Guyana chronicle e paper pepperpot 04 08 2 18

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Learning from children with autism ► Page VI GNNL retirees reflect on years of service ► Page XI

Miss Bartica Regatta 2018, Arian Dahlia Richmond is on a mission to empower young men and women across the country. (DPI Photo)

t s u j n a n h e t e e u r o Q M eauty B a

Miss Bartica Regatta 2018, Arian Richmond ► Page

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Chronicle Pepperpot April 8, 2018

The simple, beautiful life

Sleepy Leguan could be a retirement, tourist destination

By Zena Henry

thoroughfare.

The men said that money doesn’t circulate much in Leguan, and jobs are very limited in the predominately rice-cultivating location. “When rice done wuk, it flat and ordinary again, but you got you lil livestock and you gone plant ya one, one greens,” one of the islanders said.

IF YOU are seeking to escape the hustle and bustle of the city, or simply seeking a quiet getaway, then the sleepy agricultural island of Leguan is probably a destination to consider. One of the over 300 islands sitting in the mighty Essequibo, with lush green sceneries, bountiful historical treasures, and a people as peaceful and easy going as their isle, this location they say, is one fitting for retirement or the individual wanting to reclaim some calm in their reality.

In fact, the people of Leguan are not eager to label their home as this budding economic and social hub, but prefer to rec- The more than 100-year-old ognise it as the calm retreat that St. Peter’s Anglican Church it is. Do not come looking for extravagant parties, a crazy nightlife or the styles of the glamorous, but be sure to bring a bathing suit, your makeshift fishing rod and a basket to place the caught iguanas - which the island is popularly known for and even named in commemoration by the first Dutch settlers.

At the age of 65, Phoenix Village resident Jairam (only name) was born in Leguan and lived there all his life. He and childhood buddy, Ramesh Ramsingh, were at the time uplifting their monthly pension payment from the island’s lone post office when they acknowledged the value of their tranquil existence on the island, and insisted that they would not trade it in for anything else.

SIMPLICITY AND TRANQUILITY The men said that from their young days to now, Leguan would have changed significantly. Their village, for example, never had paved roads. “Was dutty road. Always been dutty road,” the men said before noting that it was only last year that the government paved their community

One of the main roads on the sleepy island of Leguan

Ramsingh noted that while Leguan cannot provide the sometimes upbeat atmosphere that tourists and vacationers look for, it is the place for outbackers and retirees. “Me retire, me ah relax,” he said. But for those who love the outdoor and visitors, he said they could be treated to roundthe-island trips, crab hunting and other sport for game meats.

He said, when his relatives from overseas come home, “the first thing dem want is a ‘guana, nah chicken and dem ordinary thing.”

Leguan resident, Nalini Samaroo, could not help boasting about the beautiful, clean beaches which Leguan is blessed with. Having lived on the island all her life, the young lady said she too is not willing to give up her peaceful life. She and her mother-in-law Dolly Khan sometimes operate a small eatery just off the stelling; said to be the brightest place on the island with the

Relaxing in the shade, enjoying the cool breeze

police station, post office, and power station all clumped together and flanked by small shops and stores.

Samaroo was proud to highlight the island’s landmarks such as the over 100-year-old St. Peter’s Anglican Church which she believes would be a bonus for visitors, as well as the 52-foot murti(statue) of Hindu Lord Hanuman,- the tallest in Guyana. She also insisted on the beauty of the island’s beaches. “The beach, oh yes the beach… just beautiful,” she sighed with pleasure.

THE NEED FOR INVESTMENT Khan said business is slow in Leguan, but noted that things could improve with more investment in the area. She supported ideas like the island’s lone plantain chip factory, for especially young people in need of work. She opined that Leguan could be an island which produces by-products from the items they grow.

She said Leguan has to be made more attractive, but before all that could be done, the access to and from the island must be regularised.

Although Khan operates her business at the stelling, she sells in small quantities since the market for even her eatery is not available. According to her, the biggest problem faced by islanders is getting to and from the island because they have no boat on a regular basis.

It was explained that while the fee is $500, after certain hours, residents pay $1,000 or $2,000 to get off the island.

“Sometimes- one time, two time for the week we get the big boat and people who have to carry over dem load, dem find it more hard,” Khan said.

She added that they have to hire a boat for $4,000$5,000. Persons with heavier loads that might include livestock and such cannot move unless the ferry comes to the island. If they choose to hire a smaller boat, she said, they pay as much as $15,000 to go to Parika.

Schools in Leguan are closed for the Easter vacation.

Groups of young people could be seen relaxing under mango trees, hanging out near kokers, flying kites or riding their bicycles. When the question was asked, many of the young people said they were quite satisfied living on their small, but peaceful piece of paradise.

Chronicle Pepperpot April 8, 2018

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More than just a Beauty Queen a 2018, Arian Richmond

By Svetlana Marshall

Miss Bartica Regatt

ARIAN Dahlia Richmond is not your typical teenage beauty queen – she is a young woman on a mission to empower young men and women across the country, and Bartica is her next stop.

As the newly crowned Miss Bartica Regatta 2018 Queen, she will soon extend her Guyanese Glow Programme to Bartica – an initiative aimed at boosting the self-esteem of young men and women. The 19-year-old, through her programme, will teach participants about the importance of self-care, self-awareness and self-reliance and simultaneously help them build a foundation for a beneficial source of income.

Sex Education with the aim of tackling the issue of Sexual Abuse against Minors will also form a critical part of the initiative. The programme- Guyanese Girls Glow – was originally launched in Georgetown, last year, with a branch subsequently created in Linden.

Her quest to expand the programme and receive the necessary support, were her main reasons for entering the 2018 Miss Bartica Regatta Pageant. Today, part one of her mission has been successfully completed, and she is now onto the next level.

we are going to be doing gender-neutral activities, sexual awareness activities and gender fluid activities,” she further explained.

Reflecting on the pageant, Richmond said it was an honour to work along with the coordinators and the delegates, describing them as “warm.”

Throughout the pageant her focus was on Statutory

MISS BARTICA REGATTA 2018 Last Sunday, her eloquent and charismatic personality won the hearts of the judges when the much talked about Miss Bartica Regatta Pageant was held at the Basketball Court at the Community Centre Ground, Second Avenue, before hundreds of spectators.

Richmond not only won the coveted crown but copped five other titles – Miss Top Model, Miss Intelligence, Miss Body Beautiful, Miss Multimedia and the Best Gown Award. For her, it was a clean sweep.

In an exclusive interview with the Pepperpot Magazine, the Miss Bartica Regatta 2018 Queen said her new portfolio provides her with the platform needed to reach more young people.

“As a queen, I am going to have one: the support and two: their listening ears. That was my goal for entering the pageant. I knew that I had something to give and I wanted the platform to give it so it would be effective,” she explained.

In August, she will host the first Guyanese Glow Bartica Camp. Guyanese Glow Bartica will be unique when compared to the groups in Georgetown and Linden, on the grounds that it is gender neutral. “I believe that sex education has been more so targetted towards girls…but boys as much as girls are victims of sexual abuse. So when the Guyanese Glow Bartica Camp is launched this August, Newly crowned Miss Regatta Arian Dahlia Richmond also copped the Miss Body Beautiful award during pageant night (DPI Photo)

The Miss Bartica Regatta 2018 Queen, Arian Dahlia Richmond, and her mother Arita Griffith. (Photo by Aisha “A-TayJah” Jones)

Arian Dahlia Richmond being crowned Miss Bartica Regatta 2018 by the former Miss Regatta Gabriella Chapman (Photo by Aisha “A-TayJah” Jones)

Rape in Hinterland Communities, emphasising the need to address this social scourge that continues to cut across sections of society. Statutory Rape – sexual intercourse with a minor – is a problem that should be faced head-on, Richmond said, while underscoring the importance for governmental and non-governmental organisations and even civil society to work together to stamp out this issue that has for far too long damaging effects on children and youth. “It is a cycle and unless you identify that cycle and start putting systems in place to let it unwind it will just keep it rolling on, and we don’t need that for Guyana,” she said.

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Chronicle Pepperpot April 8, 2018

Farming up Kuru Kururu Gladwin Thomas is changing the game

By Svetlana Marshall AS THE global demand for coconut products such as coconut water and virgin coconut oil increases, a 33-year-old farmer operating out of Kuru Kururu – a village on the Soesdyke-Linden Highway – is looking to take a plunge into the industry.

For the past 10 years, Gladwin Thomas has been supplying the local market primarily with eddoes from his two farms at Kuru Kururu measuring 10 acres in total.

“I have a small team I work with. We plant the eddoes, and supply them to the ‘middleman.’ They buy the eddoes at the wholesale price, and take it to the market where it is sold to vendors at wholesale and retail prices,” Thomas told the Pepperpot Magazine in a recent interview.

The wholesalers travel from various parts

Gladwin Thomas in his eddoe farm in the village of Kuru Kururu

further improve the industry.

GROWTH IN THE COCONUT INDUSTRY According to a survey conducted by the National Agricultural Research and Extension Institute (NAREI), there are over 1,454 coconut farmers in Guyana. NAREI had reported that while the industry comprises a large number of estates, small farmers make up a significant proportion of the industry, primarily in Pomeroon, Wakenaam and on the East Coast of Demerara.

Coconuts continue to be Guyana’s major non-traditional export; exports which amount to some US$5M anAll ready and set to go. Gladwin Thomas aback of his truck loaded with bags of eddoes to be sold to the middleman

of Region Three (Essequibo Islands-West Demerara) and Region Four (Demerara-Mahaica) to Kuru Kururu to uplift the produce.

SWITCHING IT UP Thomas supplies eddoes on a weekly basis, and while he has basically secured his market, the married father of three is looking to capitalise on the growing Banana and Coconut Industries. Currently, he plants bananas and coconuts for domestic purposes.

“I am planning to expand more on the coconut and bananas not so much eddoes. The demand for eddoes is there but the competition is great,” Thomas said.

He pointed out that there is a higher demand for coconut and its byproducts when compared to eddoes. Already he has applied for additional land. He is hoping to secure an additional 20 acres of land.

Guyana’s coconut products are gaining more and more recognition on the regional and international markets, and the Government, through the Agriculture Ministry, is upping its collaboration with farmers across the country to

nually.

However, Thomas was not always into farming. He had served in the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) but after three years, he resigned for financial and family reasons.

“I was unable to completely meet the needs of the family because the finance was just not enough, so I decided to farm because we had the land,” he explained. Today, he has no regrets.

FAMILY TIME “I’ve grown to love farming but not only that, I get to spend more time with my family, instead of going out to a seven to seven or seven to four job, based on the fact that the farm is close to our home, it is working out very good for us,” the farmer said.

When school is out and his daughters are at home, Thomas also takes the opportunity to pass on the tradition by teaching them a few farming techniques on the family farm which is loaded with soursop, papaya, banana, cherry, pear and coconut trees just to name a few.

The ‘Determined Crew’ Chronicle Pepperpot April 8, 2018

By M Margaret Burke

and the group for such a “marvellous job” done.

THE University of Guyana’s Final Year students of Tain Campus, Berbice have been very determined to construct a shade house and to present it to the Winifred Gaskin Memorial Secondary School. It is mandatory for final year students who are reading for their Degree in Social Work at the University to actively engage in activities which will help them to cultivate what they would have learned during the four years of study.

CHOOSING THE WINIFRED GASKIN SECONDARY SCHOOL This was the initiative of the The headmaster Imran Ally, left, along with Andrea Charles, Christine Persaud, Ashley-Ann Fable, Tain lecturer Chelsey Halley-Crawford and students of the school Faculty of Social Sciences Final Year Project for the course in Professional and encouraged each other throughout the ceremony, the ‘Determined Crew’ and the Development 2 (DSW 4100), under the guid- journey just to fulfill one of the long-awaited headmaster expressed their heartfelt gratiance of Lecturer Chelsey Halley- Crawford. dreams of the school. The final year student tude to each other, while Halley-Crawford It was steered by three students-Christine said that for the Social Work students, it was also expressed her gratitude to the School Persaud, Ashley-Ann Fable and Andrea not about just doing a project but the emphaCharles who gave themselves the name “The sis was placed on bringing about a change Determined crew”. wherever they are placed.

