Guyana Chronicle Pepper Pot E-paper 9-20-2020

SUNDAY, September 20, 2020

Candace Phillips of ‘Visit Rupununi’ believes that tourism can help to promote Indigenous culture and keep the indigenous identity intact with an aspect of conservation (Photo courtesy of C.Phillips)

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CHRONICLE PEPPERPOT ― Sunday, September 20, 2020

A glimpse of the ‘Visit Rupununi’ website for all your information on the tourism destination

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By Naomi Parris

OURISM is Guyana’s third largest export industry, based on conservative estimates. It contributed $30.1 billion to the country’s economy in 2018 alone, and tourism is unlike any other industry since it has the potential to outlive the extractive industries such as gold, bauxite, oil and gas.

Cognisant of this, one woman has established a way of using tourism not only to build the country’s economy, but also to celebrate and promote Guyana’s first peoples, the Amerindians.

Thirty-eight-year-old Candace Phillips started the initiative some five years ago, with Guyana’s first and -- to date -- only regional destination management organisation, ‘Visit Rupununi’.

The Rupununi region is known for its varying of landscapes sculpted by savannahs, forests, wetlands, rivers and creeks, and ‘Visit Rupununi’ is the ideal agency to go for all wants and knows about the tourism destinations.

Phillips was born in the village of Santa Rosa; however, she spent only the first nine months of her life there. She grew up in Guyana’s capital city, Georgetown, where she attended the St. Margaret’s Primary School, the Bishops’ High School and later pursued studies in Economics at the University of Guyana.

According to Phillips, her life was “mapped out” and she was planning to become a corporate lawyer.

However, fate seemed to have other plans for Phillip since soon after, she gained employment with the Amerindian People’s Association (APA) as a programme assistant, an opportunity which, she said, “opened her eyes” to aspects of her culture that she believed had been missing in her life, having grown up in the urban setting of the city life in Georgetown.

“I always wanted to know more about where I came from and not only about myself, about other Indigenous Peoples of Guyana,” Phillips said.

‘A LIFE-CHANGING MOMENT’ Phillips disclosed that working with the APA changed her life, since it allowed her to work with various communities throughout Guyana and to learn about her culture, “Wherever I go, I try to absorb as much and try to understand the different aspects of culture and the differences between the nine indigenous tribes in Guyana.”

In 2015, while living and working as a Teacher in Aishalton, Rupununi, Phillips took an opportunity to work with Conservation International as a tourism coordinator which required her to develop a Regional Destination Management Organisation, which aims to build cohesiveness and inclusiveness.

Phillips noted that forming such an organisation was not without its challenges, as many persons in the region were still new to the tourism industry.

“More so, because they have never heard of the term, sometimes I think it’s because I was a woman too, I was an indigenous woman at that, trying to lead something and I think that because there was not that

great receptivity in the beginning, I think that really fuelled my energy to try to prove them wrong, to prove that we can actually do this,” Phillips explained.

Phillips now serves as a Travel Industry Development Officer with the Guyana Tourism Authority, a job which allows her to help Indigenous communities develop their tourism product.

Additionally, Phillips and the Visit Rupununi team have built a strong relationship with the Department of Tourism and the Guyana Tourism Authority, so information is shared and help is garnered when needed.

Her job entails shortlisting indigenous communities with tourism potential, community engagements, meeting with village councils and focusing on each community’s uniqueness and building on their strengths.

“So, when visitors go, whether they be domestic Simpler times: a few tourists photographed during a bird-watching exercise in the Rupununi region

or international travellers, they could have a very enriching experience and making sure that all along the line that indigenous communities are involved in the process and at the end of the day they are the right holders; they are the people who own this project, we are just facilitators of a process,” Phillips said.

‘A GREATER VALUE’ According to Phillips, tourism promotes Indigenous culture and keeps identity intact with an aspect of conservation. “Tourism is one of the sectors that helps communities to understand that there is much greater value in keeping this tree standing or that bird flying, rather than selling it, because if I sell it, I’ll get $25,000 today but if I keep it there, tourists or visitors [will] keep coming that [money] could be multiplied,” she noted. “It’s very important for us to maintain the identity of the communities, and not to stray away or to impose something different, but to build on that to safeguard their rights and at the end

of the day, the people must feel that this is their product and the only way you can do that is by having a partnership with them.”

