Stories We Love! Guyanese, Debra Amata, Received the Top SEA Examination Score in Tobago

Renowned Guyanese Fashion Designer, Sonia Noel, showcased her First Resort Collection this past weekend during Caribbean New York Fashion Week. The fun and flirty collection was rich with Noel’s signature weave patterns incorporating vivid hues, leopard prints and polka dot. The event which was held at The Out Nightclub in New York City coincided with Mercedes Benz Fashion Week and was attended by members of the press and the Caribbean Diaspora.  Models, many whom were…

Marcie De Santos started designing over five years ago. She always had a passion for unique clothes, so she started by designing for herself and soon realized that she had a flair for designing. She prides herself in the uniqueness of the color blends that she uses. Her target is mainly women whose desire is to exude femininity in unique, exuberant, eye catching styles. The Guyana Fashion Week (GFW) 2008 was her debut runway show…

Roxanne Jacqueline Persaud was elected to the  New York State Assembly in November 2014. In January, 2015 she was sworn in as the first female, first black, first Guyanese to hold the position of Assembly member for the 59th Assembly District in Brooklyn, New York . Assemblywoman Persaud is a longtime advocate for her community and an avid volunteer. Her dedication to serving her community has motivated her to serve in various capacities. Assemblywoman Persaud …

Zena Hallam is a Florida-based  certified aromatherapist, reflexologist, and modern day alchemist. She first experienced the power of natural therapies as a girl in Guyana, South America, watching her mother heal the people of her village—including her grandmother, who would have lost her leg and then her life to diabetes, if not for Zena’s mother’s knowledge of herbal medicine. Watching others heal and thrive was a truly transformative experience for Zena. She decided to formally study…

In celebration of National Nurses Week, we honor all of the amazing women in the field. Ameela Singh is the Owner/Nurse Practitioner at Carpe Diem Concierge Medicine; a concierge/house-call medical service for adults in Maryland that she launched in early 2017. “I’m excited because this practice allows you to have a deep relationship with your medical provider, which is a golden opportunity today. Knowledge is power, and knowledge about your health sustains life.” ~ Ameela…

Canadian actress & international fashion model, Simone Small aka “Small & Mighty” was born to a Guyanese mother and Barbadian father. She attended Humber College and Etobicoke School of the Arts in Toronto, Ontario. The only child for her parents, Simone recalled having a great childhood. She spent her school years in Toronto but every summer went to Barbados or Guyana, sometimes both, to spend time with her cousins, aunts and uncles. Simone’s mother is from…

Waveney Ann Moore is a general assignment reporter for the Tampa Bay Times. She covers a wide range of topics in the metropolitan area, most recently the debate over the future of the St. Petersburg Pier. She was a finalist for the 2010 Pulitzer Prize for “For Their Own Good,” about abuse at Florida’s oldest reform school. The series won the Dart Award for covering trauma, the Casey Medal for exemplary reporting on children and…

Submitted by daughter, Florence James My mom is an ambitious, strong black woman and a one of a kind person. She taught me how to respect myself and how to detect right from wrong without her around. She showed me that a woman can be a woman without a man in her life. She provided for me and my other 5 siblings and she did a great job at it because today two of my…

Dawnn Lewis is a popular actress and singer, perhaps best known for her roles on sitcoms such as  A Different World and Hangin’ with Mr. Cooper.  She was born on August 13, 1961 in Brooklyn, New York, to Guyanese parents Joyce and Carl Lewis.  She attended the High School of Music & Art and graduated at age 16. After high school, Dawnn went on to the University of Miami where she graduated Magna Cum Laude. Career: Dawnn made…

Margaux Rusita (Margaux Wong) is a fashion and textile designer originally from Guyana, South America. She was first introduced to textile design while in Secondary school but was introduced to the sewing machine as a young child. For the past ten years, Margaux has worked as a freelance designer. She was in 2007, employed as the Personal Assistant to the late Catherine Walker, who for many years designed countless special pieces for the late Princess…

You should be known for the beauty that comes from within, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is so precious to God. 1 Peter 3:4 Look in the mirror and start loving yourself, then your inner beauty will grow and radiate to your outer self.

Earlier this month I had the pleasure of watching the young women of St. Albans Episcopal Church perform the Maypole dance at the annual Guyana Folk Festival held in Brooklyn, NY.   I remember doing this as a little girl growing up in Guyana dressed up in frilly dresses and socks with colorful hair bows, as we danced and weaved the ribbons to the sound of music. Watching this recreated many, many years later brought back sweet memories. A maypole is a tall…

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…

 It was out of the need to connect with Guyanese who were interested in seeing films by Guyanese and Caribbean filmmakers that the Timehri Film Festival was born three years ago, according to Romola Lucas, one of its founders. And while the business community and the government And while the business community and the government have not fully bought in to the festival financially, Lucas is heartened by the response at the community level, in…

Do you think that serving pepperpot or garlic pork at different times of the year or at events other than Christmas celebration is  taking away from the Guyanese Christmas tradition?  Please don’t respond with “it’s my food and I can serve it whenever I want”. Let’s just have a discussion. I was recently invited to an all day picnic in the park here in New York and pepperpot was on the menu; then there was…