After the outline was given by Halley-Crawford for choosing somewhere to PROVISION OF NEEDS work with, the Rehabilitation School in Port The main responsibility of the social Mourant and the Special Needs School in worker is to provide for felt needs of the New Amsterdam were the two schools given client and to improve their present condition. much thought by the three students, but in It’s not just about a good grade, but also to order to make every group member satisfied leave a smile on someone’s face by changwith location, the Winifred Gaskin Memorial ing the situations for the best. It was not a Secondary School was the final choice. project that was pushed into the face of the “Upon speaking with the Headmaster, school, but the headmaster expressed that the Mr. Imran Ally in the first instance, he was shade house was an urgent and long expected delighted to have the ‘determine crew’”, An- dream for the Agriculture Department of the drea Charles told the Pepperpot Magazine. school. He also stated that the students tend Charles said that the Winifred Gaskin to feel demotivated to go out into the sun to Secondary School is located in what is work and as such the shade house would aid considered as a ‘catchment area’ that is said in their Agriculture practicum for the CXC to be of a low socio-economic standing. students.

Furthermore, it was observed that there is a From the start this project was a colprevalence of illicit drug use, among other laborative effort, Charles said. The willing social problems, in the area. It was also be- support from headmaster, staff, students and lieved that some of these factors may have community members, was key to the success an impact on the lives and performance of of the project. the students of the institution. As such, one of their main targets of intervention was the PROJECT COST ‘shade house’, which is to be used by the Charles said that the ‘shade house’ cost students as part of their farming activities. approximately $96,000 and that sum of monShe added that the ‘Determined Crew’ also ey could not have been realised were it not got involved in counselling and motivational for some generous and kind-hearted people talks. who contributed significantly. Such persons THE JOURNEY “It should be noted that had it not been for our heavenly Father, the project could not have been a success. The ‘Determined Crew’ upon embarking on the journey knew it would not have been an easy task to get accomplished. We knew [that] it required a lot of commitment, patience, cooperation and skills. However, we were ready to take on such a role and as such did not back down from the task,” Charles said.

BRINGING ABOUT CHANGE Charles told the Pepperpot Magazine that as a team they held each other’s hands

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are Poonai’s Pharmacy, Chattergoon Supermarket, Ishmiel, Hamid General Stores, both at Fyrish and Rosehall, Razac, Anamayah administrator of the Anamyah Hospital, Dr. Sugrim and the Emo Supermarket. Also, the carpenter, Junior Dejonge and boys did an amazing job in constructing the shade house.

The ‘Determined Crew’ is very grateful for all the support we received in accomplishing this task.”

CLOSING CEREMONY The project was completed before March 20 and was handed over to the Winfred Gaskin Secondary School on March 22, 2018, in the form of a closing ceremony. During the

ENCOURAGEMENT TO OTHER SOCIAL WORK STUDENTS It does not matter the task given to you, once you look at it in a positive an optimistic way, you can get through. The Famous Light Bulb inventor, “Thomas Edison” tried a thousand ways in getting his bulb invented. Each way he would have learnt something different why it didn’t work and were able to correct it. Also there is one time when Thomas Edison Lab caught fire after so many efforts he would have put into his lab- it is said that he slept on the lab’s table many nightsbut instead of becoming frustrated in which many of us would have, he sent the children home to go and call their mother, for they might never have been able to see such a big fire again. (mercilinburke2017@gmail.com)

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Chronicle Pepperpot April 8, 2018

Learning from children with autism Step Foundation and its school, – In observance of World Autism Awareness Day “and there is where our journey MISCONCEPTIONS can be began and there’s where we are

By Gibron Rahim

detrimental. This past Easter tism. Mark noted that he and his family did not know what Monday, when many of us surely enjoyed kite flying and family picnics, was also the disorder was at the time. However, once they started to do coincidentally World Autism Awareness Day. Erroneous research they realised that Joel displayed many of the signs ideas and stigma surrounding autism spectrum disorders and symptoms of autism including repetitive play, lack of eye still persist in Guyana. Despite these and other challenges, contact and mimicking words and phrases. Finally having parents of children with autism continue to ensure that answers, Mark and his family wondered what to do next. their children are happy, healthy and able to live their “We found Step by Step,” he said referring to the Step by best lives.

Joel out to eat with his father, left, and stepmother, The Pepperpot Magazine spoke with a few (Photo courtesy of Mark Dolphin) parents to gain an understanding of the nature of parenting a child with autism.

LEARNING ABOUT AUTISM FOR THE FIRST TIME One of these parents was Mark Dolphin whose son, Joel, started displaying signs of autism at an early age. The first sign was that, at almost two years old, Joel had still not spoken.

Additionally, he would not make eye contact or play with anyone, including his siblings. The father explained that he and his family knew Joel’s hearing was fine since he would respond to sounds from the television. At the same time, he would not respond when his name was called.

Joel’s paediatrician, noting all the signs, suggested to his parents that he might have au-

today.”

Routines are very important for children with autism.

Wake up times and seating arrangements, for instance, are all set. Mark related though that getting Joel set for school is not difficult since he loves going. He spends his free time playing by himself or on his tablet. Mark explained that children with autism have a different concept of play though Joel does sometimes play with the other children at school. Everyday life poses challenges, sometimes, however – Joel sometimes has meltdowns and tasks like haircutting have to be done at home. He happily reported, though, that Joel is in the best of health with a hearty appetite. “He’s very energetic,” the father said.

MAKING ADJUSTMENTS Since some aspects of life that we take for granted are not possible when a child has autism, Joel’s family has made appropriate adjustments.

Mark related that he avoids public transportation as much as possible. “Certain things would trigger different responses,” he explained. These include stimuli such as loud noises and camera

Anjalena and Sameir (Photo courtesy of Anjalena Beshpatty)

flashes. The public’s responses to children with autism are another aspect of concern. Mark noted that, while there is greater awareness now, the general population does not necessarily understand how different children along the autism spectrum can be. “What would affect one child would not affect the other child,” he said. He is grateful that he has colleagues who are understanding. This enables him to get time off of work to attend meetings and workshops on autism. “In that regard, my boss is very supportive.”

CLARIFYING MISCONCEPTIONS The misconceptions about autism still persist in Guyana, however. Referring once more to the individual differences along the spectrum, Mark clarified that children with autism may be verbal or nonverbal or have varying motor skills, to name a few of the variations. He also noted the mistaken perception that autism can be cured or that it has a quick fix. That, he said, is the biggest misconception surrounding autism. He expressed the wish that there could be more patience and understanding for children with autism. “Only a parent of a child with autism understands,” he said. “You have to spend a lot of time with that child to understand the challenges that you go through every day.”

EARLY SIGNS Anjalena Beshpatty began noticing signs when her son, Sameir, was a little over two years old. Anjalena, currently a senior tutor at the Step by Step School, related that she had been taking Sameir to a private clinic at the time. After noticing that something was not quite right, Anjalena took him to get a second opinion from another doctor. That doctor referred them to the Ptolemy Reid Rehabilitation Centre. She Turn to page XIV ►►►

At the 'heart' of it all The benefits of the Heart of Palm Chronicle Pepperpot April 8, 2018

By Lisa Hamilton GUYANA has the potential to capitalise on a growing international demand for the heart of the Acai Palm tree which is grown locally and sought after for its health benefits and multipurpose means of consumption.

The product is very famous in Europe where healthy eaters seek it out for its absence of cholesterol, glutton, fat and sugar as well as its high fibre and water content which makes it an all-round organic product.

It can be cooked as a vegetable, added to curry and used by itself as a salad or snack and is grown mostly on the Barima River in Region One. Taking advantage of what many locals have overlooked, is Amazon Caribbean Guyana Limited (AMCAR) which calls the product ‘Acai Palmito’ which translates as ‘Heart of Palm’.

The botanical name of the tree is Euterpe Oleracea (EO) and the product which emerges from its heart is called by many names such as palm heart, palmito, burglar’s thigh, chonta, palm cabbage and swamp cabbage.

Managing Director of AMCAR, Chris-

Managing Director of Amazon Caribbean Guyana Limited (AMCAR), Christophe Sureau, showcases açai berries pulp, Acai Palmito, organic pineapple juice and other tropical fruits at a recent expo overseas (Photos by AMCAR)

tophe Sureau who is a French national, says the company invests much of its finances into promoting the product and the country from which it originates.

In an interview with the Pepperpot Magazine, he pointed out that in previous years the main talks surrounding Guyana have been its large gold reserves and now, with recent discoveries, the attention has shifted to oil.

SHOWCASING GUYANA'S NATURAL RESOURCES Though important to the country’s development, Sureau was careful to remind that oil

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is a finite resource and is not enough to secure the country’s future forever.

For this reason, Amazon Caribbean believes that increased focus should be placed on the country’s natural resources and for over 30 years the company's focus has been dedicated to exhibiting Guyanese products in cities within Germany, France and the United States.

Sureau told that in the sale and exhibition of the product. the company realised that it must first promote Guyana after observing that many foreigners still cannot properly pronounce or locate the country on the world map.

“Before you sell the product, you have to be able to sell Guyana and then you have to let them know the history of Guyana, how Guyana is beautiful, it’s not only Kaieteur Falls, for me the beauty of Guyana is in the rainforest as well as in the diversity of all the Turn to page X ►►►

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Chronicle Pepperpot April 8, 2018

Chronicle Pepperpot April 8, 2018 ◄◄◄ From page III

Her main supporters were her mom and siblings, best friend Aisha “A-TayJah” Jones, Paul Charles, Isaiah Luther and Mikel Andrews (costume designers), Randy Madray – the designer of her gown, Arita and Amel Griffith, Sonje Marslowe, Tia and Tianna Rickby, and Ruqayyah Boyer. Next year, Richmond hopes to compete in the Caribbean’s Next Top Model Competition.

WHO REALLY IS ARIAN DAHLIA RICHMOND? The crown aside, Richmond is the Chief Executive Officer of ‘Cake Face by Dahlia,’ a make-up company, and a youth advocate.

Born in Bartica, Griffith, at the age of two migrated to Region Four (Demerara-Mahaica) with her mother and siblings after the passing of her father. Her father at the time was the support base for the family given that her mother, Arita Richmond, was attending the Cyril Potter College of Education (CPCE). With his passing, life for Richmond and her family became hard.

At the age of 12, while she was on the verge of entering secondary school, Richmond started cooking for her mother’s friends and family when there were celebratory events. She did it for a small fee, in addition to babysitting.

She graduated from the St. Agnes Primary School and had secured a spot at Saint Stanislaus College but by Form Three, Richmond was transferred to President’s College where her mother was teaching at the time. It was while attending President’s College that the teenager decided to sell egg balls to assist her mother.

“I was like, things hard, mommy not making enough money, I said you know what? I am going to make 30 egg balls every day and give to the canteen and let them make a profit off of it, and I started that at 15 and it worked for both of us, you know you pull in a little extra cash,” she explained.

But it was a tedious job for a school child.

“After a couple of months I got tired because you had to wake up early every morning grind cassava, peel eggs, fry it and then reach to school for nine o’clock,” the Miss Bartica Regatta Queen explained.

Several months after, while she was still 15-years-old, she began selling HB cosmetics products out of her bag pack. She would later package the products in small bags.

“I went and paid $5,000 for a logo by this amazing designer name DRE, and I put my

logo with the name ‘Cake Face by Dahlia’ on this gift bag, and I put five products inside, and I sold it.”

She had come up with the name Cake Face by Dahlia with her sister on a Sunday afternoon. “Why cakes, cakes are yummy, they look amazing and everybody likes them, so I was like okay, Cake Face by Dhalia,’” she explained.

BECOMING AN MUA Her first work as a Make-up Artist (MUA) was ‘horrible,” but Richmond used it as a stepping stone to creating the woman she is today.

“The girl’s face was white, white, white and I did not have as much likes on the page (I had created) but I got 500 plus comments bashing me about the make-up, and off of that negative commentary I blew up. I started getting a whole lot of likes on my page.

“It worked out for me. I used it as fuel because now I got customers that come from Linden, from Bartica and right here in Georgetown. Today, I do makeup, I do facials, I sell the products, I do, skin care treatment, I do make-up classes, one and one and group sessions,” Richmond said with a sense of accomplishment.

A SEARCH FOR SUBSTANCE Last August, Richmond decided she wanted to do more and decided to launch the Guyanese Girls Glow programme in Georgetown aimed at tackling the scourge of sexual abuse against girls.