While there is still some stigma attached to the Indigenous communities and its peoples, having experienced some discrimination herself, Phillips is optimistic that individuals can strive to change perceptions. “I think that with commitment, dedication, hard work and you can really show results that is [sic] your driving force at the end of the day, so I don’t worry about people saying you’re a woman, you are Indigenous and you can’t do this. I look and I know my strength and what I bring to the table” she said.

As Guyana observes Amerindian Heritage Month this year, Phillips is hoping to see that Guyanese will give the indigenous community the respect they so deserve. “Less discrimination, more appreciation for our culture and what we bring to the table as a people. We have a very strong identity and we come with so much history,” she said.

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CHRONICLE PEPPERPOT ― Sunday, September 20, 2020

― Says young Wapichan woman of Aishalton Village

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By Telesha Ramnarine

MMACULATA ‘Mackie’ Casinero, initially shy and reserved, is now an outspoken, trained and empowered young woman whose interest lies in helping other women in the various Amerindian villages of Region Nine (Upper Takutu-Upper Essequigo).

Born and raised at Aishalton Village, the mother of four, left many times in pursuit of different initiatives but always found herself returning to her village.

The last time she returned would probably be the last she’d think of leaving for good, because she said she suddenly realised that she could do so much to help others right there in her village.

“I began to see things differently after getting involved in the affairs of my village. I started to value my environment, my people, my culture and I got involved in many activities in my community,” she recalled during an interview with the Pepperpot Magazine.

Speaking from the village via an online interview, Casinero remembered how difficult it was for her to adjust to ‘town life’ when she left Aishalton at age 11 on a scholarship to further her education at Central High School.

“Thank god,” she said, for having a guardian like Veronica Lewis, a kind woman who looked out for Casinero’s interests and ensured that she had everything she needed to attend school. “It was very hard for me to adjust. It was a totally different environment; the food, dress, even the way persons spoke. Everything was different.”

Leaving home at that age was one of the hardest things for her to do, yet she says she realised she needed to make the sacrifice. She opted not to go to university, something she said she later regretted and returned home, after which she again decided to leave for Brazil in pursuit of learning Portuguese.

When this did not work out too well, Aishalton Village it was once again for her. She then gained on-and-off employment with the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) in 2001 and served as the clerk to the deputy returning officer in those elections.

She moved again, this time to Lethem, where she started a family. Eventually, however, she moved back to her village where she remains with her family to date.

Now the information officer for the South Rupununi District Council and Chairperson of the Aishara Toon Women’s Association, Casinero has been doing a lot to help her community. Having participated in many workshops and conferences locally and internationally, she has specific plans to further assist women in the villages, especially those who are vulnerable to abuse

and discrimination.

In 2019, she represented the Wapichan people at the 73rd Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) session of the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, where she did an oral presentation that outlined the discriminatory behaviour that indigenous women -- and Guyanese women in general -- face. All of her recommendations were accepted by the committee and were reflected on in its concluding observations.

Casinero has also attended conferences in The Netherlands and Peru, and these she said have shaped her into a more confident, outgoing individual. “I’ve become more brave and I can speak out against discrimination against indigenous women. I am now more passionate about my land, my culture, my traditions, everything about being a Wapichan. I am very proud of my identity and I really would like to ensure that my culture and language remain here forever,” she expressed.

“Because of my exposure in these ways, I really have an interest in women’s empowerment. That is something that is really important to me. I would like to see more of my Wapichan women empowered and being able to speak out when things are not going right,” she added.

Being part of the Aishara Toon Women’s group Association right there in the village sees a group of about 18 women who are unemployed coming together on occasion to do small business ventures together that would enable them to buy basic items for their families.

