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…
Meet Our Sheroes
Farah Delicia Hussain was born in Guyana and moved to New York City when she was four years old. She’s a certified Kripalu Yoga Teacher and Thai Massage Therapist. Her family’s cultural and religious history, coupled with the trials of being an immigrant and a first-generation American, instilled a desire for self-exploration and healing. Her philosophy of yoga honors self-study balanced with a deep responsibility to enhance community and environmental health. While Farah was introduced to…
Ingrid Pollard is an artist and photographer who uses portraiture and traditional landscape imagery to explore social constructs such as Britishness and racial difference. She was born in Georgetown, Guyana in 1953 and moved to England when she was four years old. Ingrid became interested in photography when she took her father’s box camera on a camping trip. Some of her first photographs were of the sewage works and wood yards along the Lee Valley…
Ready to take the world by storm, the sultry songstress known to audiences as “Petra” crosses effortlessly into the realms of Caribbean music infused with pop, jazz and R&B melodies that places her in the evolving category called “Island Pop.” Born Roshell Petra Hooper, the singer/songwriter who hails from Guyana, South America was raised in Trinidad and Tobago in a family of professional musicians; her mother was a talented singer and her father is the…
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…
Dr. Nicola Corbin, Ph.D is an assistant professor in the Communication department at Weber State University, in Ogden, Utah. Dr. Corbin was born in Georgetown, Guyana and immigrated to the United States when she was 16 years old. She graduated magna cum laude, with a BA Degree in Communications from Seton Hall University and later became an adjunct profession teaching Media Writing, Oral Communication and freshman orientation courses at both Seton Hall and the University of Maryland. Following her…
Aubreana Stephenson Holder lives by the motto, “You can do anything you put your mind to, and given an opportunity to prove herself, she will show you her worth.” As such, she has achieved the title of Chief Operating Officer of Federal Management Systems, Incorporated (FMS), a government contracting company with over 25 years of working with the federal, state, local and international government, at a young age. Additionally, she is on the Board of…
Maya Tiwari (born April 16, 1952 in Liverpool Village, Guyana) is a humanitarian, world peace leader and author. Also called “Mother Maya,” she is an international teacher of Ayurveda, a health activist and the founder of the Wise Earth School of Ayurveda and Mother Om Mission. Biography Maya Tiwari was born in Guyana, the daughter of Brahmin priest Pandit Bhagawan Ramprasad Tiwari, whose family originated from Lucknow, India. Thereafter, she became a fashion designer…
Eight girls were among the top 15 performers of the National Grade Six Assessment (NGSA) Examination in Guyana. Saskia Twahir of the School of Nations scored the highest in the entire country with 524 out of 529 marks. Below are the results of the 8 young women who scored the highest. Saskia Twahir – 524 marks “I am ecstatic; all of my hard work for six years has finally paid off,” said 12-year-old Saskia who…
Congratulations to 18-year-old, Vena Mookram, who captured the crown last night and walked away with the title of Miss World Guyana 2017. The 5’6″ tall beauty was born on September 12, 1998 in the Capitol City of Georgetown and is a first-time beauty pageant contestant. She will represent Guyana on the Miss World stage this coming December in China. A fitness enthusiast, Vena’s Beauty with a Purpose platform focuses on physical fitness and nutrition and she has collaborated with Guyana’s Ministry of Public Health to…