“I presented it in a whole lot of ways to a whole lot of people, everyone didn’t buy it but at the Ministry of Youth, there was an amazing woman, Ms. Yvonne Cole. She helped me out with a place to house the girl who was at CARIFESTA and for two weeks I had about 30 girls from Albouystown doing Art Classes, Book studies, we did field trips, we did a lot of interaction with professionals who would talk to them and at the end of it I presented each with a certificate for participating, we did make up courses as well.”

The Miss Bartica Regatta Queen said she is simply creating the environment for young persons like herself to grow. “I just want to open them to the possibilities because if you can at least let somebody know that they are capable of doing more than what they know, they are going to go after it. It is like igniting a flame because it is not possible for me to push them to want something, I could only expose them to it.”

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communities,” Sureau said.

Much of AMCAR’s viewpoint coincides with that of the Government of Guyana which has embarked upon a quest for a ‘green’ economy and both parties have collaborated at different periods.

However, not many Guyanese apart from some Amerindian communities and those living near the palm trees know about the product and its many uses.

Sureau says that because of this low level of awareness there is not a local market for

the Heart of Palm which otherwise could be easily accessible to Guyanese.

“In Guyana, we have much more opportunities than just the local food market. Heart of Palm should be known in Guyana and my dream is to see more articles about our product because it is very famous abroad but not in Guyana,” Sureau lamented.

He believes that if Guyana and the Acai Palmito are to become better known there needs to be enhanced overseas exposure apart from local events such as GuyExpo and Uncapped or exports to locations within the

Chronicle Pepperpot April 8, 2018

diaspora.

COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT The first production of Acai Palmito began in the North West District located in Region One (Barima-Waini) in 1987, by a friend of Sureau’s father who later passed it on to Sureau (Snr.) who then passed it on to Sureau (Jnr).

“He [the first owner] heard that some Amerindian communities from Venezuela were coming to Guyana to harvest the Acai Palmito for factories in Venezuela and he thought ‘why not open a factory in Guyana’? Giving work to the communities around, so it started more as a social project,” Sureau explained.

When Sureau Jnr. arrived in Guyana in 1992, he came as a trainee to work at the North West factory for three months which would help to assist his business studies back in France.

However, after becoming mesmerised by the way of life and the many possibilities in the interior, Sureau quickly completed his studies and returned to Guyana to take up his father’s business full-time during which period he was also able to meet his wife.

Today, AMCAR has 160 employees, exports over 70 containers yearly, operates on a concession of 45,000 hectares and provides jobs and economic activity to over 500 Amerindian families in Guyana A cordial relationship has grown between the company and community members who harvest the cabbage providing it to the company in return for rice, flour and other food items or cash, saving themselves the trouble of journeying out of the region to the towns.

Sureau who has been the owner of the company for nine years, is well-known in the communities where he says he prefers to

spend most of his time rather than in the busy city of Georgetown.

“I don’t spend much time in Georgetown.

Georgetown is just a business place but the real thing happens in the interior of Guyana,” he said smiling.

CHALLENGES However, as all businesses go there are several challenges which the company experiences which surround the high cost of logistics and energy in Guyana, one of the highest in the world.

On the other hand, Sureau observes that Trinidad and Tobago has one of the lowest costs of energy in the world which is why he hopes that with the budding petroleum sector, benefits will be seen in other important sectors.

Presently, Acai Palmito is the only product which is organic and Fair Trade Certified in Guyana which helps it to keep pace with its competitors in Ecuador, Colombia, Bolivia and Brazil which all have lower energy costs.

Another challenge occurred some years ago when the company attempted to export pineapples in jars but was forced to abort the initiative due to an insufficient supply to run the factory which was located in Mainstay.

As such Sureau is calling on farmers who wish to invest in a chain of supply to the company to make known their interest as there are many opportunities for the export of juice, jam, dried fruits and more.

Meanwhile, the company’s next strategy is to continue working towards opening a local market, while preparing to showcase Guyana at expos in the US in September and in Paris in October the world’s largest food innovation and exhibition, SIAL.

Chronicle Pepperpot April 8, 2018

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Beyond the call of duty GNNL retirees reflect on years of service

By Michel Outridge HAVING dedicated 40 years of service at the Guyana National Newspapers Limited (GNNL), printers and publishers of the Chronicle Newspapers, Ivelaw Hall welcomes his retirement and plans to ‘take it easy’ and spend more time with his grandchildren.

Hall, who is easy-going, pleasant by nature and not a man of many words, says it feels like he spent a lifetime at the state-owned Chronicle but it was worth it. Now looking back at his journey, he stated that being a long-serving employee is not a ‘bed of roses’ but entails hard work, dedication and Garfield Niles being awarded by the Chairperson of the Board of Directors Geeta Chandan-Edmond, for his long often going beyond the call service to the Guyana Chronicle of duty.

He spoke of his early days when he first joined the company where he started off his career in the Accounts Department as an Accounts Clerk. There he met his wife, Hazel, who is still employed at the Guyana Chronicle as the Advertising Manager.

his 14 grandchildren and two great-grandchildren and perhaps reflect on his working days, since some memories are good to remember.

The father of seven opined that no matter where one works they have to endure certain challenges for them to cope under pressure, and with that in mind he was able to persevere.

He related that the most trying times were when he worked at nights and when he got home in the mornings his wife was out at work. It was a tough arrangement but they had to make their relationship work.

Hall was the recipient of an award for his long years of service when the GNNL held its Annual General Meeting (AGM) at the Herdmanston Lodge, last month.

GARFIELD NILES AN ACCOUNTANT BY HEART Another long-serving employee, Garfield Niles, opted to take early retirement. Having met the requirements, Niles feels that it is his time to do the things he could not have done before.

He served 33 years at the GNNL and for him, it feels like yesterday he started working but wanted to move on to newer challenges and enjoy the simpler things in life.

Niles started his long-serving career as an Accounts Clerk ‘B’ and quickly moved up to Senior Clerk in-charge of Customs and Purchasing in the Accounts Department, after which he was promoted to Assistant Accountant.

He was then relocated to manage the Heildberg HARD WORK AND DEDICATION press in 2000 when the This long-serving individual said he later moved up the ranks and was promoted to then-Board of Directors Supervisor of the Circulation Department and acted in the capacity of Manager up until decided to establish a new his retirement. area to garner revenue, Hall told the Pepperpot Magazine during his 40 years at the newspaper company, there and assigned the posiwere some so-called ‘rainy days’ which took some form of determination to continue in tion of Marketing Officer the uphill climb of success. even after that printing “I know some weapons were thrown at me one too many times but I persevered besection closed in 2010. cause I knew I had it in me to move forward no matter the challenges that lay ahead,” The closure saw Niles he said. returning to the Accounts Ivelaw Hall as he receives his award for his service to the Guyana Department where he Chronicle by Chairperson of the Board of Directors Geeta EXPERIENCE IS A SILENT TEACHER Chandan-Edmond, at the company’s AGM which was held in March remained as a Marketing Hall stated, “Experience is a quiet teacher and I can safely say it made me into a Officer until his retirewell-rounded person in so many aspects, because I dealt with rowdy newspaper vendors ment. on a daily basis and they would often use indecent language and behave however they The 55-year-old, however, recently suffered a setback just when he thought he would wanted to, and I learned to cope and remain calm when they are yelling and cursing me for enjoy his retirement: his wife of 28 years succumbed to cancer and he is trying to cope something or the other.” with that loss.

Hall told the Pepperpot Magazine that in the newspaper business one has to be tough and He describes his time at the Guyana Chronicle as generally good but recalled that he put on an armor of protection to deal with certain folks, and he tried to remain humble and encountered some hiccups along the way. However, with so many years on the job comes would often take his issues via prayers to God, who he believes kept him strong to endure the experience which he amassed in the field of sales, marketing, printing, production of the years he did at the Guyana Chronicle. commercial magazines etc.When asked if he would do it again if it was requested of him, he replied in the affirmative but indicated he would try a different approach having a wealth CHALLENGES of knowledge to share.

Hall stated that working with newspaper vendors was a new experience for him and over Niles plans to spend his retirement farming on the Soesdyke/Linden Highway, noting the years he learned how to relate to them, because of their wide use of the vocabulary he with the impending oil boom in Guyana we would need more food to cater for the influx had his work cut out for him. of people that would be coming to this country.

He, however, managed to develop his interpersonal skills and was able to communicate The father of three and grandfather of two said that he has a lot of things he wants effectively with the newspaper vendors on his own terms. to do and it is only a matter of time before he gets started, but for now, he will enjoy his Hall was reminded though that he was an officer of the company and managed a healthy non-working time at home tending to his plants, preparing meals among the other daily relationship with both colleagues and clients, since he knew he wanted to set a good ex- chores he is accustomed to doing. ample.

Niles said his time not working will enable him to take his granddaughter to school The 59-year-old noted that if he was to do it all over again he would, but this time better. and savour the days in which he gets to do whatever he wants without worrying about a Having gained so much experience and knowledge he feels equipped enough, however, he full-time job. has come to accept that it is his time to retire.

He recalled that when the Heildberg press closed, it dulled his spark because had that His advice is to remain humble no matter what life throws at you and do not let your section remained opened it would have brought out the best in him. “I knew I was capable, belief in God waver not even for a minute. but my request for an upgrade in equipment for faster delivery and better quality products Hall told the Pepperpot Magazine that all the years he worked at the Guyana Chronicle was not granted and that somehow demotivated me,” he said. he was often misunderstood since his quiet demeanour fooled a lot of people. But he assured Niles began working at the Guyana Chronicle in 1985 and was swiftly elevated to that he was always ‘in the know’ and was not a fool as some people painted him to be. a senior position in the Accounts Department. Like Hall, he was also recognised for In May this year, he will attain the age of 60 years and he plans to spend more time with his years of service at the company’s recent AGM.

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Farmers Field School PT2 How does FFS benefit farmers?

LAST week NAREI in Focus explained what the Farmers Field School (FFS) is and its core principles. It is an innovative, participatory and interactive learning approach that emphasises problem-solving and discovery-based learning.

The method emphasises group observation, discussion, analysis, presentation, and collective decision making and actions.

The basic component of FFS is setting up of a Participatory Comparative Experiment (PCE), commonly referred to as Participatory Technology Development (PTD), whereby the farmers put the FFS concept into practice.

This week this column will look at the benefits of FFS. They are: 1. Strengthening observation capability and increasing knowledge ownership through discovery-based learning: FFS does not rely mainly on information and techniques brought by extension agents and transferred to farmers. Instead, it aims to encourage farmers’ systematic observation and informed decision making based on discovery-based learning so that new knowledge and practices are generated by the farmers themselves. This process stimulates ownership of the learning process and ensures local adaptation. The main role of extension workers is to enhance farmers’ skills in practicing new ideas, discovering their own solutions, and developing coping strategies to deal with ever-changing situations. Technologies practiced under FFS usually are site-specific and suitable to the farmers who use them because the FFS participants themselves set up learning sites and put technologies into practice.

As a result, adoption rates are usually high among FFS members. Transfer of knowledge to neighbours is also common in FFS since learning results are based on farmers’ experiences applicable to their neighbours.

2. Building self-confidence and enhancing decision-making capacity: FFS is not about transferring and teaching knowledge and techniques, as it is the case in conventional extension. The FFS approach empowers farmers in various aspects through confidence building and decision making exercises. Unlike in other extension approaches, farmers in the FFS approach are facilitated to take a lead in learning sessions under a participatory manner. Every FFS session allocates time for presentation of field observations followed by group discussion. In addition, participants in FFS

are divided into subgroups and discussions among subgroup members are encouraged.

These exercises involving tangible field results usually provide a foundation for participants to “own” the learning process, build their confidence and personal skills, and thus become empowered in their farming activities and collaborating with other farmers in finding solutions.

3. Minimising risks in experimenting with new practices: It is risky for subsistence farmers to switch from their conventional land use practices to new ones based only on information or short training sessions provided by extension workers. They simply cannot afford crop failures when trying out new systems. FFS provides farmers with the opportunity to try out new practices on a group farm where risks are minimal, and potential losses would be shared by group members. Learning sites are usually very small in size; sufficient only to test and compare new technologies and farmers’ own conventional farmers’ practices. They need only to contribute a half day per week of their time to participate in FFS, while they can continue working on their own food crops using their conventional farming methods. FFS does not promote new methods in isolation from regular farmer practices; rather it provides an opportunity for the participants to test and compare alternatives in a relatively risk free environment with measurable figures for discussion and debate among participating farmers. FFS is therefore a less risky approach for subsistence farmers compared to most conventional extension methods.