One of Casinero’s future goals is to train a group of women who can, in turn, go into various communities and train other women. “I can’t wait on the government to do everything for us. That’s why I’ve set out to start on my own, seeking funding to do outreaches to communities to specifically deal with women, so we can brainstorm together and see how we can assist in curbing the social issues and also advance women’s rights.”

Casinero noted the negative stereotype that is associated with the indigenous peoples and said she wished instead, that those guilty of thinking like this would actually try to be more like the Amerindian people.

“People would say we are stupid. I know this for a fact. But no. We have our own knowledge and our customary laws of how we do things. We are a kind, peaceful people and that’s something we want others to respect us for,” she said. “ Maybe others can look at us and try to be like us. No one is better than anyone because when we die, we are all going to the same place. So they must treat us with the dignity that we deserve.”

Presenting to the CEDAW Committee in Geneva

Immaculata ‘Mackie’ Casinero

In the caves at Aishalton, one of her favourite sites to visit

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CHRONICLE PEPPERPOT ― Sunday, September 20, 2020 Dr. Joy Agard-Mighty in Uganda with Academic Registrar Mr Magara Silver and Vice-chancellor Rev. Fr. Dr. Deus Karemire (Students in the background)

By Francis Quamina Farrier

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EPTEMBER is observed as EDUC AT I O N MONTH here in Guyana. Before I continue, I need to be a temporary educator and explain what “Region 11” is, as stated in the headline. Guyana, which is located on the northern shoulder of South America, is divided into 10 administrative regions. Some Guyanese, myself included, refer to all lands beyond Guyana’s 83,000 square miles where Guyanese reside, as “Region 11.”

In this Education Month, September 2020, we highlight the achievements and selfless service of two Guyanese educators who are based in ‘Region 11’ - America and Canada, respectively.

They are Dr. Dhanpaul Narine, who is located in New York City, United States, and Dr. Joy AgardMighty, who is located in Ottawa, Canada.

Dr. Dhanpaul Narine hails from Vergenoegen on the East Bank of Essequibo, Region Three, Guyana, a culturally mixed and inter-racial village. Narine attended various institutions of learning in Region Three, then on to the Univer-

sity of Guyana. During his early working life, he was a school teacher.

Later a Research Officer with the Upper Mazaruni Development Authority (UMDA). That job took him into the deeply forested area of the Upper Mazaruni District of

Professor Dr. Dhanpaul Narine with some of his special New York students (Photos compliments of Dr. Dhanpaul Narine)

Region Seven, not far from the Guyana border with Venezuela. There, he was in close contact with Guyana’s Indigenous Peoples. In 1978 Narine left his homeland and went to the United Kingdom where he entered the London School

of Economics. There, he earned a BSc (Hons.)

Degree and MSc, Phil and PhD degrees. Moving over the Atlantic Ocean to the United States, he pursued post-doctoral studies at Columbia University in New York, after which he resumed his teaching

career.

Dr. Joy Agard-Mighty is from Georgetown and the daughter of a previous Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Education, Oscar Agard. She is also a former student of the prestigious Bishops’ High School in Georgetown. “I was profoundly influenced by all of the excellent teachers that I had at Bishops’ High School,” she said and mentioned the revered Lillian Dewar, who tutored her in English. She also mentioned Music teacher Edith Peters, who groomed her in singing.

She loved singing and won prizes at Guyana National Musical Festivals.

Emigrating to Jamaica in 1968, she spent 15 years in the ‘Bob Marley’ island. While there, she studied at the University of the West Indies Mona Campus and earned a BA in English with Honours, as well as a Master’s in Education. Joy Agard

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CHRONICLE PEPPERPOT ― Sunday, September 20, 2020

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By Naomi Parris

N almost every home, having a stuffed animal is somewhat essential, whether it’s sitting in the living room chair, looking at you from the top of a cabinet, or just lying in the bed.

For many of the older folk, stuffed animals or toys can be used as decorative pieces to give one’s home a warmer feel, while for the young it’s a comforter and friend or even a gift on special occasions.

Sometimes finding the right stuffed animal to match one’s specific style, or to send the perfect message can be difficult.

However, 28-year-old Milika Stephens has put her creative talents to the wheel and has been making customised stuffed animals and toys from scratch with all recycled products.

