An Indentured Immigrant’s first Home Two hundred and fifty labourers had sailed from Kolkata (then Calcutta) India on The Whitby to arrive in British Guiana on May 5, 1838. Four died along the 96-day journey. Highbury, their first point of entry, is a small village at the culmination of an annual trek by those commemorating the arrival of East Indians in Guyana. According to some accounts, many of those who returned to India after their indentureship period at Highbury had ended, returned with substantial wealth; paving the way for the…
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History Through The Lens
The evolution of Indian Cuisine in Guyana
By Rupa Seenaraine Indian cuisine is known around the world for its varying ranges of aromatic spices, which is clearly differentiated from other types of cooking. Here in Guyana, Indian food is quite common, with notable variations since it was brought to this land during the arrival of East Indians in 1838. In India, the streets are usually bustling with merchants who market their dried spices such as cumin, masalas, chillies, cinnamon, turmeric, cardamom and mustard seeds among others. Ginger and coriander are also prevalent to achieve certain distinct tastes.…
Read MoreWriting allows me to express myself in ways I never imagined – Nickalos Mobin
Writing provides us with an opportunity to share our innermost feelings, it provides an escape from the realities of our everyday life and is exactly what Odeshwar ‘Nickalos’ Mobin was seeking when he decided to start writing poetry. Though still in his infancy stages of writing, Nickalos has been making a difference in the lives of those who read his work. The 20-year-old Berbician never envisioned a life where writing would have played an integral part of his development but now he cannot envision one where it did not. In…
Read More“I spent years in denial after losing my sight” – Rosanne Ramitt
“At any given moment you have the power to say: this is not how the story is going to end,” and for the past five years that is exactly what Rosanne Ramitt has been constantly telling herself. She has been picking herself up every day, brushing off and moving along doing extraordinary things even though she considers them pretty ordinary. You see, Rosanne is unlike any other 23 year old you would meet. She is strong willed with a sense of purpose and a drive even more powerful than her…
Read More“I had to be me in the world” – Oliver Kerr
By Oma Lesa Pierre Oliver Kerr does not see his blindness as a disability rather he sees it as an advantage to view this world and everything else from a different perspective. Someone once said “A blind person, in reality, is the only person who can truly see,” and Oliver has been the embodiment of that quote. His journey is as remarkable as it is inspiring. The 38-year-old father of two is a teacher, cricketer and a man of many other skills. “It’s quite amazing that I’m skilled and living…
Read MoreDifferently-abled but not unable
By Kizzy Coleman Author Jo Franz once said, “Take a limitation and turn it into an opportunity”. Living for the past eleven years of her life, being visually impaired, 41-year-old Odessa Blair, a graduate of the University of Guyana is the embodiment of that quote. In 2008, at the age of 30, the then-pregnant mother of one was hospitalized with what was believed to be pregnancy complications. Following several medical tests, Blair was diagnosed with Hypertension. Hypertension is another name for high blood pressure which causes severe complications, increasing the…
Read More“Don’t set boundaries don’t limit yourself,” Malika Crawford
“I love dealing with children and especially specially-abled children because we as persons with disabilities we don’t get those kinds of attention from people because it always seems to people that we are a pity party, we need help. But if you can give a person a chance especially a person with a disability a chance you can see the ability in them, that is what motivated me to become a teacher because I am out in helping because I know what it feels like and how it feels to…
Read More“My love for nature kept me going” says Micah Davis
By Lakhram Bhagirat Nature has the uncanny ability to make even the most troubled soul feel at peace. It has the ability to keep us grounded and teach us compassion for all things. Nature keeps us in tune with ourselves and one of the most satisfying professions is one that involves nature. However, in order to be satisfied with a nature-related profession, you have to be someone who loves nature. It is quite challenging to be alone for most the time, but it is also amazing to come into contact…
Read MoreIwokrama: Preserving our forest for three decades now
The Iwokrama International Centre for Rain Forest Conservation and Development (Iwokrama) was created in the “run-up” to the Rio Summit in 1992. It is a key environmental programme dedicated by the Government of Guyana, through President Desmond Hoyte, to the Commonwealth in 1989 at the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting in Malaysia. Since its foundation, through an Act of Parliament in 1996, signed off on by then President Cheddi Jagan, Iwokrama has sought to advance best practices in the sustainable management of the world’s remaining rainforests. Iwokrama manages the 371,000…
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