4. Changing deep-rooted beliefs and practices: Farmers have a wealth of knowledge, which is usually based on their experience.

It is also true that they are sometime based on misconceptions. Wrong ideas or false deep-rooted impressions cannot be easily swept aside through short-term training or field visits. FFS provides an analytical structure and season-long regular interactions with the field, facilitators, and other FFS members, which enables participants to learn first-hand the benefits of testing new technologies in PCE and to understand the behaviour of introduced crops. The FFS experience can as well assist them to recognise misunderstandings and avoid errors in farming practices or beliefs.

5. Developing problem-solving capabilities: A farmer is an agricultural entrepreneur who has to deal with constantly changing natural and socio-economic

circumstances. To be successful, a farmer needs a range of skills including natural resource management, accounting, marketing, negotiation, problem-solving and conflict management. Without such capacities, farmers may be unprepared for uncertain events caused by political and economic unrests as well as climate change. Any oneoff training event cannot provide solutions for all farm-related problems, nor can it

provide the broad range of skills needed to support improved productivity at the farm level.

However, FFSs offer integrated learning opportunities for a period of one year in which participating farmers acquire problem solving capabilities that can encourage proactive behaviour and positive attitude towards an often uncertain future.

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explained that Sameir was still not walking at that time which occurs in some cases of autism. After two months of physical therapy at the centre, Sameir was able to start walking. Still, Anjalena explained that at that time there were still deficiencies in Sameir’s social skills. “He would only show a reaction if he was really hungry and that had to be really, really hungry,” she said.

Eventually, Anjalena took Sameir to a medical outreach programme where he was examined by a doctor from overseas. The doctor told her that it was possible her son was on the spectrum of autism. Anjalena related that it was the first time she had heard the term and

at that juncture, she had no idea what it meant.

A few days later, she went to an internet café and searched the meaning of the term as well as the signs and symptoms. She found a checklist that she returned to on multiple occasions, even having copies printed. “But, of course, I was in denial so I did not give an accurate [report],” Anjalena said. Eventually though, once she came out of denial, she realised that Sameir fell along the autism spectrum.

BEHAVIOUR There were multiple signs that indicated that Sameir was on the spectrum. Anjalena noted that he would hide or cry when the

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family would entertain guests. They had to entertain guests on the veranda. She explained that her goal became to help Sameir to develop social skills and be among other children.

At almost the age of four, Anjalena enrolled Sameir in a playschool where she spent half of every weekday with him so that she could help him to interact with other children. After two years at playschool, Sameir spent another three years at nursery school where his mother continued to work at helping him to build social skills. Her next goal after social skill development was helping him to become more independent. At the same time, Anjalena kept in touch with the doctor she had met at the outreach. The doctor would send her books and other teaching aids she could use to help Sameir.

BECOMING EQUIPPED Anjalena continued to work with Sameir at home up to the time she discovered a school that was tailored to his specific needs when he was eight years old. She related that the journey so far has not been without difficulty. She recalled having to contend with the often insensitive remarks of fellow

Sameir kite flying (Photo courtesy of Anjalena Beshpatty)

Joel flying a kite this past Easter (Photo courtesy of Mark Dolphin)

parents and society and its lack of knowledge of autism. It was at the school that Anjalena’s entire perspective on autism and her life course changed. She got trained so that she could be able to work with her child. It did not stop there, however. “Of course, having been trained, I did not want to keep the knowledge that I’ve gained to myself,” explained Anjalena. She started working with other children and imparting the knowledge she had learned.

“When we help a child,we not only help that child, we’re helping the family.”

Children with autism can teach those around them lessons they might not realise they need to learn, even as their caregivers look out for their needs and temper societal expectations and misconceptions.

“Sameir has been my greatest inspiration. I have not only given to him but he has given so much to me in return in his own way,” Anjalena declared. “The greatest thing that I have learnt from Sameir is to not be judgmental, to step back and look at the bigger picture when you see situations.”

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Murder accused with alibi defence found guilty of manslaughter

Lost appeal – manslaughter verdict accepted ON Boxing Day 1966, John Francisco de Freitas, in an apparent drunken condition strolled into the “Pinky Galaxy” City night spot in Regent Street, where he shot Cleo Samuels, three times.

Samuels later died in hospital.

De Freitas, identified as the killer was later charged with murder. At his trial he led an alibi defence – alleging that he was somewhere else at the time of the crime.

But the jury rejected his story and convicted him of the lesser count of manslaughter.

Dissatisfied with the jury’s verdict, the accused, represented by Mr. J. O. F. Haynes, Q.C. appealed, but the Appellate Court headed by Chancellor Edward Luckhoo and included Justice of Appeal Guya Persaud and Victor Crane, dismissed the appeal and affirmed the jury’s verdict of manslaughter.

The Appellate Court had agreed with the trial judge telling the jury that there was no provocation in the case to warrant manslaughter, but after taking the other circumstances in which the accused, in spite of his alibi defence, was properly identified and that there was only a scintilla of evidence in relation to drunkenness, dismissed the appeal and affirmed the jury’s verdict.

The main judgment was delivered by Justice of Appeal Crane.

According to him, at about 8 p.m. on the evening of December 26, 1966, at the “Pinky Galaxy”, a City night spot in Regent Street, Cleo Samuels was wounded several times.

He was shot at point blank range by a gunman with whom he had an altercation. Samuels was rushed to the public hospital where an emergency operation was performed, but he succumbed from bullet wounds on December 30, 1966.

The accused, John Francisco de Freitas, was later identified as the assailant, and his apprehension some three months following the incident led to his being charged with Samuels’ murder.

The principal witnesses for the prosecution were three female employees of the “Pinky Galaxy” – Theresa Balkarran, Sylvia Austin and Doreen Persaud. They were present at the incident and, at the trial, gave eyewitness accounts of it. Each identified the accused as the person who was engaged in a quarrel with the deceased and who discharged a loaded revolver at, and a few feet away from him.

Through them it was established that the accused was a frequent visitor to the “Pinky Galaxy”, whither he was in the habit of resorting for entertainment; that on the evening of the fatality he visited the hotel, danced once with Sylvia Austin and slapped her on

the face when she refused his request for a repeat dance.

This was the beginning of the trouble, for when Doreen Persaud interceded on Austin’s behalf, she too was slapped.

This incident brought about the intervention of the deceased, Cleo Samuels, and the altercation between him and the accused.

The three women also related how both the deceased and the accused were ordered out of the hotel by the caretaker, how the deceased returned some minutes later followed by the accused who pulled a revolver from his waist and shot the deceased at least three times at very close range.

At his trial, the accused raised an alibi supported by one witness, viz., that at the time when the offence was alleged to have been committed he was at his father’s home, where he passed the entire night, and that his identification by Doreen Persaud at a parade was a case of mistaken identity.

The jury, however, rejected both the alibi and his claim to have been mistakenly identified when they convicted him of the lesser offence of manslaughter.

Continuing, Justice Crane said that foremost among the amended grounds of appeal is a complaint that the trial judge had failed to direct the jury adequately on the effect of drunkenness on the question of mens rea in relation to manslaughter. It is contended that the jury ought to have been directed that the offence of manslaughter involved some mens rea, that drunkenness could negative it and thus be a complete defence thereto, and that if they were in any doubt about whatever the degree of drunkenness exhibited by the accused in fact negatived his mens rea, they ought to have been told to acquit him altogether of the charge.

According to Judge Crane, the law remains that a condition of drunkenness at the time of the commission of the offence which causes death may only reduce the crime, if it reduces it at all, from murder to manslaughter.

This is still good law today just as it was restated in 1920; there is therefore no room for a verdict of total acquittal from a capital charge when death is occasioned by the influence of alcoholic excess.

The contrary was, however, the suggestion of learned counsel who argued for the application of the principle in Church’s case (8); but a verdict of manslaughter arising from inability of an accused to form the specific intent to constitute murder stands on a different footing from any other verdict of the like kind and a specific direction on mens rea (guilty knowledge), as suggested, is unnecessary to sustain the verdict.

Contrary to counsel’s suggestion the ac-

cused indeed lost no chance of an acquittal by the absence of the direction because there can be no complete acquittal, the Appellate Court said.

Justice Crane noted that the only other ground of appeal which it is thought worthy of consideration deals with the complaints on the question of the identification of the accused.

Complaint is made that the judge failed to give a full and sufficient direction on the point as to whether the identity of the accused as the assailant had been properly established.

It will be recalled that the accused was not arrested until the expiration of three months from the date of the incident. He was arrested by Reginald Rogers, the proprietor of

the “Pinky GalBy George Barclay axy” at the Atkinson Field motor race circuit where he attended a meeting , and given in charge of a police constable as the “gentleman wanted by the police to assist in the investigation of a murder which was committed at my premises on December 26, 1966.”

Evidence of the identity of the accused, in which the prosecution was no doubt saying, was provided by the three female employees, the justice of Appeal observed as he dismissed the appeal and affirmed the jury’s conviction of manslaughter.

Solicitor General, J. Gonsalves-Sabola had appeared for the Crown.

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EASTER HERALDS JOY AND UNITY

WE intended to have carried this article in last Sunday’s edition since so many consumers had expected us to make an offering for Easter. We do so now not only because of consumer expectation because Easter and its message are vital and evergreen. The Festival’s moral and spiritual aspects help to enrichen our lives and its impact has always brought greater unity in Society.

Easter is the holiest day in the Christian calendar since it is fundamental to the very meaning and existence of Christianity, God incarnated Himself in a human body as Jesus, and as recorded in the accounts of the incarnations of God in all traditions, the birth of Jesus was a miraculous one.

Jesus was born in the town of Bethlehem in Palestine and spent his life in that country.

There are records of his life which are historically credible as well as records of his death.

It is his conquest of death and his resurrection which Easter commemorates and celebrates.

It also leads us to reflect on the beauty and attractiveness of the example of his life and his teachings.

The Middle East, and indeed the whole Mediterranean world had fallen into religious decadence. There was widespread agnosticism, continuous wars, barbarous blood sports like the gladiatorial contests and the dominance of the strong over the weak.

Lawlessness had taken over, and ethical and spiritual culture had been replaced by unrighteousness. God incarnated Himself as Jesus so as to restore this decadent world.

For example, the Middle Eastern world practised an ethic of violence and people were encouraged to settle disputes by violence.

Jesus taught an ethic of peace, forbearance and forgiveness. He also tried to guide people to abandon selfish, hypocritical and illogical ways which would bring suffering to others and ultimately themselves. Examples of such guidance are manifested when he drove the money-lenders out of the Temple underlining how evil it is for man to be exploiting man economically; or when a crowd was going to stone a woman to death for adultery as permitted by the barbarous law and custom of the time, he showed them how hypocritical and wicked they were and was able to change many of them. Or when he showed there are inflexible, meaningless and illogical rules which govern the lives of so many people to their own detriment or the detriment of their neighbours when he pointed out the case of a lamb falling into a muddy pit on the Sabbath.

He taught that the lamb should be rescued and not left to die because of the mechanistic rule that one should do no work on the Sabbath.

Above all, Jesus taught that the poor and hungry should be protected and helped.

He not only taught ethics, he also showed

the way of spiritual development. He taught the achievement of Enlightenment and getting closer to God by such methods as fasting, invoking God, sincere prayer and other techniques. Over the centuries, mystics such as St Francis of Assisi preserved and practised this mystical aspect of Jesus’ teaching.

God incarnated Himself as Jesus so that human beings would be able to easier empathize with Him and absorb the teachings of regeneration. He would be an example to Man, suffering all the pains and joys and abuses which all men experience. His death and resurrection were meant to illustrate that there was always renewal and hope in worst scenarios of life and even death could be conquered once there is absolute belief in and commitment to God. Easter is such a joyous festival or holy day because it celebrates Jesus’ conquest of death and sorrows and the ability of Man to do this once he lives strictly according to the example of Jesus. The various churches, in their Easter services, also repeat this message and the spread the infectious joy of Easter.

They symbolise the cleanliness of body and spirit and the joy of Easter by wearing white garments.

