CEO Michelle Foster of KISRA (Kanawha Institute for Social Research and Action) gives a thumbs up for her pet project, an urban farm across from KISRA’s Dunbar headquarters. The huge garden with two greenhouses trains clients in farming skills and markets the locally grown produce. A Guyana native, Michelle was a chemical engineer at Carbide in West Virginia as before opting to run the highly successful KISRA nonprofit program. Born and raised in Guyana, Michelle immigrated to…
Meet Our Sheroes
Marianna Hansen (born 17 February 1983), known professionally as Shaya, is a Danish–Greek singer of Guyanese and Indian descent. Shaya was a member of the girl band Hi-5, the result of the Greek version of the talent show Popstars. She is currently pursuing a solo career and finished fifth in Greece’s version of Dancing on Ice. Shaya was born in Denmark to a Danish father and a multiracial Guyanese mother of Greenlandic and Indian descent….
Karen Gibson, a full time choir conductor and workshop leader, is a powerhouse of inspiration and energy. One of the UK’s most noted and experienced gospel tutors and facilitator, Karen has been involved with various orchestras, bands, vocal groups, worship teams and choirs for over 25 years. She has conducted gospel workshops all over the UK, Europe, Africa and USA and was recently nominated in the categories of Best Contribution to Gospel Music for the GMA’s and…
The Guyana National Cultural Center was ablaze with talent on Monday evening for the “Let the Women Speak” Red Revolution Gala. Women from all over the country showed up decked out in a sea of red as a sign of solidarity and strength for the fight against domestic violence. The crowd was treated to live performances by local and overseas talent including poetry by 2014 Youth Poet Laureate, Ramya Ramana, choreographed dancing, skits and several…
The festival of Holi can be regarded as a celebration of the Colors of Unity & Brotherhood – an opportunity to forget all differences and indulge in unadulterated fun. It has traditionally been celebrated in high spirit without any distinction of cast, creed, color, race, status or sex. It is one occasion when sprinkling colored powder (‘gulal’) or colored water on each other breaks all barriers of discrimination so that everyone looks the same and…
In 1966, The Land of Many Waters, Guyana, graced the Miss World stage for the first time in history. Hoping for the best, yet preparing for the worst, little did they know that their representative, Umblita Van Sluytman would be called into the semi- finals. She did not advance to the top 7 round, but competing for the first time and making it to the semi- finals was an accomplishment worth the celebration. At the…
Cleopatra herself in all her glory couldn’t look as good I did done up in all my finery for an assignation with you. Maybe I was in denial but there’s something about an affair that apart from feeling horny makes you Queen-like and so beautiful you love yourself just looking. The noise your skin makes shining drowns out the crickets rivals the fireflies goes out into the world singing like a pissed fly and if…
Women’s History Month is an annual declared month that highlights the contributions of women to events in history and contemporary society. This month we will highlight the contributions and achievements of Guyanese Women.
Rajkumari Singh, A.A. (1923-1979), stands out as a major pioneering Caribbean woman writer, political activist, educator and distinguished cultural leader in her native land, Guyana, where she received national honors. She was respected and praised by her contemporaries for the quality of controversy, criticism and debate present in her works, for which she received many literary prizes and awards; she is revered by numerous younger poets, writers, scholars, artists and performers, to whom she was…
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…