Stay Calm, Be patient; Good Things take time…

Reproduced from Face2FaceAfrica.  Germaine Djuidje Kenmoe from Cameroon and Dawn Iona Fox (extreme right) from Guyana have won the prestigious OWSD-Elsevier Foundation Awards for Early-Career Women Scientists in the Developing World. The high-profile award aims to recognize the scientific and career achievements of women from developing countries in five regions: Latin America and the Caribbean, the Arab region, Sub-Saharan Africa, Central and South Asia, and East and South-East Asia and the Pacific. The theme for…

Born on October 31, 1993 in Georgetown, Guyana, Letitia Michelle Wright is an UK-based actress, known for her roles in Glasgow Girls, My Brother the Devil and Urban Hymn. Migrating to London with her mother at the age of six, Letitia first fell in love with acting at her Finsbury Park primary school when she got the opportunity to play a young Rosa Parks onstage. “I felt so comfortable,” she recalls. “I even did the…

The Philanthropic work of a 26-year-old Guyanese woman has earned her the prestigious Queen’s Young Leaders Award 2017. Samantha Sheoprashad was born and bred in Enterprise, East Coast Demerara with her two siblings and parents. She is a suicide survivor-focused on making a difference in her community and helping young persons to realize their potentials.  The young and ambitious entrepreneur has been working with disadvantaged communities in Guyana for some years through her non-governmental organization…

Amber Low a is 22-year-old commercial pilot with Roraima Airways and the youngest female pilot in Guyana.  She is the daughter of renowned Gynaecologist, Dr Guy Low.  Amber initially wanted to be a medical doctor like her father but instead she became a flight attendant, a decision which later fueled her desire to learn her how to fly a plane and become a pilot.  Here are a few excerpts from Amber’s interview with the Guyana Chronicle…….

Faudia Baijnauth is the co-founder and Chairperson of Indo-Caribbean Alliance, Inc. (ICA). She is responsible for the overall governance and direction of the organization which has grown to become one of the leading Caribbean organizations in Queens. Faudia’s primary role is to ensure that ICA advocates and creates programs and services for Indo-Caribbean residents in South Queens. Faudia  holds a BA Degree in Political Science from Baruch College and earned her Master’s in Social Work…

The Port of Spain-based Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) has a new registrar and marshal. Guyanese national Jacqueline Graham, who took up the post from July 1, 2014, is an attorney with an MBA in Finance (University of Manchester, UK), an undergraduate degree in Management Studies (University of Guyana) and is a graduate of the Hugh Wooding Law School at St Augustine. Before her appointment at the CCJ, Graham was the legal assistant to the Chancellor…

Guyanese born Catherine Pollard has a new top position at the United Nations.   UN Secretary-General António Guterres has appointed Catherine Pollard of Guyana as the next Under-Secretary-General for Management Strategy, Policy and Compliance.  She will succeed Jan Beagle of New Zealand to whom the Secretary-General is deeply grateful for her extraordinary work in management reform in the United Nations system and 40 years of dedicated service to the Organization. Ms. Pollard brings to the position…

Samantha Cross is a new up and coming triple threat singer/songwriter and dancer who goes by the name SCross. She was born in Linden at Mackenzie Hospital, but now lives in Canada. Growing up Samantha always knew that she wanted to be an entertainer. She started singing at the age of 8 and performed her  first solo with her church choir. Over the years, Samantha has performed at many venues including some well known clubs,…

Grace Nichols is a Guyanese poet.  She was born in Georgetown, Guyana in 1950, the fifth of seven children. She was raised in the village of Highdam and attended the school where her father worked as headmaster and her mother taught piano lessons. At age eight she moved with her family to Georgetown, and at age sixteen she left high school with the hope of becoming a teacher. Earning a degree in communications at the University…

Dr. Oneka LaBennett is Associate Professor of Africana Studies at Cornell University. She received her Ph.D. in Social Anthropology from Harvard University in 2002, and her B.A. in Sociology and Anthropology from Wesleyan University in 1994. Born in Guyana and raised in Brooklyn, New York, Dr. LaBennett’s research and teaching interests include popular culture; race, gender and consumption; urban anthropology; transnationalism and diaspora; and Caribbean migration. Dr. LaBennett is the author of She’s Mad Real:…

Dr. Marilyn Fraser is the Chief Executive Officer at the Arthur Ashe Institute for Urban Health, an Assistant Professor in the Department of Medicine at the SUNY Downstate Medical Center and the co-Director of the Brooklyn Health Disparities Center. In her previous capacities as the Deputy Director and the Associate Director for Research & Training, she was primarily responsible for overseeing the Institute’s community outreach and research programs. In March 2019,  Dr.  Fraser was named…

Meet Food artist, Indra Mekdeci, CEO and Founder of Reminiscence.  Founded in December 2011, Reminiscence is the premiere source in Guyana for beautifully designed, delicious fruit bouquets and chocolate treats.  Indra was born in Guyana and currently resides in Georgetown where she runs her home-based business. Her mouth watering delicacies include chocolate dipped fruit, cake pops, edible hampers and an assortment of chocolate truffles. The idea for starting Reminescence came to Indra while she was…

An insightful, bold exploration into the disappearance of African American men, The Black Man Drought is upfront about the issues plaguing them. From drugs to jail to interracial dating and homosexuality, this sometimes funny, sometimes serious, sometimes sassy in your face narrative forces an internal look into the choices of Black men and how they affect the whole community. The Black Man Drought: An answer to where all the brothers have gone and how to…

A Resourceful Woman Who Faces Her Fears Head-On. Nathaalie Carey is the Deputy Commissioner for Administration and Chief Financial Officer at NYS Department of Labor. She manages the agency’s $4 billion portfolios and oversees internal operations. Nathaalie previously served as a member of Governor Cuomo’s NYS Women’s Pay Equity Panel and was the Assistant Comptroller for Local Government and School Accountability.  In 2018 the YWCA of the Greater Capital Region, Inc. named Nathaalie “Resourceful Woman of…

For those of us who have emigrated from Guyana, Demerara Gold is a refreshing reminder of the expectation, excitement and anxiety that we experience in our journey to  join our families in America. I recently had the pleasure of sitting in the front row to watch Ingrid Griffith, the star of Demerara Gold, as she seamlessly transformed into a slew of characters and captivated the audience with her raw emotions and hilarious depictions of events from her…