In Guyana, our three national faiths are Hinduism, Christianity and Islam. These are also the three greatest World religions. Unlike in other countries where there is religious conflict, in Guyana, these three faiths live side by side, respect each other, and identify their

commonalities. Here, the vast majority accept that all religious paths lead to God. In Islam, Jesus is the most important Prophet, second only to the Prophet Muhammad and he is revered in the same way that Christians revere him. And much of the teachings of Islam and Christianity are similar. Many Muslims may view Easter church services on Television.

Hindus regard Jesus as an incarnation of God as Christians do and may pay worship to Lord Jesus as they do to Lord Rama. In the Bhagwat Gita, God says: For whenever the law of righteousness withers away and lawlessness raises its head Then do I generate myself on Earth For the protection of the Good For the destruction of evildoers For the setting up of righteousness I come into being, age after age.

Hindus may not only view the Easter church services on the television but may even attend such services, sharing the relief, hope and victory over death with their Christian brethren in the same way that Christians participate in Phagwah and Diwali religious functions.

Easter, therefore, is not only a time of joy, hope, renewal, conquest over death, and strengthening belief in God and Jesus, it is a time when Guyanese could reflect on their unique religious unity.

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The filly, her head ‘Nanny’ and the ‘Killer Bull’

By: Abdool A. Aziz

KOWSILLA was a lonely woman who worked at the sugar estate’s cattle pen.

She loved her tough job as a cleaner and a caretaker. One day her heart ‘sank to her feet’ when she found a horse dead in childbirth, leaving its filly. She was assigned to be her ‘Nanny’ and she did a fine job. ‘Betsy’, as the animal was called, became her ‘daughter’ and she was special. The manager’s daughter was the only one to ride her and her stable was in her residence. She was a decorated pony.

But Dianne died tragically and Betsy had to go back to the dirty stables.

THE RAGING BULL One day Kowsilla wore a red shirt to work. She didn’t know that the colour ‘red’ is believed to irritate bulls. Before she knew

it, the animal pounced on her and she became a rag doll. There was no one in sight to help except Betsy, who galloped to her aid but it was too late. The bull gored her to death. Betsy tried to nudge her Nanny to life. Only her clothes blew in the wind.

Betsy followed in solemn procession and it was as if she stood guard at the ‘red house’ until the undertakers came. She hardly ate, and the other caretakers presumed she was probably grieving over her ‘nanny’.

THE DAY OF THE FUNERAL The day of the funeral was a day of mourning. The estate closed down. All cried for Kowsilla and ahead of the cortege was Betsy draped in black and led by the manager, himself. He also remembered the love his daughter had for Betsy. Following the funeral, Betsy refused to leave the burial site. She sat there all night until a little

girl coaxed her to leave. The sad animal was donated to the girl and she changed its name to Lovvy.

THE UNTIMELY DEATH OF LOVVY As Lovvy grazed in the soft grass, she ate a grasshopper. She died. Grasshoppers poison animals. The manager ordered a full burial beside her nanny.

She even got a bigger farewell. Her little friend cried bitterly. She was given the

honour to place the gravestone ‘Lovvy and her nanny at peace and in true companionship – man and animal in loving embrace’. I was a boy when those events took place. I cried my heart out for Lovvy. She was a ‘star’ among the stable dwellers. I still mourn their absence. This pen is nervous as I write of the tragedy of man and horse in my village (1953) Kowsilla was poor but had a heart of gold.

That filly was almost human – Why?

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World perspective of oral health LESS than a week ago, the World Health Organisation (WHO) celebrated World Health Day. It was a global affair and among the highlights was the recognition of the importance of the environment and structural issues to health. This has led to the development of oral health promotion programmes.

Oral health promotion has been defined as the process of seeking to improve or protect health through a range of activities, including behavioural, socioeconomic and environmental policy change. More specifically, the range of health promotion activities includes the following: 1. Oral Health education. This includes giving information about oral health, offering advice and trying to encourage the development of personal self-confidence. Opportunities for this exist in group situations, such as schools, and dentist-patient contact. Radio, television or newspapers may also provide information and advice. The latter group is non-personal, however, and cannot be focused on an individual’s specific needs.

2. Personal preventative health services, such as immunisation or oral cancer screening, and positive health services, such as smoking

cessation programmes. Special initiatives might be planned for those patients who are unable to access professional dental care, whether for reasons of anxiety or distance.

3. Environmental measures, such as making the physical environment more conducive to health. This might include designing buildings better to reduce the chance of dental trauma in children or optimal adjustments of the fluoride content of water to prevent dental caries. The adjustment of fluoride in public water supplies to the optimal level of one part per million has been shown to be an effective method o reducing dental decay.

4. Involving the community, either to develop local services or to form self-help or pressure groups.

5. Organisational development, involving the implementation of policies that promote the health of staff and their clients, such as providing no-smoking areas or healthy catering services.

6. Economic and regulatory activity. This might involve changing the taxation to make products intended for oral health less expensive or the development of code of practice that may, for instance, control the advertising of health-compromising products.

The fundamental issue is to make the healthy choices easier. Health education is an important part of overall health promotion activity. Interventions may not have long-term acceptability without public understanding of the reasoning behind them. On the other hand, knowing what a healthy diet should contain will not be very helpful to those people without the resources to purchase the diet, and will not affect the availability in shops of the products that constitute it.

Health promotion activity provides several difficult challenges for the dentist, whose training has usually been limited to the teaching of small groups or individuals in the dental surgery. Communication skills are an important asset to build upon, but they would need to be developed for use in activities such as lobbying for regulatory change or promoting water fluoridation. Additional skills would also be required, for example, in planning and implementing strategies and

identifying organisations and groups with whom these strategies can be implemented.

There are several recent examples of the development of this range of activity. Governments of countries, such as Guyana, have begun to realise that it costs a whole lot more to promote preventative measures rather than bear the onerous economic burden of treatment for their population, especially as it relates to oral health which previously was considered as relatively non-essential.

Doctors and pharmacists have been successfully encouraged to prescribe and dispense sugar-free paediatric medicine, whilst health visitors have been involved in campaigns to improve dental registration for preschool children. In Canada, for example, to enter an elementary school, a Dental Health History card is a requirement. The government provides it free. We should adopt that policy.

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THE NIGHT DOUGIE SANG SOPRANO DOUGLAS or Dougie, as he was well known, was a hard-working father. He was married and had seven children. Money was never enough. He planted vegetables and sold them at the local market. Then a devastating flood hit his community and the small farm was obliterated. The water never receded enough so his farm became a mini swamp.

He attempted to do a different sort of business venture. He took a loan and bought clothes, shoes and cosmetics. He tried to sell them in the market but the entire venture was a bust. In frustration, Dougie took the easy way out. He began to plant ganja on a plot of land that he illegally

took possession of. It was deep in the bush so he was confident that he would not be discovered.

Being a farmer at heart, he found the cultivating of his new crop to be an easy exercise.

Soon the plants began to shoot and grow at a very satisfactory rate.

Every other day he would go to the farm and inspect his crop. His first two checks went without incident. The third one, however, was one he would not easily forget. When Dougie arrived at the farm all the plants were missing.

He stood there gasping in disbelief. Anger, shock and confusion hit him at the same time. After he had collected his thoughts he proceeded to plant

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By Neil Primus

a second crop. This time he checked daily. The first two inspections went well but the third took the exact pattern of the first. When he walked onto the plot all his plants had vanished.

Dougie flew into a rage. He strode angrily back to the village hoping to find out who had stolen his crop.

What he found out was stranger than any heist. According to the elders, the land once housed an old mission church. Many good souls died there from diseases over a hundred years ago. The place was said to be haunted. Dougie knew better. He was convinced that one of the local bums had stumbled onto his farm and helped themselves to the plants. He would keep his ears to the ground. Maybe he would discover who the culprit was. When he found out the crook would pay dearly.

Dougie returned to the farm more determined than ever. He replanted his crop but decided to remain on site so as to ensure the safety of his precious farm. He pitched tent and settled down to wait. That night he had a fretful sleep.

He tossed and turned in the unfamiliar surroundings. Dougie woke up during the night cold and cranky. Something or someone was nearby. He grabbed his large cutlass and advanced to do battle. He was in for another shock. The land lay bare in the moonlight. His plants were nowhere to be seen.

Dougie flew into a rage. He ranted and raged.

Then he began to drink He had brought a bottle of Vodka to help him pass the night and now he drank with gusto. He was soon drunk and all his bottled-up anger was unleashed at the thief.

“All yo thiefing dawgs! Come an face me na, I would chap yo up! Wa happen all yo fraid?” he challenged.

No one responded to his tirade, that is, until he uttered some very unfortunate words.

“All yo like thief! Well, a gon give yo all some serious wuk! When yo thief I gon plant

even more! We gon see who gat mo belly!”

Those words seemed to cause a cosmic change in proceedings. Suddenly there were people moving all around him. Shocked by this unexpected chain of events he looked around sizing up the entire scenario.

“Who is allyo?" he bellowed in rage.

No one paid him any mind.

“Dis is private property! Get off me land!”

“YOUR LAND?” The voice seemed to make the air vibrate and caused Dougie to tremble. Then something bizarre occurred. People began coming up from below the ground and all were staring at him in an unfriendly manner.

“Dis place belong to we. Stop planting drugs here!”

The warning was clear “Me ain't fraid a none a yo all!” Dougie screamed at the top of his voice, his cutlass held at the ready. “ I gon start planting again tomorrow!”

All movement stopped and an eerie silence gripped the place.

In the blink of an eye, everyone had a weapon in their hands. There were cutlasses, hoes, pitchforks, axes and a few old-fashioned guns.

They surrounded him and charged as one body.

Dougie began to scream. Dougie knew that he was about to die and survival mode kicked in.

Slobbering and in tears with his cutlass thrown to the ground, he surrendered and he begged for his life.

“Ah sarry! Ah very sarry! Ah promise ah gon stop. Please don’t kill me! Ah got a wife and seven children!”

All the weapons disappeared. They looked steadily at him, a clear warning in their eyes.

Then they returned to the ground and soon the field was empty. Dougie wasted no time in vacating the plot. He sped off faster than you could say “Good night.”

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Venezuela’s plight GUYANA is approximately 214,000 square kilometres.

It’s a fairly small country inhabited by just about 773,303 citizens (as recorded by the World Bank for 2016). According to that same report, Guyana’s western neighbour, the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela is about 916,445 square kilometres, inhibited by 31.57 million people.

Buzzing for some time now locally is Venezuela’s claim for about two-thirds of Guyana’s land- a large part of the Essequibo- and most of its maritime zone. Not only does this seek to take away most of Guyana’s landmass, but also all of the deposits of gold and other precious minerals, the pristine rainforests and all other wondrous natural resources encompassed.

For a nation like Guyana which is seeking to transform itself, this would effectively stymie its development. This claim is not new though, in fact it dates back to the nineteenth century.

For years before gaining independence, Guyana (then British Guiana) enjoyed cordial relations with its western neighbour but everything changed in 1830 when Venezuela began disputing the border between the two nations.

Seeking to address the situation as just as possible, the Treaty of Washington was signed in 1897 between Great Britain (which was governing British Guiana) and Venezuela to set up an Arbitral Tribunal that would produce a border award that was a “full, perfect and final settlement”.

Both parties were equally represented on this Tribunal when it was set up in 1898 and the following year the Tribunal made the award, describing the boundary in detail and the process of settlement had been initiated. Commissioners had been

appointed to both sides to survey the area of the boundary and by 1905, the agreement was accepted. So, the issue of the border “dispute” was settled and hopefully left in the 19th century.

That was not the case, however. On the brink of independence in 1962, British Guiana was again faced with a border “controversy” from Venezuela- which had declared the 1899 award as null and void. It seems ludicrous that just a few decades before, Venezuela agreed to the award but was now seeking to dispute it again.

The Geneva Agreement was signed between the governments of Venezuela, Great Britain and British Guiana in 1966 to seek a “satisfactory solution for the practical settlement of the controversy…” by virtue of setting up another mixed commission.

This, however, was largely unsuccessful and the matter was taken to the United Nations, in 1982, for a decision to be made by the Secretary-General. In the following years, the Good Officer process was touted as the way of settling the controversy but even this was unsuccessful. In 2015, the same time when a US oil giant announced large oil finds offshore Guyana, Venezuela became aggressive and the Venezuelan President, Nicolas Maduro claimed almost all of Guyana’s maritime zone.

