Category: Features

By Sam Sooppersaud   On the evening of Thursday, September 26, 2013, the Indo-Caribbean Federation of North America held its annual Appreciation Dinner in Richmond Hill, New York. The affair was well attended and also well represented with members, sponsors, artistes and supporters from diverse walks of life. These are the people who consistently do the work of the organization, selflessly and with the utmost dedication. They all put in their time; hundreds of hours, freely without expecting anything in return. These are the people who ensure that our rich…

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The Nirvana Foundation is known for its continued benevolence to the Guyanese community. It recently concluded another successful youth camp along with a series of fundraising and humanitarian events in Guyana. The Nirvana Humanitarian Society, of Kastev, Meten-Meer-Zorg, West Coast Demerara, a branch of the New York-based Nirvana Humanitarian Foundation (NFH), recently awarded the sum of GYD$250,000 to Parmeshwari Seodat towards her college fund. Seodat graduated from the Saraswati Vidya Niketan with 15 grade ones at the 2013 CSEC examination, despite financial challenges faced by her family. According to the…

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Saffon Street in Charlestown, Georgetown was named after Frenchman Louis Pierre De Saffon. The ward itself was built on the front lands of the former Plantation Le Repentir when the land was parcelled out and sold to cover his estate debts after his death in 1784 at 60; another account claims the lands were from the La Penitence estate. Louis Pierre De Saffon was born in France – some researchers suggest Languedoc province in 1724 and became a land surveyor. However, in an act that was to profoundly change his…

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By Petamber Persaud   The 2012 Guyana Prize for Literature was awarded in September 2013. Extract of an interview with Brendan de Caires in Georgetown, Guyana, August 16, 2013. de Caires is a literary critic and reviewer, working in Canada. He has worked in Trinidad as editor and book reviewer for the Caribbean Review of Books, (CRB) and for the review section of Caribbean Beat. He has also published other literary articles and reviews, and is a co-founder of Moray House Trust in Georgetown. De Caries is a native of…

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The annual Essequibo Night Exhibition and Fair provides a stage for showcasing local skills and products. This year, the event is scheduled for Oct 18-19 at the Anna Regina Community Centre ground. A press release from the Region Two administration said preparations have begun and the event is expected to attract thousands to the commercial centre of Anna Regina. The event, which was started several years ago by the late Minister of Agriculture Satyadeow Sawh, and held under the theme: “Made in Guyana, Grown in Guyana”, focuses on Guyana’s produce…

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Marketing maven Guenet Gittens-Roberts tirelessly works in the Central Florida community to highlight contributions of notable individuals of Caribbean heritage, especially those from Guyana US-based Guyanese public relations and marketing executive Guenet Gittens-Roberts grew up on Church Street in, Georgetown, and attended Stella Maris and then Queen’s College. “When I first left Guyana, it was after high school, and I went to school and lived in New York, before heading back to Guyana.  I lived in Guyana for a few years, met my husband, got married and then left Guyana;…

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With more persons losing their lives to diseases like diabetes and high blood pressure, the need to introduce a fun way of getting fit had to be conceptualised to reduce mortality rates The Ministry of Health, (Chronic Diseases Unit) in collaboration with Harris Arts, has introduced “Weight No More- Fit It! Guyana”, to encourage persons to develop a healthier lifestyle and to prevent and combat non-communicable diseases. In a recent interview with the media, Ministry of Health (Chronic Disease Department) coordinator Karen Gordon-Boyle, said 60 percent of all deaths are…

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Two groups use their cultural heritage and knowledge of their environment to produce quality products and provide job opportunities and development within their communities Medicine from Trees   Yei Winon Merison Sepo  is the local Makushi name which means “medicine/soap from trees”. The name was adopted by a group of women from different Amerindian communities in the North Rupununi, producing traditional medicines and soaps from locally cultivated plants and trees. The core members of the group are Veronica Farias and Rita Francis, from Kwatamang, and Cecilia Goffreys, now retired, from…

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NEW GPC INC is continuing its tradition of excellence, says General Manager Ravie Ramcharitar, adding that the company underwent an audit from America’s Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2012. Ramcharitar said the company can now boast of continued certification from this extremely stringent authority to manufacture and export to the U. S. He said NEW GPC had always exported its products to the U.S. and they are registered for sale in that country, noting that this is further reinforcement of the company’s standing as a world-class manufacturer in the…

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