Category: Features

By Ashraf Dabie A popular adage states: “Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life.” For young actress Jemima Holmes this saying has been her inspiration as she pushes forward in her pursuits of a career in theatre, not only locally but on the international stage. For this 19-year-old, her love for the performing arts began years ago as a result of her early exposure to theatre. A mother and daughter tradition has taken Holmes to local annual comedy production, “The…

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In romantic Christmas movies when couples are under the mistletoe they are compelled to share a kiss. This tradition, though mostly popular in the US, is becoming part of our local culture too. But why do we kiss under the mistletoe? Kissing under sprigs of mistletoe is a well-known holiday tradition, but this little plant’s history as a symbolic herb dates back thousands of years. Many ancient cultures prized mistletoe for its healing properties. The Greeks were known to use it as a cure for everything from menstrual cramps to…

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Every year, the Feed a Child for the Holidays team endeavours to put smiles on the faces of children by giving their love, time and support. This vibrant group of humanitarians enjoys giving back to their communities and spreading Christmas cheer. Established in December 2007, Feed a Child for the Holidays is a private non-profit group dedicated to making a humanitarian effort to share the spirit of Christmas. The group endeavours to bring gifts, food items, basic necessities, encouragement and love to the less fortunate children in Guyana. Feed a…

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Dozens of wildlife species, which are likely new to science, have been discovered in the Kaieteur National Park (KNP) and Upper Potaro area in Guyana during a month-long expedition by a team of intrepid researchers. Some of these species found are thought to only occur in the Guiana Shield. These findings were among the most significant highlighted in a recent report released by World Wildlife Fund Guianas and Global Wildlife Conservation. The report is the second in a series which aims to highlight Guyana’s incredibly rich biodiversity and represents the…

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Christmas is the most celebrated of all festivals among Guyanese. And in New York, as in Guyana, it is a traditional Christmas doing pretty much the same things people do ‘back home’ during the season. Guyanese New Yorkers have been busy making elaborate preparations for the end-of-year joyous season — shopping for gifts, clothing, food items, and materials for cake, organizing parties, etc that go with the season. The celebrations begin this Friday among family members while offices and businesses have been marking the end-of-the year-with holiday parties over the…

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Poonam Singh’s effortlessness in her powerful vocals and infectious personality are somewhat a façade. Why? Because she is way more than that. Her concrete determination to become one of Guyana’s most talented singers has met with challenges; however she has overcome these with cadence. In an interview with Sunday Times Magazine, Poonam mentioned that singing was and still is an art that is embedded in her. “It’s kind of like I was born with it, and I’m sure it’s going to stay with me for eternity. My parents do sing…

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(Extract of an interview with Sharon Maas, Georgetown, Guyana, November 2017. Maas is the author of more than seven novels; her first “Of Marriageable Age” was published in 1999) PP: Sharon, it seems as if you’re back home, in more than one ways. SM: Well, I’ve been coming back home every year over the past six or seven years. PP: In the physical sense, that is one way but I’m particularly making reference to your writing – you are beginning to focus more on Guyana. The last time we spoke,…

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The bridge that currently crosses the Canje River (known too as Canje Creek), a tributary of the Berbice River, is reported to be the third such structure known to have been built, and serves as a vital connection along the Corentyne Road. The original structure was built in 1830, a year before the colonies of Berbice, Demerara and Essequibo were united under British rule. A wooden construction, it was built by slaves who, it is said, were given their freedom three years before emancipation. They were also given land in…

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Hope Seals Guyana provides charity in the form of food, clothing, monetary support, and medical outreach to the less fortunate. It is the brainchild of Sonia Hutson, a London-trained beauty specialist/entrepreneur, and Lester Hutson, a nutritionist/entrepreneur. “Some four years ago, I read an article of a young single mother of three children who was killed in her sleep by her brother who had earlier raped his niece while the mother was out reaping wild cabbage to feed her family. Her son was also killed when he tried to save his…

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Herstelling, a village located on East Bank Demerara, is flanked by three squatting areas and is made up of residents mainly from the middle and lower economic status that are heavily dependent on the sugar and fishing industries for their income. With the economic challenges resulting from the falling sugar prices on the world market and the many barriers within the fishing industries, families have over the years been faced with high rates of unemployment, severe financial pressure, illiteracy, idleness/hopelessness among youths and extremely high levels of school drop-outs. These…

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