Category: Features

By Danielle Campbell Five-year-old Jamal Codrington and eight-year-old Jabez Robinson enjoyed each other’s company. So when they went out to play and failed to turn up early in the evening, their parents were not worried. It was February 21, 2003 and Jabez had gone over to Jamal’s Norton Street yard to ride his bicycle. According to Jabez’s father, Orden Robinson, he was out vending his wares and got home after six when he learnt his son was missing. “I wasn’t worried ‘cause I know Jabez knows his way around and…

Read More

By Venessa Deosaran Canadian-based Guyanese novelist Karin Lowachee was born in Guyana, and moved to Toronto, Canada when she was two. She has written three highly-acclaimed award-winning science fiction novels, and continues to receive rave reviews for them. Her first novel “Warchild” won the 2001 Warner Aspect First Novel Contest. Both “Warchild” (2002) and her third novel “Cagebird” (2005) were finalists for the Philip K. Dick Award (an award given for distinguished science fiction). “Cagebird” won the Prix Aurora Award in 2006 for Best Long-Form Work in English and the…

Read More

Margery Kirkpatrick’s new book recalls life as a third-generation Chinese in Guyana By Venessa Deosaran Margery Kirkpatrick née Ting-A-Kee, in her second publication, “The Way We Were: Memories of a British Guiana Childhood”, is described as chronicling the Chinese experience in then colonial British Guiana, recounting vivid, heart-warming and often amusing details of her life as a third- generation Chinese girl growing up in the relatively mixed society of British Guiana in the 1940s. Relayed in a series of short stories, Margery’s book recalls Georgetown in its colonial days, a…

Read More

By Venessa Deosaran Starting her career as a model, Samantha Boyce, also known as “Storm Jordan”, was able to gather essential skills and learn the top qualities that designers and photographers were looking for to capture that perfect shot. Although she loved being in front of the lens, it was her genuine enthusiasm to become a part of creating the overall work of art as a make-up artist. Transitioning from modelling, Samantha vigorously worked on her craft as a make-up artist, and through different events and photo shoots, was able…

Read More

US-based Guyanese artist Stanwyck E. Cromwell is a second-generation artist. He is most famous for his colourful artwork narrating stories and memories of his beloved homeland. Cromwell inherited his artistic gift from both of his parents. In addition, he credits much of his growth to his cousin and mentor, Maurice C. Jacobs, a noted Guyanese artist who nurtured him, and was resourceful in laying the foundation for his artistic development. The notable artist graduated from the former British Guiana Educational Trust High School with high honours in art and other…

Read More

US-based Guyanese entrepreneur Samanta Joseph is renowned internationally for her creative twist on her specially-made footwear. She serves a special niche market: large-size women’s shoes. Her 10-year-old company offers styles up to size 14, and can be found on most major shoe online retailer sites. When Samanta was just a young girl in Guyana, her mother ordered a pair of custom-made sandals to better fit her flat feet. This experience would later spawn a business idea. After migrating to the U.S., Samanta graduated from Pace University in 2002 with a…

Read More

– say they have learnt many life lessons By Bhisham Mohamed A family portrait of the Munroes It has been almost eight months since Carol Ann Monroe, Bruce Monroe and Leonard Wharton were acquitted by the court due to lack of evidence that they were planning to over throw the government at that time, but from all indications, they have reintegrated themselves into society using the incident as a learning experience. “You learn to restructure; you learn to be cognisant about the people around you; you learn to pay attention…

Read More

Plans already underway for 2013 Camp GLOW Every Camp GLOW (Girls Leading Our World) around the world aspires to educate and empower young females to lead initiatives to create productive and healthy communities. Leadership skills are critical for people to initiate positive changes, but these skills sometimes need to be supported and developed. Camp GLOW Guyana empowers girls to recognize their potential to create change and be in command of their contributions to society. Camp GLOW was first started by Peace Corps Volunteers in Romania in 1995.  Since then, volunteers…

Read More

By Venessa Deosaran 2012 for Youth Challenge Guyana was challenging yet productive; the organisation was able to serve the interests of youth more as it started new projects (including the USAID/SKYE project) and strengthen existing ones. YCG is responsible for reaching more than 400 youth with training for the workplace, out of which a quarter have already been taught a set of basic employment skills, knowledge, and behaviours used by youth to be successful as entry-level workers with specific skill sets identified as priorities by Guyana’s employment sector. YCG is…

Read More