Stephens is a registered nurse, but she is currently not practising as she is home with her nine-month-old baby boy. However, with the woes that came with the coronavirus (COVID-19) epidemic, she had to find a way to generate income to assist her family.

It was then that the young woman decided to launch her business, CuddlesomeGy, which sees her making all local stuffed animals and toys from old pieces of clothes and cloth that can be used as keepsakes, gifts, decorations, or just a toy for the little ones.

“CuddlesomeGy makes keepsake animals from previously worn clothing that are of sentimental value to you or a loved one, clothing your child outgrew, something you love from your partner, and clothing from a loved one who passed away.

Anything can be turned into a beautiful keepsake you can hold on to it forever.”

The young woman disclosed that she wanted to do something that she would love and which would not take up too much of her time, since her baby is very energetic and is now exploring the adventures the world has to offer.

“The idea for the business came during COVID-19. I was looking for ways to earn that won’t interfere with my ability to take care of my son,” she said.

A few of Stephens’ Cuddlesome teddies

Stephens officially launched her business during the epidemic, when the virus was at its peak in July. But her initiative and the business plan took off in full swing as it was something new on the market and persons were just as eager to welcome the new initiative. “I was eager to get started, since it’s something we don’t usually see here in Guyana,” she said.

The young woman noted that her spouse’s support and the little savings she had, aided in kick-starting her unique business venture.

Stephens noted that she works late into the nights when her baby is resting and it takes her about two to three and a half hours to sew or make one entire stuffed animal.

“The process starts with ironing the fabric, applying a stabiliser and designing, deciding what goes where on the animals. This can take as little as 45 minutes for simple designs or two hours for those with additional details. Once I’ve decided on the design, I proceed by drawing the animal patterns then cutting,” she explained.

Meanwhile, Stephens noted that the best part of making her cuddlesome teddies is adding the stuffing which pieces and completes the stuffed animal together.

“It’s such a pleasure seeing all the pieces taking shape. Once it’s stuffed, the seams are closed by hand, then I add any additional buttons or ribbons as needed. The eyes and noses are all secured with a tight washer on the inside of the animals, so there’s no need to worry about them falling off,” she said.

Most recently, Stephen has added a new line of creation to her collection, with teddy bears and other stuffed animals that are made only from old school uniforms.

She disclosed that she wanted to gift a young friend who was completing her primary education a keepsake of her old school; hence, she

created a stuffed toy only from the young girl’s school uniform.

This she noted became a hit and is now one of her most-requested creations by her fans and customers, as many persons are interested in havi n g some sort of memento of their younger days in school.

Milika Stephens

Stephens’ most recent additions to her cuddlesome teddies. These pieces are made entirely from recycled school uniforms

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CHRONICLE PEPPERPOT ― Sunday, September 20, 2020

the uncomfortable conversation

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HIS time last year, I was settling into my first semester at the University of the West Indies (UWI). I didn’t expect that during my first week on campus I would be on stage talking about race relations in Guyana (which, I know now, are not too different from the relations in Trinidad and Tobago).

A friend I knew from my Queen’s College days, let’s call him Joseph, recruited me as part of his performance on behalf of Guyana

at Guild Fest, the Student-council led orientation activities for students at the beginning of the academic year. He is a wildly talented, creative person and he doesn’t take his talent for granted. At every opportunity he got, he used his words to speak out about issues very prevalent in our country, and among us Guyanese (even those unique to us in Trinbago, but that’s a column for another day).

That time, he was very passionate about emphasising the need for national unity in our country and he requested that I write about the

stereotypes and prejudices I have heard about Afro-Guyanese. And, he asked an Afro-Guyanese friend to write about the same, but for Indo-Guyanese. We both got into characters and acted these out on stage. My Afro-Guyanese friend spoke about the cunning Indians who came to Guyana and benefited from the development of the country by enslaved Africans; the same Indians who like to fight with each other for land and drink rum. I interjected, telling him about the laziness of the Africans and how it was the Indians who saved and diligently studied to become the intellectual leaders of Guyana first. We both said things we grew up hearing; these were prejudices and stereotypes that are pervasive in our Guyana.

