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

Guyanese Girl Lisa Mary Johanna Punch wowed the judges and viewers last night  during the premiere of  ABC’s new singing show Rising Star,  belting out Whitney Houston’s “How Will I Know” to move on to the second round of the competition.  Lisa, who was born in Guyana, migrated with her family to the USA only 6 months ago and made it to the top 30 out of 40,000 auditions. The  Rising Star show follows a group…

Ngozi Muoneke is the CEO and Director of M3 Cosmetics Ltd, an іnnоvаtіvе соѕmеtісѕ mаnufасturеr based in East London, United Kingdom. Founded in 2008, M3 produces ԛuаlіtу Skіnсаrе, Hаіrсаrе, Pеrѕоnаl Cаrе, Nаіlсаrе, Mineral, Frаgrаnсеѕ аnd Colour Makeup. Ngozi was born in the UK to Guyanese parents. She spent part of her childhood in Guyana where she attended East Ruimveldt Primary School before returning to the UK.  Her mother, Yvonne Beckles-Lamazon (deceased) was originally from Georgetown but spent most of her adult…

Helen Taitt was the founder and director of the School of Guyana Ballet, which trained many of the teachers with the Guyana National School of Dance. Her dancing career spanned two decades from the 1950s to 1970s. Helen made the theatre her life-long career, performing, composing and teaching right up to the end of her life. She was Guyana’s best known, most accomplished and acclaimed professional dancer, and was also a choreographer, writer, dance instructor,…

Born November 5, 1995, in Miramar, Florida, Sachia Vickery is one of the most promising young players in American tennis. Her Guyanese mother, Paula Liverpool, formerly of Kwakwani on the Berbice River, has made many sacrifices to facilitate the career of Sachia, which is now paying off with her daughter rising to be among the top junior players in the United States and the world. Sachia started off on the track with older boys and…

“Winner are not people who never fail, but people who never quit” and Lisa Punch keeps on winning.  The model/singer/songwriter who represented Guyana at the 2015 Miss World Pageant in Sanya, China beat out her fellow contestants earlier this week and made history for Guyana when she performed one of her original songs and won the Talent category of the Competition. Per missworld.com,  “Miss Guyana received a standing ovation from her fellow contestants and the…

Lorna E. Welshman-Neblett has reached a pinnacle that few women of color have attained in the fragrance industry. More than 20 years ago she launched Angel, the first Thierry Mugler perfume, in the U.S. market. The fragrance has been flying off high-end shelves since. Welshman-Neblett’s career in the fragrance industry began in the late 1970s, when Elizabeth Arden established a separate fragrance company with Chloe, Burberrys and others. Welshman-Neblett started working with Thierry Mugler Parfums…

Toronto, Ontario.   The University of the West Indies recently announced that Deborah Cox, Canadian Grammy-nominated, multi-platinum R&B/Pop recording artist and actress will receive the Luminary Award at the 10th annual UWI Toronto Benefit Gala, on Saturday, April 6, 2019, at The Ritz-Carlton, Toronto. The Luminary Award is given to people of Caribbean Heritage who are outstanding achievers on an international scale in their respective fields or people who have brought prominence to the Caribbean or…

Understanding & Embracing Your Season of Singleness: Single, Saved & Young In a time where both the young and old are giving up on their dreams; Single, Saved & Young addresses these issues and more. Too many times we fail to turn to the only person that can make us better and to bring change in our lives. We look for temporary void fillers to relief the pain inflicted upon us while walking this pathway…

The year was nineteen seventy-five. Barren couple, Pearl and Edward Riley stumbled upon a newborn baby girl. Her cries could only be heard by a true mother, which Pearl immediately became. Bundled up with their new child, they discovered a parcel of artifacts and a scribbled note that read: Sakkara. Pregnant seamstress, Petrina Dugal, became a runaway at the age of twenty-six. She ran away from a brutish husband, Roger, and a well-loved South American…

Among the senior vice presidents at Rockwell Collins; the Iowa-based provider of avionics and information technology systems and services, Nan Mattai is the only woman. “Just the thought that something I say or do may change a life inspires me to be the best I can be,” Ms. Mattai, the Senior Vice President for Engineering and Technology, wrote in an email interview. “So, as a successful woman in a traditionally male-dominated field, I will try…

On Sept. 9 in a lavish ceremony in Temple Hills, Maryland, Guyanese Ariana Austin married Prince Joel Makonnen who is the great-grandson of Haile Selassie, the last emperor of Ethiopia. Mr. Makonnen, known as Prince Yoel, is the 35-year-old great-grandson of Haile Selassie, the last emperor of Ethiopia. Ms. Austin, 33, is of African-American and Guyanese descent; her maternal grandfather was a lord mayor of Georgetown, the capital of Guyana. · Their marriage had been…

Civil engineers have one of the world’s most important jobs: with creativity and technical skill, civil engineers plan, design, construct facilities essential to modern life, ranging from roads, bridges, to highway systems and are responsible for shaping our country’s infrastructure. Jean Ramkhelawan holds not only the title of Civil Engineer, but the coveted title of the first woman engineer of Indian descent in Guyana. With determination and resiliency demanded by this taxing profession Jean has…

June Givanni is a pioneering international film curator who has considerable experience in film and broadcasting for over 30 years and she is regarded as a resource for African and African diaspora cinema.   She was born in Guyana and grew up in the UK .  The development of the Pan African Cinema Archive is based on her collections from years of working in the field of cinema. Her motivation for the archive is to make this…

She’s a Foxy Lady and she Rocks!  Rhona Fox,  is a dynamic Indian-American actress. Born in Essequibo, Guyana, Fox was raised in Nassau, Bahamas, where her parents who are teachers, moved to secure a better life for her and her two older brothers. After graduating high school at 16, she journeyed to New York on a summer vacation and the rest was destiny. Enrolling in college there, the Big Apple remains home and work today….

Angelin Waldron is a recent graduate of the High School for Medical Professions Liberal Arts Program in Brooklyn, New York.   Angelin will continue her education at New York City College of Technology where she will be pursuing a Bachelors Degree in Human Services this Fall.  Angelin’s future goal is to have a career in Psychology, and she also has plans to obtain a Masters Degree.  Angelin is originally for Haslington on the East Coast in Guyana and…