Women in Uniform at Guyana Independence Flag Raising Ceremony

Meet Sonia Godding-Togobo, Guyanese-born documentarian, director and filmmaker currently based in the UK.  First migrating to Canada at age two, Sonia graduated from Archbishop Denis O’Connor Catholic High School in Ontario. Sonia has worked in broadcast television for the last decade with broadcast credits in Canada and England.  She has also produced short films in both Haiti and Ghana. In 2001, after graduating from Humber’s Film and Television program, Sonia went on to work in numerous post production houses before…

Born in Georgetown, Guyana on March 23, 1963, Restaurateur Doris Rodney is a woman living out her dreams.  Not growing up with a silver spoon upbringing, Doris knew from a very young age that she wanted much more than life had to offer her at that time, so she set out to find ways of providing a better future for herself and her family. Doris loves to cook and soon realized that the key to…

Look At You! You Are Beautiful Embrace people’s differences with Karen O. Roberts’s empowering debut children’s book, Look at You! You Are Beautiful. Brimming with vibrant pictures of kids from all walks of life, this charming collection stands in stark contrast to defeat the looks-obsessed culture in which children grow up today. Instead of focusing on physical beauty, Look at You! You Are Beautiful celebrates everyone’s uniqueness in a way that is easy, fun, and…

Guyanese Maureen Walker, who is the Comptroller of the City of Mount Vernon, has recently announced that she is seeking the nomination of the Democratic Party in the up-coming primary elections to be held on Thursday, September 10, 2015 for the Office of Mayor of Mount Vernon. Maureen is  a New York State Certified Public Accountant. The Plaisance native holds an MBA in Finance  from the University of New Haven and a B.Sc. in Accounting (magna cum laude) from…

On Saturday, July 4, Guyana’s first female World Champion Gwendolyn ‘Stealth Bomber’ O’Neil defeated Sonya Lamonakis and captured the heavyweight title in Philipsburg, St Maarten. O’Neil who is now a five-time boxing world champion while at the same time a mother of five children, thanked the fans, her management team and God for the heart-stirring win which put her back on top of the world heavyweight boxing scene. A huge crowd favourite, O’Neil fought to…

Before there was American Idol, there was Pat Cameron, who as host of the influential radio show, `On Show Young Guyana,` helped give recognition to the musical abilities of many young Guyanese. Pat was born on October 3, 1924 to Lilian Gertrude Christiani and Henry Perot Christiani. A Bishop’s High School graduate, she  worked in the Guyana Civil Service and was trained as a Social Welfare Officer in Jamaica. She entered the world of broadcasting…

Buxton Spice (Bluestreak) ABOUT  THE BOOK:  Told in the voice of a girl as she moves from childhood into adolescence, Buxton Spice is the story the town of Tamarind Grove: its eccentric families, its sweeping joys, and its sudden tragedies. The novel brings to life 1970s Guyana-a world at a cultural and political crossroads-and perfectly captures a child’s keen observations, sense of wonder, and the growing complexity of consciousness that marks the passage from innocence…

Meet Melabeu Cheriece,  Professional Model, Actress & Bikini Bodybuilding Competitor.  She’s the daughter of Guyanese author and Beterverwagting native, Adrianna Rose,  who recently published the novel Trapped in the Middle. Melabeu began competing in August, 2012 and has fallen in love with the bikini bodybuilding sport. During her teenage years she won the Miss New Jersey Perfect Teen Pageant and has grown in the performing arts, professionally.  She is very passionate about health and fitness…

In Nirmala’s Kitchen: Everyday World Cuisine ABOUT THE BOOK:  Through her travels to such exotic locales as New Zealand, North Africa, India, and the Caribbean, to name a few, Nirmala Narine has scoured local markets and remote hillsides for herbs and spices to bring home to her own kitchen. In this collection of recipes and personal anecdotes, Nirmala includes a thorough glossary of herbs and spices to guide even the most inexperienced cook beyond table…

B.G. is British Guiana; Bhagee is a fiery local stew. Philippa was the second daughter in a family of six children growing up in mid-20th century in colonial Guyana. She recounts her Sisyphean trials growing up a Carrington in Lot 10, First Street, Georgetown — from the women’s battles to the neighbours that never wore clothes to the relatives who walked with their shoes in their hands. B.G. Bhagee: Memories of a Colonial Childhood About…

Celebrity choreographer and actress Shakira Marshall combined her passion for African and Caribbean dance into a class. Marshall, who is of Guyanese ancestry, now shares her love of dances from the diaspora as an instructor at the Center for African and Diaspora Dance in Brooklyn. NY-based video reporter, Melissa Noel, (also a Guyanese Girl) recently caught up with Marshall at her studio and witness her in action. Check out the video. Shakira grew up in…

Maya A. Trotz, Ph.D., born in Georgetown, Guyana is an Associate Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of South Florida (USF), Tampa. She works at the nexus of geochemistry/water quality and global/community sustainability and education with current and previous student research projects in Barbados, Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, Bolivia, Liberia, Madagascar, Mali, and Peru. She currently holds a patent on “Functional composites formed from colloidal polymer particles with photocatalytic metal oxide nanoparticles.” Dr….

The year was nineteen seventy-five. Barren couple, Pearl and Edward Riley stumbled upon a newborn baby girl. Her cries could only be heard by a true mother, which Pearl immediately became. Bundled up with their new child, they discovered a parcel of artifacts and a scribbled note that read: Sakkara. Pregnant seamstress, Petrina Dugal, became a runaway at the age of twenty-six. She ran away from a brutish husband, Roger, and a well-loved South American…

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…

“Winner are not people who never fail, but people who never quit” and Lisa Punch keeps on winning.  The model/singer/songwriter who represented Guyana at the 2015 Miss World Pageant in Sanya, China beat out her fellow contestants earlier this week and made history for Guyana when she performed one of her original songs and won the Talent category of the Competition. Per missworld.com,  “Miss Guyana received a standing ovation from her fellow contestants and the…