Venezuela’s fallible attempts to acquire Guyana’s land are being put to the test at the International Court Justice (ICJ) presently, after Guyana filed an application for a final and binding settlement to Venezuela’s territorial claim. Even now, in the hands of the international law again, Venezuela has voiced recently that it may not recognise the ruling.

But while Venezuela lusts after Guyana’s land and resources, its citizens continue to suffer from the acute economic austerity which is being faced by the Spanish-speaking nation.

On the grassroots, humanitarian level, the issue at hand is made more complex because of the bigger picture of the ensuing humanitarian crisis fueled by Venezuela’s political and economic instabilities. This bigger picture is made up of thousands of smaller images.

Economic mismanagement had led to high inflation and stark levels of poverty and malnutrition and according to the Washington Post, nearly one million Venezuelans have left the nation over the past two years to escape these conditions.

It’s not only worrisome that there is an exodus of Venezuelans but their reasons for leaving their homeland. Venezuelanswomen, children, men and families- have been trickling into neighbouring countries- Some to find a livelihood, some to get medical assistance and some for just a better life.

And many, out of sheer hopelessness, have entered other countries illegally and Guyana has seen this firsthand. It might be a violation of the law, but how do you punish these people for their helplessness?

From all accounts, it seems clear as day that Venezuela’s contention is null and void and Guyana will be able to enjoy sovereignty of its entire landmass without outside aggression. But what Venezuela should focus on, is improving the lives of its citizens that are suffering unnecessarily.

As robust as they are in pursuing Guyana’s territory, so too should the Venezuelan government be with its people.

Better must come.

The Freedom of Art

“IN ART, everything is beautiful.”

That is the mantra for the 24-year-old ‘free spirit’ and artist, Christina Bianchini.

Though she says she follows a monotonous home-workhome schedule, there’s much more to her than meets the eye, much like with art itself.

Bianchini likes to feel free and independent at all times. She enjoys quality time with friends and exploring the great outdoors. At other times, being curled up in her room with a good book or glued to a TV show is just enough for her. But most of the time, you’d find her with her sketchpad or canvas because her heart is with her art.

“I remember since I was a little girl I loved colouring and drawing,” Christina told the Pepperpot Magazine. “I have always been fascinated by art but I didn’t realise I had

the talent until high school.”

This talent was realised by her art teacher during her time spent at the Bishop’s High School and upon further examination, Bianchini started to realise it too.

Moreover, she realised that her art was more to her than just creating something pretty.

She recalled that art slowly entwined itself in her daily life because of how easy and therapeutic it was for her to sit and create something of her own. Each strokewhether it was with her pencil or paintbrush- transfixed her as she added them together to form her newest creation.

As someone who studied Sociology and understands the intricacies of human interactions, her art provides a medium for her navigate these intricacies.

Art also gave her the freedom to express herself in ways that maybe she cannot adequately do in words.

“Expression and empowerment [are] what I preach,” she highlighted

and said, “Hopefully I can use my art to do that,” Christina said. “I’m still building myself as an artist but definitely working on giving myself a voice through my art.”

A high-point as an artist for Bianchini would have been when she painted the 50th Independence Logo, placed in front of the Guyana National Broadcasting Authority (GNBA) building and got to see it displayed every day for almost an entire year. Incidentally, she works as a Broadcast Monitoring and Compliance Officer there.

For a while though, she had lost

the deeper connection she felt for her art. This was because she did not pursue it after finishing school, only as a hobby. As she says, she “neglected” it for a few years.

Realising that she missed it, she found a way to integrate it into her life once more. It’s her source of relaxation, it’s a way she expresses herself (and “speaks her truth!”) and fortunately, serves as a source of income.

But for artists like Christina, the demand for their creative pieces is pretty low and that can be pretty daunting. For many, putting pen-

Photo of recent painting done

Christina Bianchini

cil strokes on a paper or paint on a canvas seems like nothing too spectacular.

“There are persons out there that I’ve come across who don’t see value in art as much, so they won’t agree with the price that comes with it,” she related. The young woman also explained that there is a perception that art is just a hobby and not “real work”, which- of course- is completely false.

Bianchini, however, is of the opinion that art in Guyana is definitely a growing industry that has been garnering much attention recently.

For the people who appreciate art and would commission work from her, she is eternally grateful.

And she has her family and friends supporting her all the way.

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Developing Guyana

through STEM and ICT AS Guyana pursues a ‘green’ agenda for sustainable development through the expansion of such industries as eco-tourism and the scaling up the use of renewable energy options the Government recognises that the education delivery and curriculum must be responsive to the developmental needs of the country. That need is deepened when one considers the Government’s infrastructural development policy, which calls for road and bridge networks, which link the hinterland and the coastland as well as the introduction of the oil and gas sector, which must be developed in a way that does not contradict the ‘green’ state agenda.

Attaining this goal will require a highly-skilled workforce, particularly in the fields of Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM). Growing this talent pool requires action across many sectors such as schools, tertiary institutions, the public service, the private sector and at the community level, all working towards a common goal. The Government of Guyana recognises this and is working to put measures in place to build capacity and meet the increasing demand for STEM skills among the population.

President David Granger makes a point during a visit to the science laboratory at the President’s College in September 2017. President’s College is one of the schools, which is benefitting from the President’s National Endowment for Science and Technology (NEST) programme

NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY President David Granger, in addition to the ‘Boats, Buses, Bicycles plus Breakfast and Books’ or Five B’s programme, established the National Endowment for Science and Technology (NEST) in 2017, which is aimed at boosting the Science and Technology laboratories in schools across the country.

Through this programme, 13 schools; Queen’s College, Bishops High, St. Roses High, St. Joseph High and the St. Stanislaus College, all from Georgetown; Anna Regina Multilateral from the Pomeroon-Supenaam Region; Zeeburg Secondary and the Saraswati Vidya Niketan (SVN) Hindu School on the West Coast of Demerara; President’s College on the East Coast of Demerara; Rosignol Secondary, West Coast, Berbice; Berbice High in East Berbice-Corentyne; Three-Miles Secondary in Bartica and the Mackenzie High School in Linden, were able to benefit from one million dollars each for the development of their laboratories.

In his address to the 2017 graduating class of St. Stanislaus College on November 18, 2017 at the National Cultural Centre (NCC), the Head of State said that this endowment is not a fluke or gimmick but it is his commitment, which is aimed at ensuring that the skill sets needed to develop the country are honed and encouraged.

“The country needs biologists, botanists and zoologists to document and study its rich biodiversity; engineers to erect infrastructure in its hinterland and to install hydroelectric, wind, solar and biomass energy plants and Information and Communication technologists to extend communications services; geologists and gemologists to provide services for the sustainable management of our extractive sectors and agriculturists, chemists, physicists and physicians to promote food security and enhance human health and well-being,” he said.

At the handing over of three ‘David G’ buses at the Durban Park in August 2017, President Granger said Guyana must begin to produce empowered young people who are versed in these areas and can positively develop the rich potential of this nation into real benefits for the citizens. “Guyanese you are living in the largest CARICOM state, the most beautiful, the most bountiful, but yet the largest region in Guyana; the Rupununi does not have a proper highway. Our rivers do not have proper stellings. Some of the aerodromes need repairing and refurbishing. Who will do it? Foreigners, no! We have to train a generation of Guyanese engineers and mathematicians; children, who 10 or 20 years from now will become our engineers,” he said.

TECHNOLOGY IN CLASSROOMS To ensure that this vision becomes a reality, the Gov-

ernment through the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Public Telecommunications and the National Data Management Agency (NDMA), has embarked on an ambitious plan to ensure that Information Communication Technology (ICT) forms a central part of education delivery in the classroom and that more students and teachers have access to the World Wide Web. The National Information and Communication Technology Strategy is intended to provide the framework to guide the development of the ICT sector and a key component of it will ensure a greater presence of ICT in the classroom. Part of its outcome objectives is focused on the development of smart classrooms and eLibraries for distance education and eLearning. However, for eLearning to be possible, teachers themselves must be comfortable with ICT and must have access to computers and other such devices if they are to lead the way towards a smarter classroom. President Granger wants to ensure that teachers across the country have access to computers.

The One Laptop Per Teacher (OLPT) initiative forms part of the larger Improving Digital Equity, Access and Learning (IDEAL) programme that also includes connectivity to the internet for schools. The IDEAL programme was launched in September 2016 by President Granger as the beginning of a process of ICT transformation throughout the education

Chronicle Pepperpot April 8, 2018 system. It has concluded and approximately 9,000 laptops, which are pre-programmed with the necessary teaching syllabus and material, have been distributed to teachers across the country.

According to the ICT Unit of the Ministry of Education, it has successfully trained more than 5,500 teachers in Basic Computer Literacy. Additionally, 180 Secondary School teachers are competent to deliver the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) ICT syllabi and over 150 Primary schools trained in the use of low-cost technology.

The National Data Management Authority’S (NDMA) Secondary School’s Internet Connectivity Project helps to achieve the goal for greater ICT in schools. To date, 84 Secondary schools, 89 primary schools, 21 tertiary education, training and skills building institutions and nine technical vocational training schools in Regions Two, Three, Four, Five and Six have been connected to the eGovernment network and provided with internet access with more schools scheduled to be added to the network by the end of the year. Plans to extend this network to communities in the Hinterland are already underway. The connectivity programme is another testimony of the Government’s push for the implementation of STEM, which President Granger has said should be embedded in all levels of the schools’ curricula. Further to this, the NDMA, up to April 5, 2018, has established 110 ICT Hubs across the country, with the target being at least 190 hubs for 2018. Students, particularly those without internet access at home, are now able to complete research, assignments and other school-based activities, which require internet services free of cost.

just ‘chalk and talk’ and now we are moving beyond that because we recognise the importance of our children actively engaging in the process of education delivery,” he said.

STEM AND ROBOTICS Overseas-based Guyanese, Ms. Karen Abrams brought the Robotics Camp to Guyana in August 2016 and since then Robotics Clubs have been established all across Guyana.

Through the Office of the First Lady, Mrs. Sandra Granger, strong focus is placed on training programmes, particularly in the area of ICT in various communities including Buxton/ Friendship and Lusignan, which are being run parallel to the President’s NEST programme.

First Lady, Mrs. Sandra Granger speaking at Guyana’s first STEM Robotics Exhibition in June 2017, emphasised the importance of an advanced ICT system if the country is to be on par with international best practices. Mrs. Granger said, “Computer Science and technology are going to be where the jobs will be. As a matter of fact, it is predicted that 75 percent of the jobs in the future will be in Computer Science. So if the children and young people in Guyana don’t catch onto that idea, while also becoming literate and numerate, we are going to be in a society that is always catching up and not quite getting there.” Events of this nature, the First Lady said, are aimed at unleashing the creative potential of Guyana’s youth in the use of Science and Technology for the development of their communities and the country in a global digitised era.

Mrs. Granger explained that she is determined to ensure that every town, village and community is targeted so that every child can become exposed to the possibilities of STEM education. She said that once facilities and opportunities are made available, more children will be drawn to these areas of study and this can only lead to the further growth and development of the country.

“My concern has always been that young people can see all the possibilities and STEM offers them those opportunities; that they can see themselves developing and getting into a profession that they will love. Any child today is absorbed in technology so you have to stimulate that interest and maintain it and through STEM. My main focus is to get it to every child and I mean every child in the rural areas, the hinterland, the towns, in our less well-endowed communities and challenged homes, to give them that opportunity to see that they can do it and that has been our experience wherever we go with the Robot kits and so the aim is to get every kid in Guyana into Robotics,” she said.

The Government’s push for the development of STEM does not stop at the school level. In its 2017 National Budget, the Government introduced a $50M Youth Innovation Fund (YIF), which caters to young people, who wish to advance their creative ideas in the field of science and technology.

The programme focuses on both in and out of school youth and is in keeping with the Government’s ‘green’ agenda and

STEM EDUCATION BEARING FRUIT The focus on STEM education, though in its early phases, is beginning to bear fruit according to Minister of Education, Ms. Nicolette Henry. She noted that students are now exposed to hands-on interactive experiences in the classrooms enabling them to better relate to the new areas of knowledge.

