Guyanese Dawn Iona Fox Win Prestigious OWSD-Elsevier Foundation Awards

Sunday’s Child by Anne Lyken-Garner is the remarkably inspirational true story of a little girl struggling to rise above poverty, appalling living conditions, food lines, violence, abuse, mental anguish and political hardships. It shows how she picks out little glimmers of hope and love and uses them as positive anchors in her life. She draws on everything she has – just to survive. Readers, all of the events I’ve recorded in this book have happened…

Vannetta Seecharran has been influencing art and design in the jewellery field for nearly 20 years. Born in Guyana in 1969, the London-based jewellery teacher migrated at the age of 11 with her parents to New York City. She graduated in 1991 from the prestigious Parsons School of Art with a BA in Product Design, and in 1996 earned an MFA in Jewellery from State University of New York at New Paltz.   She later moved…

Dr. Yvette Westford is a board certified Obstetrician/ Gynecologist with a pending board certification in Laser Medicine. She specializes in Cosmetic Gynecology and Aesthetics. Dr. Westford was raised in Guyana and immigrated to the United States after high school to attend college in New York.  She received her AAS in Physical Therapy from Nassau Community College in Garden City, New York, and her BS in Biology from Pace University in New York City. Dr. Westford’s…

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…

Embrace people’s differences with Karen O. Roberts’s empowering debut children’s book, Look at You! You Are Beautiful.  Brimming with vibrant pictures of kids from all walks of life, this charming collection stands in stark contrast to defeat the looks-obsessed culture in which children grow up today. Karen was born in 1971 in a small town in the only English speaking country in South America, Guyana. As a child, she often felt awkward, too tall, too…

  Keisha Edwards has been designing from a very young age. As a child growing up in Guyana, she would sketch outfits and ask her mother to make them for her. Born on September 8th, 1986, Keisha grew up in North Ruimveldt and then moved to East Ruimveldt at the age of 7. One of 8 kids, Keisha treasures her friendship with her siblings, and still reminisces on her childhood and the good times they…

This book is about Mohan and the many challenges he faces at home, as well as, school. Mohan discovers that having family and friends that believe in him and making the effort to do his best, can result in accomplishing the unexpected. Author Anaya Lee Willabus is an eight year old visionary who loves to read and play sports. At the age of two, Anaya Lee was taught to read by her father. She was…

A stellar achiever at a very young age and one of Guyana’s youngest dental surgeons, Dr. Sulan Fung aims to empower young women and spread awareness on her interest – maintaining a healthy mouth. Twenty-four-year-old Sulan began her scholastic career at Stella Maris Nursery at three years old. She later earned a place at Bishops’ High School where she received awards for best debater and best actress, along with elocution prizes. “I got prizes mostly…

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 Mad Real: Popular Culture and West Indian Girls in Brooklyn In She’s Mad Real, Oneka LaBennett draws on over a decade of researching teenage West Indian girls in the Flatbush and Crown Heights sections of Brooklyn to argue that Black youth are in fact strategic consumers of popular culture and through this consumption they assert far more agency in defining race, ethnicity, and gender than academic and popular discourses tend to acknowledge. Importantly, LaBennett…

Reigning Miss Universe Guyana Soyini Fraser recently embarked on a journey to vie for the coveted Miss Universe crown.  Following extensive training in New York, the Georgetown-native traveled to the Philippines on January 8th where she will compete with delegates from over 80 countries.  The Miss Universe Pageant is in its 65th year and will be held on January 30, 2017, at the Mall of Asia Arena in Manila, Philippines. “As I represent this beautiful country of ours, I’ll strive to have the…

Guyana’s first female pilot, 72-year-old Lucille Dawsey was honored by the Guyana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) on Thursday, November 13, 2014, at the Silhoutte Restaurant in Georgetown. Ms. Dawsey was recognized for the major contributions she made in the aviation arena, and for the many examples, she set for the other female plying the trade. The Guyanese-born retiree received her pilot’s license in 1961 and was attached to TransGuyana Airways Limited at the now Ogle…

Thank you all for supporting Guyanese Girls Rock in 2013. However the “The Best is Yet to Come.” I’m working on a greater vision for GGR in 2014 and hope that you will all continue to be a part of this movement and accompany me on this journey. A special shout out to all of the beautiful ✿Guyanese Girls✿ who were featured this past year. Keep on emailing or in-box me your suggestions for 2014….

In some ways, Shion Fenty’s campaign is similar to that of many others taking place this year across the U.S. She’s a 37-year-old Black woman, a first-time candidate, and is facing two middle-aged white men in the primary. But there’s something that sets her apart from the wave of other women of color running for office this year: Fenty is a Republican. The fact that she’s a Black woman and the daughter of immigrants in…

Mashramani is carnival like in nature. This year’s theme is “Showcasing our Culture, Sustaining Our Heritage.” Customarily, this is a colourful festival and is a combination of costume competitions, float parades, masquerade bands and much dancing and merriment in the streets to the sweet sounds of steel pan along with calypso and soca music. The Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport continues annually to create and manage the Mashramani celebrations as the largest national event.