Letting go….

Why wait to be someone else’s queen when you can be your own queen!  The word Queen means woman – any women – a woman with or without riches, fame, position; women from any background, color or creed; women limbless or able-bodied; a Queen of her domain, a Queen to her King; her husband, a Queen is a woman, a woman is a Queen (Wisdom Beyond Being).  So what’s stopping you from being the queen…

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…

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,…

As women we sometimes tend to be very self-critical and always focusing on your own faults and weaknesses. Self-criticism can be both a healthy means of increasing self-awareness and personal growth, and, on the other hand, it can serve as a major obstacle to self-esteem and peace of mind. Stop all of the negative self-talk and criticism of your image and feel happy about who you are. “When a woman becomes her own best friend…

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…

Guyanese-born legislator, Roxanne Jacqueline Persaud, was elected to the New York Senate on November 3, 2015 after defeating her two challengers in the elections for the 19thSenatorial District.  Back in November 2014, she became the  first female, first black, first Guyanese to hold the position of Assembly member for the 59th Assembly District in Brooklyn, New York . Persaud, 49, polled 6,980 votes, or 88 per cent of the votes cast, while Jeffrey Ferretti, the Republic Party challenger, received…

You cannot always count on everyone to support your dreams, but having people in your circle who are constantly exuding negative energy can be quite exhausting and discouraging. We all need friends in our corner, even a few cheerleaders, but it should not be at the expense of you following your ambitions. You should walk away from the ones who don’t motivate, inspire or uplift you.

In 1958, Martha Ruby Holland (nee Nicholson) founded the first Ruby Holland School of Music  in British Guiana, South America. She was an avid believer in music education and the art.  She believed that everyone possessed creative talent and spent her life providing artistic opportunities for students regardless of their age, social standing or financial means. Martha’s approach to teaching music (the piano) was unique and quite enriching. She offered her students a rich array…

A family that braids together stays together!  The braiding technique developed by the talented Smith sisters has made them a household name in Kansas City, Missouri and earned them a well-deserved feature in the May issue of Allure Magazine.  Originally from Linden, the five sisters (Glynnis, Shelly, Rhonda, Alecia and Leslyn Smith) are the powerhouse stylists at “Braid Heaven” Hair Salon who have perfected the “bubble braiding” technique.  Here’s their story by Allure Magazine. They…

In a once unthinkable career for women, aviation in modern times has seen a multitude of females excelling in the field. One such example is US-based Guyanese (Captain) Beverley Drake, who knocked down the stereotype in her aviation career to prove that women can do a man’s job. Beverley, who grew up in Georgetown, in an interview with Guyana Times Sunday Magazine revealed that her father always wanted her to become a pilot, so he…

Fifteen year old Table Tennis Star, Chelsea Edghill, was introduced to the sport at the tender age of 9, and she has served up quite an impressive career record. The Bishop’s High School student first got her start at the Teach Them Young training Summer Camp and later at Mae’s where she regularly competed for the school. In 2006,  Edghill made her first regional appearance at the inaugural tournament of the annual Caribbean Pre-Cadet Table…

Olivia Dope started out as a dancer, but music was always her passion which eventually led her to her true calling as a DJ. Olivia is now one of NYC’s most sought after DJs in the fashion industry. Her passion and her ability to reinvent herself makes her pretty, powerful, and provocative. With humble beginnings as a classically trained dancer & later performing with artists such as Shaggy, Mac Miller & Chris Brown, music has…

Abigail Ulana Wade of (Abigailwadehairmakeupnails) is a New York-based Guyanese makeup artist with the hope of becoming the next celebrity hair stylist/makeup artist. This is her Photo entry to the Hello London Global Makeup Competition and your votes will definitely help her on this quest. Voting is daily (http://woobox.com/gemukx) until October. Click on the “Vote” button at the top right corner of page, locate “THIS” photo, then VOTE! Before moving to NY, Abigail was a…

Cecily Joseph, is the vice president of Corporate Responsibility at Symantec Corp. World Headquarters. Born to a German mom and Guyanese dad, Cecily Joseph oversees Symantec’s corporate responsibility efforts and serves as the company’s chief diversity officer. In her role, she oversees Symantec’s global corporate responsibility efforts, which encompass environmental, social, and governance program development as well as diversity and inclusion, integration and alignment. Cecily drives the implementation of community investment efforts including the Symantec Foundation, leads the…

The Sacred Bombshell Handbook of Self-Love: The 11 Secrets of Feminine Power The Sacred Bombshell Handbook of Self-Love is your passport to become the woman you were born to be. If you’ve been looking for a sign, this is it. Love-Body-Spirit coach, advice columnist, and motivational speaker Abiola Abrams reveals 11 self-worth secrets with assignments to awaken your feminine energy, reclaiming the word bombshell to mean a woman who deliciously embodies her mind, body, spirit…