“One of the great benefits I believe of the STEM education is the ability to promote critical thinking both in and out of the classroom. We have witnessed the use of micro-science kits that certainly would have proven useful in the teaching of Science in our schools, and these kits augment and in some cases provide alternatives to science labs, that are not found in primary schools. Through this students now have the opportunity to work individually or in small groups on various practicals that are not only mandated by CSEC but help students to develop investigative skills and competencies,” Minister Henry said.

The Minister added that students at the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) level have shown improvement in their experimental abilities and have achieved better grades in various subject areas.

Last year, Guyana performed exceptionally well at the Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examination (CAPE), securing 100 per cent pass rates (Grades One to Five) in 30 units, including Computer Science Unit 1, Information Technology Units 1 and 2, Applied Mathematics Unit 2, Animation and Gaming Units 1 and 2 and Digital Media Units 1 and 2. The country also secured an overall per cent pass rate of 92 at the examination.

Chief Education Officer of the Ministry of Education, at the launch of STEM Bartica in February 2018, said that that it is time for Guyana to move away from the traditional ‘chalk and talk’ approach to learning onto a more ‘learning by doing’ approach in the classroom. This he said, is possible through STEM. “As we prepare new generations to live well in a changing world, we recognise that learning by doing is an essential part of education for sustainability.

For too long our children have not been doing well in the participants from Bartica, who were sponsored by the Office of Climate classroom because learning The Change undergoing their training at the Ministry of Public Telecommunications would have been reduced to with Ms. Karen Abrams, Founder of STEM Guyana

XXV will focus on solutions for the reduction of fossil fuel usage and the STEM programme. Under YIF, young people across Guyana can begin to tap into their creative abilities with the use of modern technology to explore how they can contribute to the development of ‘green’ technology and the increased use of clean energy.

The in-school component is aimed at raising awareness among primary and secondary level students by having them participate in competitive activities that will challenge them to create solutions to address current global challenges while utilising STEM subjects. Out-of-school youths will be required to submit proposals of projects, which they believe can benefit their communities. These proposals will then be reviewed and those that meet the criteria will be selected by a panel from the Ministry of Education, Department of Culture, Youth and Sport. The YIF will be accessible across all the regions, with Ministry officials stationed in each region to assist the participants with their proposals.

STEM AND CLIMATE CHANGE With climate change and global warming becoming greater concerns particularly for Small Island Developing States (SIDS), the Office of Climate Change (OCC) of the Ministry of the Presidency, understands that STEM has a role to play mitigating risks associated with these phenomena. In this regard, in January, 12 teachers from Bartica, along with four community stakeholders, underwent a one-day training workshop in STEM and Robotics, aimed at equipping them with technological skills, which can assist in providing modern solutions to the challenges of transitioning Bartica, Cuyuni-Mazaruni (Region Seven) to the first model ‘green’ town in Guyana and the Caribbean.

Noting that robotics itself offers innovative possibilities for developing waste management and energy generation solutions among other things, Project Manager of the Bartica Transitioning to National Energy Security Project, Mr. Gavin Bovell, explained that the OCC is cognisant of the fact that science and technology play a critical role in developing solutions to many common issues.

Following this, the OCC on February 27, 2018, in collaboration with STEM Guyana and the Caribbean Community Climate Change Centre (CCCCC) or 5Cs launched the STEM Bartica Programme at the Three Miles Secondary and Bartica Secondary schools.

Speaking at the launch, Head of the OCC, Ms. Janelle Christian explained that a pillar in the fight against climate change is the transitioning to renewable energy.

“We often talk about our young people being the future but how do we get them involved? We need to build skills starting now. We need to build their confidence; we need to expose them to new technology, tools and concepts, so that they will be confident enough to fill those leadership roles that we often, so abstractly speak about,” she said.

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Write grand visions and tarry till they are realised

By M. Margaret Burke MICHELLE Foster is a proud Guyanese woman who is steadily striving to achieve her goals and objectives in life, while still using her free time to enjoy travelling, attending music festivals and theatrical productions, making scented candles, and soul line dancing. She also places a premium on spending quality time with her family and friends.

Dr. Foster, a chemical engineer with BP America, Inc., at the Warrenswille Research Centre in Cleveland, Ohio, was born to Winston and Muline Mickle in Berbice, Guyana, seven months after the country gained its independence from Britain. After migrating with her family in 1984 to Brooklyn, New York, Michelle enrolled in New York City Technical College. At the end of her first year she trans-

ferred to the City College of New York (CCNY) and graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Chemical Engineering in 1990. While at CCNY, she was a member of Tau Beta Pi, the oldest engineering honour society in the United States, and was elected Vice President of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers, student chapter. While at CCNY, she also worked as a summer intern at E. I. DuPont in Wilmington, Delaware, and as a part-time engineering assistant at Allied Signal in Morristown, New Jersey.

She said of her Guyanese compatriots, “I would like Guyanese girls and women and men (of every race and creed) to know that they should never settle in any circumstance that is not necessarily a predictor of the ultimate plans that God has for their lives. I encourage you to write grand visions for your lives; to run with those visions; to tarry for those visions, and know that in due season, those

Dr. Michelle Foster

ed by Union Carbide Corporation in South Charleston, West Virginia, in 1993, and continued her career in chemical engineering in the company’s Polymer Processing Engineering department. While working at Union Carbide, she completed her Master’s degree in engineering management at Marshall University Graduate College in 1996.

Dr. Michelle Foster, second from left, along with others in a meeting with President David Granger

visions will be realised!”

A young women’s STEM programme was facilitated by Dr. Michelle Foster and her team (she is third from right)

FULL-TIME CAREER In 1990, Michelle’s full-time career in chemical engineering began with BP America, Inc. While there, she worked as a development engineer in the Chemicals Development department and as a process engineer in the Process Studies department. Realising the need to further her education, Michelle enrolled in the Master's in Chemical Engineering programme at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland in 1991.

Michelle was recruit-

VOLUNTARY SERVICE AND WORK Around this time, she also began volunteering in the evenings and on weekends at Ferguson Memorial Baptist Church. It was through volunteering at the church that Michelle found her true passion in community service.

In 1998, Michelle took a giant leap of faith and left the engineering field to work for the Kanawha Institute for Social Research & Action, Inc. (KISRA), a faith-motivated, non-profit organisation established by the church. At the time, KISRA had the documentation required to operate as a 501(c)3, tax-exempt organisation, but the organisation was dormant, with no programmes in operation.

While Michelle had no formal experience or education in community development, Pastor Emanuel Heyliger recognised her natural capacity for the profession through her volunteer work. He hired her to develop KISRA’s programmes and paid her a salary from the church’s budget for a little over two years. In her third year with KISRA, Michelle began funding her salary entirely through grants.

Michelle used her systems thinking, problem-solving ability and other engineering skills to transform KISRA into one of the most impactful and enterprising community-based organisations in West Virginia. She developed each of KISRA’s initiatives in the areas of health (behavioural health and affordable health care); employment (workforce readiness, responsible parenting; second-chance Turn to page XXX ►►►

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#SupportCreativity

By Subraj Singh

Come to the Benab by the Sea as we celebrate World Storytelling Day 2018 AS WITH all other things, Guyana is late with this year’s celebrations for World Storytelling Day, which has as its 2018 theme, “Wise Fools”, a phrase that is applicable to many parts of Guyanese life and literature. While March 20 is the date designated for World Storytelling Day, the Department of Social Cohesion, Youth and Sport in collaboration with the National Drama Company and the National School of Theatre Arts and Drama, will be hosting an evening of storytelling, scheduled for Monday, 9th April, at the Umana Yana from 18:00hrs. The evening is the storytelling counterpart part to the World Poetry Day event, which was held last week, and has become a yearly feature that seeks to introduce the public to literary works that are being produced by young and upcoming writers, while also often paying tribute to established writers, including international works put forward by the Embassies and foreign Commissions that are representative of whichever country they emerged from.

The opportunity to go to the Umana Yana to listen to stories might seem like a maudlin idea to some Guyanese people, but that is more of a reflection on those people and the lack of literary knowledge they possess or know how to use, rather than being representative of the merits involved in telling stories.

Stories, in a way, might be regarded as the foreground from which many contemporary ideas and ideologies emerged.

It was from stories that we got religion – as ancient peoples devised tales to explain the natural phenomena (lightning, fire, drought) around them that they could not yet understand.

Stories were one of the first ways of passing on valuable lessons to future generations – whether they taught life-skills, societal expectations, or morality (as seen in some of Aesop’s fables, or those from the Bible for example). Some stories have even helped to launch, inspire the creation of, or improve important technological inventions that we use today. “Smithsonian Magazine” highlights one such example in inventor Simon Lake who was so inspired by Jules Verne’s “Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea” that he was inspired to make innovations that resulted in the creation of the first submarine to function in open ocean waters. Another example from the magazine also highlights another Jules Verne book, in “Clipper of the Clouds” which inspired Igor Sikorsky, the man who invented the modern helicopter.

Stories also served the simple purpose of entertaining the people of long ago. They shaped new worlds and peoples and creatures and allowed the listeners to escape into the fantasy of the story, to dwell there under the sea or in the volcanic mountain, to brew potions with the witches or to run with the pack of wolves, to slay the dragon and rescue the princess or to outsmart the troll and steal his chests of gold. Stories enabled us to use our imaginations as a form of entertainment and as a form of escape.

While storytelling was clearly an important part of all cultures in the past, the question has begun to arise: is storytelling still relevant? The response to this has to do with an observation of the fact that stories still serve all, and more, of the purposes highlighted above. Therefore, if it is still essential for us to understand our environment, to pass lessons on to our children, to be inspired by allowing stories to expand our imagination, or if we simply want to be entertained, then yes, stories are still very much relevant.

With technology, the format has changed somewhat – as stories are readily available on screens as movies or as downloadable/instantly readable books. However, the communal aspect that storytelling once lent itself to is still an extremely worthy aspect of this tradition to pursue, especially for a society like Guyana. The World Storytelling Day event is usually held

at the Umana Yana, where the audience sits with the storytellers until one by one the storytellers go up to regale the audience with their stories. In this way, not only do the listeners form a single community that listens to the stories, but it is a community where the writers themselves are listeners at some point or the other – sitting with the audience, watching their storytelling peers perform until it is their turn to take to the stage. The relationship between the storyteller and the audience, in this case, becomes a complicated one as it allows interactions between people without separating them into factions (storytellers/audience, me/others, etc.). In a country often forced to deal with

its division in uncomfortable ways, communal storytelling can be a way of dealing with issues (race, religion, the environment, sexuality) or anything else that is necessary for us to confront as a people, together, in order to heal, move forward, or be successful at whatever it is we want to do as a nation.

On Monday, in the Umana Yana – the famous benab by the sea – there will be stories surrounding the theme of “Wise Fools”, which brings to mind a host of figures from Guyanese folklore. It promises to be an evening filled with culture, laughter, and the formation of many new and lasting relationships all built on a love of stories.

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Self-harm SADLY, for some of you, I know the week, month or even year has been hard. No one

is immune to life’s stresses so I make it my mission to teach people how to healthily deal

with them. Unfortunately, this week (and many others before) I have seen many people who choose to unhealthily cope with their stress- particularly through self – harm.

Self -Harm occurs when an individual deliberately causes harm to their self. It can be anything from cutting, burning or hitting oneself to an overuse of alcohol and illegal drugs.

Many people use these measures for temporary relief but fail to see the long-term consequences and urge to continue.

People tend to self-harm as a distraction from their pain. They feel such strong emotional pain that they need to create a physical one to divert their attention from the emotional to the physical. Sometimes it may be obvious physical marks but there are many who try and succeed in keeping their self –harm a secret to

those around them.

Self-harm typically starts at about age 14.

The problem is particularly common among females but males do suffer as well. More often than not, someone who self-harms is a victim of sexual abuse. However, many individuals who self-harm suffer from some sort of mental illness such as depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder just to name a few. There are a few other signs that one can look out for if they believe someone is self-harming. The easiest one is isolation- people who self-harm love to be alone. They spend most of their time in their own company and are easily irritated or angry if this is not possible. They may unusually cover up their skin- even in hot weather. They experience sudden mood changes -sometimes Turn to page XXIX ►►►

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without any trigger. Their relationships are affected and suddenly strained – whether it be family, friends or partners. School and work performance will also be negatively affected, as low motivation and loss of interest in any activity are common. There will be obvious changes in their eating and sleeping patterns which means there will be fatigue, unusual weight loss or weight gain.

