blank surface she didn’t want to draw on. A lifelong lover of global design traditions, the Atlanta-based artist takes cues from the breezy hues of her Caribbean roots, the stark simplicity of Scandinavian prints and the bold geometrics of West African weaves to create vibrant, eye-catching textiles for the home décor and apparel markets. Her travel-inspired patterns feature joyful, unexpected burst of color and classic motifs with a fresh,…

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon recently announced the appointment of Catherine Pollard of Guyana as Under-Secretary-General for General Assembly and Conference Management. She will succeed Tegegnework Gettu of Ethiopia, to whom the Secretary-General is grateful for his dedicated service and able leadership. Since 2014, Pollard served as Assistant Secretary-General for General Assembly and Conference Management, prior to which she served as Assistant Secretary-General for Human Resources Management from 2008 to 2014.  She was previously Chief of Staff…

On October 29th His Excellency President David Granger delivered the main address at the Ministry of Education’s 19th annual National Education Award ceremony at the National Cultural Centre. The Office of the Presidency honored several students who excelled in high school in 2015, and at the CAPE and CSEC examinations.  The majority of the top achievers were girls  representing public and private high schools throughout Guyana. Below President David Granger and officials from the Education Ministry poses for a…

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…

Reproduced from Face2FaceAfrica.  Germaine Djuidje Kenmoe from Cameroon and Dawn Iona Fox (extreme right) from Guyana have won the prestigious OWSD-Elsevier Foundation Awards for Early-Career Women Scientists in the Developing World. The high-profile award aims to recognize the scientific and career achievements of women from developing countries in five regions: Latin America and the Caribbean, the Arab region, Sub-Saharan Africa, Central and South Asia, and East and South-East Asia and the Pacific. The theme for…

Meet Halima Yusuf, CEO & Founder of FRX International Drugs (FRXID), a pharmaceutical company based in Berlin, Maryland. As Chief Executive Officer, Halima Yusuf has had a very influential role in steering the ever-evolving business. In fact she indicated that she used her upbringing in Guyana as inspiration to create the company. According to her, the scarcity of proper pharmacy care and knowing the facts relating to the medication and its usability drove her to create…

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…

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…

You may have recently seen Ebonee Noel staring as Kristen Chazal, a smart tech savvy analyst in the new CBS gripping 13-episode drama series, “FBI”.  The Harlem-born actress is also known for her role in the ABC’s drama “Still Star-Crossed” as Livia Capulet. Other TV credits include “Wrecked,” “Law & Order: SVU,” “Eye Candy” from Jason Blum, and a supporting role in the independent feature “Long Nights, Short Mornings.” Ebonee is the daughter of Guyanese parents, Cheryl E. Noel…

Twenty five year old Rafieya Aasieya Husain was crowned Miss Universe-Guyana 2017 at the end of the first ever National Pageant to be held in the home of the Miss Universe Pageant. The former Miss World 2014 top eleven finishers and Queen of the Caribbean also romped of with the Most Elegant, Best Interview and Popularity side awards during the event held at York College Performing Arts Center in Queens, New York. Rafieya has been…

Sharon Maas was born in Georgetown, Guyana in 1951. She came from a prominently political family. Her mother was one of Guyana’s earliest feminists, human rights activists and consumer advocates; her father was Press Secretary for opposition leader and later President of Guyana, Dr Cheddi Jagan. She was educated in Guyana and at the Harrogate College in Yorkshire, England. After leaving school she worked as a trainee reporter with the Guyana Graphic in Georgetown, Guyana. She…

Alyssa Raghu shed tears of joy Sunday night when she was advanced to Hollywood for the next round of American Idol.  The 15 year old songbird auditioned on the premiere episode on season 16 of the ABC’s singing competition before judges Katy Perry, Lionel Ritchie and Luke Bryan. Born to Guyanese parents, Alyssa is a student at Lake Nona High School in Orlando Florida and also plays the guitar. According to www.wftv.com, Alyssa’s ‘American Idol’ journey…

Four diamonds—the Stone of Fire, the Stone of Water, the Stone of Air, and the Stone of Earth—have all been stolen. Their absence could lead to the mass destruction of Iliana’s dimension and the mortal world. Can Iliana alter the dangerous path of the world’s most certain future? Fifteen-year-old Iliana’s to-do list did not include being sucked into another dimension called Airafia with a guy named Stephon. When she’s asked to go on a mission…