You can be happy if you choose to be thankful…….

Dr. Oneeka Williams is a Harvard Medical School Graduate who ranks among the top urologic surgeons in the United States. She was born and raised in Guyana and moved with her family to Barbados at the age of 10. From an early age, her science teacher mother and journalist father instilled in her a love for the sciences and writing. “My childhood was filled with the joys of discovery and exploration as my science teacher…

 Character contributes to beauty.  It fortifies a woman as her youth fades. A mode of conduct, a standard of courage, discipline, fortitude, and integrity can do a great deal to make a woman beautiful……Jacqueline Bisset

Professional bodybuilder, Alana Shipp, has muscled her way to the top echelon of  Women’s Body Building in just a few years.   Born in 1982 in Barbados to Guyanese parents, Alana spent her early childhood in Guyana prior to moving to Queens, New York at age 11. After graduating high school, Alana enlisted in the US Marine Corps and spent almost 8 years as a non-commissioned officer, working as a logistics procurement manager in Okinawa,…

Meet Indranie Persaud, President and Co-Founder of Aurochemicals, a multimillion dollar natural flavor and ingredients company located in Washingtonville, New York. Indranie  was born in Guyana, the last child of six. Graduating from high school in 1981, she met her future husband, Deo Persaud, in 1987 and they married in 1988. Both migrated to the U.S. in 1991, seeking to fulfill their dream of a better life. In the following year, they had their first child, Babita….

Delene Musielak is a dual Board Certified doctor of Internal Medicine and Pediatrics. She is the Associate Program Director of Internal Medicine Residency Program at St. Luke’s Hospital in St. Louis, Missouri. Delene is also a busy mother of triplets and a life, health, wellness and parenting coach. Yet she finds time to produce “The Doctor Mom Show” in St. Louis, which serves as a medical resource for patients and parents. Add to that her…

Growing up in Guyana I was very very skinny and I desperately wanted to gain weight. But try as I may, nothing seemed to work. I wanted to be like other women who were referred to as being “thick” or having “a little meat on my bones.”  But it just wasn’t in my DNA, I guess. I even wanted to try pills to gain weight. How delusional of me! Fortunately for me none of my…

The newly appointed board member of the American Caribbean Maritime Foundation (ACMF), a Westchester-based charitable organization, is setting sights on increasing the group’s mission for the next generation of Caribbean youth. Michelle Nicholas, who is the vice president of development at Westchester Family Services, said she was bringing her passion and economical skills to help increase interest in Caribbean maritime. A native of Guyana, Nicholas said she was exposed to the maritime industry at a…

Sukree Boodram left Guyana as a teenager in 1983 for a better opportunity in the US.  Four years later she was married to the person who would become her abuser for 21 years.  Born into a Hindu family and raised to keep her personal problems to herself, Sukree never sought any help nor did she stand up to her abusive husband. A wife and mother of two, who strongly embraced her cultural and traditional beliefs,…

Sugar and Spice is a collection of recipes for the best of the worlds sweets, tiny cakes and patisserie, from delicately spiced Indian milk sweets to nutty Spanish marzipans; from tiny French sponge cakes to Scottish fudge. Crunchy brittles, tempting truffles, sticky toffees, caramels, nougat, honeycomb… there are treats to suit all tastes. Over 120 easy-to-follow recipes offer small delights from near and far ; ideal for all the family, for entertaining or for giving as…

Verna Walcott-White a.k.a Teacher Verna, Ms. Verna or Ms. V is versatile, creative and is truly proficient in her field. She is passionate about her profession (dance). She began dancing at the tender age of three, under numerous famous Guyanese and International Instructors and Guru. Ms. Verna joined the Guyana School of Dance as a teenager, from its inception, under the tutelage of its founder and Director, Lavina Williams famous Haitian/American Dancer/Choreographer/Director. Ms. Verna was…

Jamila Keizia Sanmoogan will be one of two, and the only female swimmer representing Guyana at the 2016 Summer Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The 19-year-old, who recently trained in Columbia on a swimming scholarship, is slated to compete in the Women’s 50m Freestyle event. In an interview the Guyana Chronicle, Jamila shared the following: “It felt as if my dreams finally came true, there were so many feelings, from excitement to happiness” she…

Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett was born in the Amerindian Village of Santa Rosa, Guyana. She received her early education in Santa Rosa and then move to the capital Georgetown to attend a private school.  Minister Rodrigues-Birkett then left Guyana for Saskatchewan, Canada, on scholarship, to pursue studies in Business Administration and Indian Studies. Following her return to Guyana in 1993, she read successfully for a degree in Social Work at the University of Guyana, while simultaneously managing…

Sixteen year old swimmer Onika George, was Guyana’s only swimmer at the 2014 Commonwealth Games last month in Glasgow, Scotland.  She finished 4th in the Women’s 50m Freestyle – Heat 2 and 5th in the Women’s 100m Freestyle.  What’s commendable about Onika is her determination to inspire her fellow Guyanese to take up swimming Onika  was part of the small Guyana team in Glasgow and the only athlete in the pool after men’s freestyle and…

www.ajc.com Democrat Lisa Cupid has ousted incumbent Cobb Commission Chair Mike Boyce, a Republican, in a major victory for her party that signals the county’s demographic and political transformation. Cupid has represented South Cobb, a suburban county of Atlanta, as a commissioner on the board for the past eight years. She will be the first African American woman to serve as chair, and the first Democrat in many years. Cupid was born to Guyanese parents…

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…