In the south London town of Stockwell at the Stockwell Memorial Gardens is a 10-foot bronze sculpture of a woman holding a child. It was the brainchild of Guyanese Cécile Nobrega and is based on and named after her own poem: Bronze Woman. Cécile was a scholar, musician, artist, text-book writer, poetess and many more attributes. She was born Cécile Burgan – the daughter of the late Canon William Granville Burgan and Imelda Burgan. Cecile grew up in Buxton village, East…
Shondell ‘Mystery Lady’ Alfred is a professional boxer from Guyana. She is one of the first female boxers to represent Guyana internationally and in 2011 the “Mystery Lady” was awarded “Most Inspirational Boxer of the Year” by the Women’s Boxing Archive Network (WBAN). Alfred’s knockout victory over Corrine Van Ryck DeGroot was largely responsible for her winning the award in front of a glamorous line up of boxers worldwide. Shondell grew up in Albouystown where she took to athletics and later karate while in…
Founder & CEO of the award-winning global organization, Women on the Crossroads, Sherry Ann Dixons, was recently admitted to The Black 100+ Hall of Fame. The Black 100+ Project is an Exhibition of the top 100 Black Achievers in Modern Britain. Guyanese by birth, Sherry is highly respected in the ethnic community in Britain and developed a following of dedicated readers with her health, lifestyle, beauty and relationship articles She is very passionate about raising the…
How many of you remember Shakira Baksh who represented Guyana in Miss World 1967 and ended as second runner-up? Some folks called her the “Guyanese Goddess”! Shakira Baksh was born on February 23, 1947, in Guyana to a Muslim family. The daughter of a dressmaker, she aimed to follow in the footsteps of her mother and become a fashion designer. It was while working as a secretary, Shakira Caine was urged by her boss to…
These beautiful young women are deserving of our congratulations because they definitely Rock! The GUYANA Women’s Basketball Team played undefeated to claim the title of the 12th annual Gillian Brazier Basketball Shootout earlier this year in Antigua and Barbuda. The team claimed a 74-34 victory to wrap up the tournament with a 5-0 record with wins versus St. Kitts and Nevis and Antigua. The United States-based, Shauntelle Nelson, was named MVP and was also added to the All-Star team,…
Leona Lewis was born on April 3, 1985 in the London Borough of Islington , to Aural Josiah “Joe” Lewis, a youth worker from Guyana and Maria Lewis, a British social worker of Welsh, Italian and Irish descent. A multi-platinum selling artist and three-time Grammy Award nominee, Lewis’s most successful single, “Bleeding Love”, reached number one in over 30 countries around the world, and was the best-selling single worldwide in 2008. She was proclaimed ‘Top…
If you’re ever visiting the beautiful Turks and Caicos Islands, make sure you check out the Oceanscapes Spa. Owner Latoya Jones is a proud Guyanese who now resides on the Islands with her husband and two daughters. Prior to leaving Guyana in 1998, Latoya attended St. Joseph High School, St. Stanilaus College, then went on to study at the University of Guyana. In November 2011, Latoya opened Oceanscapes Spa at 2 locations on the Turks And Caicos Islands. The first…
The most accomplished, decorated and successful bodybuilder (easily) from the land of many waters happens to be a woman by the name of Laura Creavalle who performed in Guyana in the 1990s and was inducted into the IFBB Hall of fame in 2007. Laura was born on January 25, 1959 in Essequibo, Guyana. She was one of the most successful female bodybuilders of the 1990s. Laura earned her pro card by winning the heavyweight class at the 1988 IFBB World Amateur…
Princess Guyana is originally from New York but while growing up she started testing the waters as every kid does and her Guyanese parents sent her to the “Country” Guyana so that she could get straight and fly right! In a recent interview Princess Guyana said “I was born in New York and I was there up until I was ten. When you’re an Island child and you’re bad, your parents send you back to the country…
Canadian Soccer Hall of Fame 2012 Inductee, Charmaine Hooper, was born on January 15, 1968, in Georgetown, Guyana. She was raised in Ottawa, Canada, and is a former striker for the Canadian Women’s National Soccer Team. She began playing soccer as a child in Zambia, where her father was posted with the Guyana High Commission. Known as one of the world’s most lethal strikers throughout her career, Charmaine has been a fixture on the Canadian…