They may act abnormally insecure, displaying low self-esteem and self-neglect. This tends to lead to a change in appearance which differs with each individual. For example, some may make big changes such as dying their hair a bright colour or getting many new piercings while others may completely neglect even basic hygiene. There will also more often than not be a start or increase in alcohol/ drug use.

Although self-harming is not considered a suicide attempt, people who self-harm are at much higher risk for suicide than people who do not. Although a personal choice, it tends to causes shame, guilt, low self-esteem and very often self-hatred.

Self-harm itself can also become addictive and may seem like a compulsive behaviour that seems impossible to stop.

However, there are a few things that we can do.

First and foremost, in order to stop yourself or your loved ones from self-harming, the reasons why one chooses to do it must be identified. You cannot fix something unless you know clearly what the problem is.

Recognise the triggers – is it because of anger, sadness, loneliness etc.? It is easier to identify this if a feelings journal is kept. Write down exactly how you feel in the moments before you self-harm. I completely understand that the thought of actually paying attention to your feelings is a frightening one. Many like to avoid or numb the pain but in life, there is nowhere out but through. It is almost impossible to deal with any emotion unless it’s confronted.

Additionally, once the trigger emotion is identified, you will know what to avoid in order to not elicit that emotion.

If you feel like you cannot stop suddenly, this is also understandable. In the meantime, de-escalate your intensity of selfharm. For example, if your method is self-cutting, try to do it less and cut less deeply. Better yet- use substitutes. Many of us find it difficult to stop a behaviour unless it is replaced with something else. For example, those who cut themselves do it for the sting or to see the blood. I always recommend that they take a red marker (not a pen!) and dig it into their skin. It will still hurt and they will see red. For those who burn themselves, I recommend that they leave pieces of ice on their skin for a while – it does burn after a while but obviously nowhere near as dangerously.

New and healthy coping skills will also need to be learned.

This means to find things that promote relaxation in order to distract from the urge to self-harm. This can be sports, dancing, singing, painting- whatever works! It is of course also beneficial to get plenty of sleep and exercise as this releases positive endorphins.

Finally, reach out for help, confide in those you love and trust. Hopefully, after that, it will be more comfortable speaking with a professional.

If you know someone who is self-harming and would like to confront and help them, there are a few important things to remember. Firstly, deal with your own emotions before the approach. I know you care for them which means you may feel sadness or anger but this isn’t about you. Confront in a helping, unemotional way. Educate yourself on the issue- this article is just a start. Read up on self-harm so you can understand why it’s happening. Do not judge! Self-harmers already judge and have negative feelings about themselves – they do not need this from their loved ones as well. Being supportive no matter what encourages healthy and open communication. Offer any support that they may need- don’t tell them what you think is best but rather recommend. They will want the right help when they are ready. Just be there when they are.

Thanking you for reading. Please keep sending any topics you’d like to talk about to caitlinvieira@gmail.com Or come in to see me at: Georgetown Public Hospital: Psychiatric Department: Monday- Friday – 8:00hrs- 12:00hrs Suicide Prevention Helpline numbers: 223-0001, 223-0009, 623-4444, 600-7896 Say Yes to Life and No to Drugs! Always

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mentoring and job creation); asset development (financial fitness, credit and housing counselling, and business loans); and learning (early childhood education, after-school enrichment and youth development). Focused and nonprofit, KISRA’s programmes also include social enterprises such as urban farms, housing development, transitional rental housing, child care and catering.

STRONGER FAMILIES Under Michelle’s leadership, KISRA’s initiatives strengthened families, including adults and children. The organisation employed more than 70 people and received funding from multiple local, state and federal sources, as well as from the organisation’s own social enterprises.

The KISRA team served and empowered over 2,500 West Virginians annually.

In February 2016, Michelle transitioned to The Greater Kanawha Valley Foundation (TGKVF), where she serves as President and CEO. Her aim in her new role is to preserve the vitality of a successful organisation and take it to the next level. TGKVF is the largest community foundation in West Virginia and in Central Appalachia and ranks among the top 100 community foundations in the country.

The foundation leads the nation in wealth creation and healthcare value chain initiatives and collaborates with public and private sector partners to build community wealth. TGKVF funds initiatives in education, health, community economic development, basic needs, and arts & culture granting more than $6.0 million per year.

RESOUNDING SPEAKER AT NATIONAL FORUMS Michelle’s experience leading KISRA and TGKVF has made her a sought-after speaker at local and national conferences. She presents on topics related to nonprofit development and management; programme design utilising logic models; programme evaluation; sustainability; best practices in responsible fatherhood; social enterprises; family economic security; grant writing and grants management. She is also a subject matter expert with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Office of Family Assistance.

Through the years, Michelle’s work has been recognised locally and nationally. She has received a number of awards including the Living the Dream Award from the WV Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday Commission (2016); Woman on a Mission Award from Union Mission (2016); Civil Rights Day Award from the State of West Virginia, Office of the Governor (2015); and many others.

A lifelong learner, Michelle earned a doctorate degree in community economic development from Southern New Hampshire University in 2010. Her dissertation was entitled, “The Contributions of Pre-Incarceration Experiences and Prison-Based Programmes to Post-Release Employment Acquisition, Retention and Recidivism.” She is also a certified economic development finance professional and certified housing development finance professional with the National Development Council. Most recently, she completed additional university-level studies in impact investing at the University of Oxford, Saïd Business School as well as in nonprofit management and leadership at Harvard University, John F. Kennedy School of Government.

COMMUNITY SERVICE Michelle lives a life of community service and is actively engaged with a number of organisations, some of which are in Guyana. Additionally, she has served as the Minister of Administration of Ferguson Memorial Baptist Church since 1997.

She told the Pepperpot magazine “I feel blessed to have the opportunity to give back to Guyana,” and said that her recent volunteer efforts continue to benefit her home-country and have included planning, executing, and evaluating a student conference at her high school, which reaches 250 students annually.

She has also conducted a comprehensive needs assessment of her alma mater, at the same time facilitating the West Virginia State University’s recruiting and scholarship efforts in Guyana; co-hosting a visual literacy project team, again at her alma mater, which resulted in the publishing of a book; and donating school supplies to her elementary school. (mercilinburke2017@gmail.com)

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Universal Health Coverage and Environmental Health YESTERDAY, the world celebrated World Health Day under the theme “Universal Health Coverage” to spread the message of providing health for everyone, everywhere. As defined by the World Health Organisation (WHO), health not only addresses the absence of disease but a complete state of physical, mental and social well-being. Achieving the highest attainable standard of health is, in fact, a human right.

It is important to note that, continuous relations between the environment and poor health outcomes has in fact led to global initiatives such as the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and now the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). These have specific targets for environmental health, a key feature of wellbeing. Providing an environment free of excess disease and risk factors is also high on the national agenda. In fact, it is an important consideration in the Green State Development Strategy which stresses the role of a healthy and happy population in moving toward a green state.

KEEP YOUR ENVIRONMENT HEALTHY Key to achieving Universal Health Coverage, in addition to having equal access to services and health knowledge, is having preventive health initiatives. This is simply, reducing your risk of diseases by caring for your environment and having access to clean air, water, sanitation and nutritious food. This is extremely important because the WHO reports that 23 per cent of global deaths are linked to the environment. Research has also shown that up to 83 per cent of major diseases are be fixed by fixing the environment which allows them to thrive. Therefore, caring for our environment can reduce out of pocket health care expenses.

TAKING A RISK-BASED AT THE EPA Environmental Health includes the assessment and control of environmental factors which can affect health.

It aims to prevent disease and provide healthy-supportive environments.

Under the Environmental Protection Act Cap. 20:05, the EPA is required to assess activities and define areas of concern for effects on human health, injury or damage to plant or animal life, reduced safety etc. Our authorisation process allows for the management of developmental activities and the associated

risks. The creation of the Ecological and Human Health Risk Assessment (EHHRA) Programme, supports the other programme areas of the EPA by providing relevant permit conditions as part of the Authorisations process. In addition, where environmental pollution occurs, the EHHRA has a vital role in determining whether the activity should be barred.

THE RIPPLE EFFECT There are many activities that can affect our food, forests, water supply and air, just to name a few. When water pollution causes a fish kill, for instance, it does not only affect the fish but everyone who relies on that fish food or their basic livelihood. Likewise, as we build roads, harvest resources, process lumber, manage waste and sewage discharges, we must consider the release of contaminants (impurities) into the environment that can affect human health.

Though not the only route, cardiovascular and respiratory diseases, diabetes, and cancers have all been linked to environmental causes. The result of environmental pollution, for example, flooding, is a major risk factor for a number of infectious diseases including Malaria and Leptospirosis.

The impacts are even greater due to issues such as global warming and climate change.

The risk assessment process estimates the nature as well as the likelihood of adverse effects in the contaminated area. The EHHRA conducts risk assessments according to help identify hazards by; examining the quantity of the pollutant(s) of concern; assessing the exposure, and describing the risk.

Carefully considering environmental health can reduce the burden of communicable as well as non-communicable diseases and help to achieve Universal Health Coverage.

Happy World Health Day from the Environmental Protection Agency!

You can share your ideas and questions by sending letters to: “Our Earth, Our Environment”, C/O ECEA Programme, Environmental Protection Agency, Ganges Street, Sophia, GEORGETOWN, or email us at eit. epaguyana@gmail.com or follow us on Facebook and Instagram.

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My First Muslim

Wedding Experience LAST week I mentioned about the tea party and fashion show at the Lusignan Golf Course and I received many messages from people saying that they didn’t even know that Guyana had a golf course. The Golf Course has been around for a very long time but for the past few years, there have been lots of developments. I’ve had some friends who were over here for the Easter weekend and enjoyed a few games out there. I’m looking forward to some of the features that will be added soon which will be very interesting to people who want options for things to do in Guyana. Lots of families visited there over the Easter weekend, not only to play golf but to fly kites and picnic.

My Easter weekend was just the way I wanted it to be. I caught up on my favourite TV show, Designated Survivor, and met with friends, I even got to experience my very first Muslim wedding. I’ve been invited to a few but I was not available to attend.

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Beyond the Runway with Dr. Sonia Noel

... Inspiring lives through fashion

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weddings the most memorable was my sister, Roshini Boodhoo-Persaud.

Mr Nazar Mohammed who is a friend of mine invited me to one of his relative’s wedding. As my car pulled up at the wedding venue, I saw this exquisitely dressed young man entering on a horse who I suspected was the groom (and he was). The entourage around the horse was impeccably dressed in the suitable attire. The embellishment on the ladies’ attire was also amazing and sophisticated. I entered just as the MC officially started the programme. The stage décor was beautifully fitted for a king and queen, like Zaid Khan and Ameena Ameer. I was escorted to my seat by a gorgeous and polite young lady who was explaining all the proceedings of

the ceremony to me, since she realised it was my first time.

The groom took his position on stage as the MC explained that the bride was upstairs and the father, Mr Ameer, and two witnesses came with the great news after consulting with her that she had accepted him to be her husband. I found it very interesting that she would have to accept on the day of the wedding, so I asked if she had said no what would have happened and they said that she has the right to choose if she wants to get married or not. Then I asked if anyone has ever said no and I was informed that a few times people had said no and wedding did not continue. I guess in that case people still enjoyed the food.

Everyone was waiting in anticipation as the bride made her grand entrance and the groom went to meet her halfway.

What a sight to behold! They took their positions on stage in the beautifully decorated chairs. The formal part of the ceremony continued and then they had well-wishers from both sides.

Then it was time to taste the various curries and oh! They were all delicious. I love curry; even my grandson, Jaidyn, loves curry. No alcohol was on the menu at the event. I always enjoy experiencing different cultures and cuisines. We have to appreciate our similarities and celebrate our differences as people whose motto is: One People, One Nation, One Destiny.

Won’t it be great when we say those profound words of our motto and mean it?

Share a unique wedding experience with us by sending us an email to beyondtherunway1@gmail.com and remember to check our Facebook page Beyond The Runway as we continue this beautiful journey called Life BEYOND THE RUNWAY.

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English THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

The man that hath no music in himself, Nor is not mov’d with concord of sweet sounds, Is fit for treasons, stratagems, and spoils.

WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE (1564-1616) The Merchant of Venice

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