Category: Features

Part I   By Petamber Persaud   The 2012 Guyana Prize for Literature (awarded September 2013) in a way fulfils an A. J. Seymour prophecy made more than four decades ago when Seymour, writing on Guyanese Literature, concluded that the eventual winner in the whole affair will always be Guyana, the country. There are many more layers of meaning to what took place at the recent awarding of the Prize but the focus here will be on the fact that four of the five winners were locally-based Guyanese writers. Following…

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Guyana is a nation that has a colourful history and is home to several cultures. For this reason, the richness and diversity of our past, it is critical to preserve our heritage. The relevant organisation, The National Trust of Guyana, is a government enterprise whose mandate propels its commitment to the preservation and conservation of historic buildings and sites in Guyana. Therefore we aim to enlighten the public about various events, aspects, symbols, landmarks and structures which has moulded our rich and diverse heritage. As we close the month of…

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Kenzena Romao, though visually impaired for almost 13 years, has never allowed her disability to dampen her spirit. “I have a passion for teaching,” she revealed in an interview with Guyana Times Sunday Magazine. “I have been teaching for almost 40 years now. I used to teach at commercial schools. Throughout my teaching career, I have met students who were slow learners, and I was able to help them be successful academically. I credit my grandmother who was very instrumental in instilling in me a love for teaching, and helped…

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“Change begins with me. I cannot change the world but if each one can reach one, our society will be a caring and peaceful one.” This is the sentiment that guides the lives of a group of energetic young people at the Roadside Baptist Church Skills Training Centre.” With a goal to improve the quality of life of people of all ethnic groups and religious backgrounds in their community, the youth arm of the centre assiduously work to accomplish this. One of the approaches Roadside Baptist has found to be…

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Five-time Emmy award winner US-based Guyanese Asha Blake is a former network anchor turned digital media mogul and media consultant to celebrities. Born in 1961 in Guyana, Blake is the daughter of an education specialist and a teacher. She was raised in Toronto and later in Minnesota, where she received a bachelor’s degree from the University Of Minnesota School Of Journalism. Blake is a television correspondent for America Now News, former network anchor for ABC/NBC, a producer, CEO of Goldenheart Media, event host, speaker, and a mother. She has served…

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Partners in Unity encourages women to recognise their empowering values Founded by a group of women, Partners in Unity seeks opportunities to improve the lives of the vulnerable while at the same time empowering themselves. The organisation was formed in November 2008 by the contestants of the Miss Guyana Renaissance Pageant 2008. In an interview with Guyana Times Sunday Magazine,  public relations officer, Patricia Helwig, a contestant in the 2008 pageant who was first runner-up, said that the group of women decided to form a non-profit organisation because they “saw…

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On Sunday evening, the people of Toronto were treated to an amazing cinematic experience as the Guyanese movie ‘Brown Sugar too Bitter For Me’ held its premiere performance in Canada at The AMC Theater on Interchange way. Doorga Entertainment, headed by Vashtie Doorga, presented the movie to viewers, who were spellbound by the presentation. The theater was decorated with sugar cane stalks set to the theme of a sugar plantation on which the movie was based. In attendance were lead actor and producer/director Mahadeo Shivraj, Executive producer George Subhraj, lead…

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The Caribbean Children Foundation (TCCF) is currently celebrating 13 years of helping critically ill Caribbean children to get life-saving and life-altering medical help, and to mark the occasion, a special event was held Saturday at the Empire Banquet Hall in Toronto. After mixing, mingling and enjoying a very tasty island-hopping style dinner buffet, TCCF’s president Jay Brijpaul, updated the packed banquet hall on the Foundation’s fund-raising activities and gave a brief history of TCCF, from its humble beginnings to its present status of being one of the most successful Caribbean…

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By Swami Aksharananda   October 2 marks the 144th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi. This is an event that will be commemorated the world over, though in Guyana, apart from the annual event at the Promenade Gardens by the Indian Commission, little is said or done. This, however, does not mean that Gandhi is not in the news, at least the sensational side of it. In his own lifetime, he has been the centre of a great deal of controversies, and many of his views have been challenged by his…

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It is almost 30 years since a bloody coup in Grenada saw the assassination of the leader of the People’s Revolutionary Government, Maurice Bishop, along with his colleagues. As that island readies itself to observe the 30th anniversary of the coup next month, director and producer Bruce Paddington has focused his lens on that island with ‘Forward Ever: The Killing of a Revolution’—a 2 1/2 hour long epic documentary, which highlights the revolutionary government of Grenada that came to power by a coup in 1979, and its demise with the…

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