I remember looking down into the crowd and seeing the faces of my Principal, Guild President, and other Guild Councillors in the front row. I can still picture how uncomfortable they were while we expressed ourselves.

Joseph stopped both of us. He voiced how divisive our society had become with our racial groups -the

same six beautiful races we love to boast of having -competing with each other for superiority and victimhood. He emphasised how this divisiveness was not only perpetuated between the two larger groups (Indo and Afro-Guyanese) but also among the minority groups, the Indigenous Peoples, the Chinese and Portuguese. He came to the centre stage with a simple but profound message: “Ubuntu -- I am because we all are.”

He urged us to recognise that our country is only our country because of the contributions of each group. His was not a call for colour-blindness and repudiation of race, but, a recognition that we each contributed, in some way or the other, to forging our nation.

If I’m honest with myself, the seeds of my deep interest in understanding race relations in Guyana were nourished (but not planted) then, at the UWI in Trinidad. It is not an exaggeration when I say that, being in this space has allowed me to think more about the damaging race relations in Guyana, and understand just how important national healing is to this process of development in Guyana we are so desperately trying to achieve.

Ubuntu was a simple message understood by myself and most (if not all) of my Guya-

nese colleagues here. We are in a position of privilege here, because we have the space and perhaps, resources, to navigate how we have been interfacing with race in Guyana all the while. We are also privileged in this regard because we can understand how we need to interrogate our biases and learned prejudices and stereotypes of each other.

I am cognisant, however, that our privilege is not universal. I wonder how many Guyanese -- our parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, etc -- are aware of the learned biases, prejudices and stereotypes we may have and may be perpetuating?

How many of us would be willing to interrogate those? How many of us are willing to think about what makes us so insecure about demanding justice for one

group, or insecure about sharing resources?

And importantly, are we willing to honestly speak about why we continue with our tribal voting patterns?

Race and race relations are such uncomfortable topics to talk about in Guyana. It involves a level of honesty and a willingness to interrogate those not-so-nice thoughts and feelings we might have for each other. But I will continue to say that we need to talk about them if we are serious about national healing and the development of all Guyanese. We cannot just enjoy each other’s celebrations and food and think that we are a blissfully cohesive society, because we are not.

In a Facebook group, “Guyana Unite Now,” a woman asked for a “candid and civil discussion” about some of the misconceptions members of the group have of other races. The post has been up for four hours now and the sentiments expressed have been genuine and civil. This is the kind of honest discourse I believe we need across Guyana. A Facebook group isn’t going to solve our problems, but it gives me hope that we are not bad, hateful people.

CHRONICLE PEPPERPOT ― Sunday, September 20, 2020

on the Village

Welcome signage (Carl Croker photos)

ocus Fort Zeelandia

Fort Island

The only church on the island

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By Michel Outridge

H I S week t h e Pepperpot Magazine visited the riverine communities of Fort Island in the Essequibo River and Upper and Lower Bonasika Creek, a tributary of the Essequibo River.

Fort Island is the perfect place for a weekend getaway to enjoy the therapeutic scenes of historical sites, the beach, the river and the lush greenery.

This place will certainly make you want to inhale the fresh island breeze and there is a nat-

ural attraction where one can just sit and look out at the mighty Essequibo River in the background.

It is such a beautiful island with equally nice people, who are hardworking.

On the visit to Fort Island, the Pepperpot Magazine interacted with the locals, who were very eager to share their stories.

Fort Island is very l a rg e b u t h a s f e w e r than 100 residents of mixed ethnicities, whose economic livelihoods depend on fishing and farming.

The island has a multi-grade school which consists of nursery and primary.

A health post is

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manned by a resident community health worker, a few small shops, Fort Zeelandia and the Court of Policy which comes under the National Trust of Guyana and is often visited by tourists.

The Guyana Defence Force has a Coast Guard Base on Fort Island. A Dutch Cemetery is located at the rear of the island and it is a place with untouched beaches, lush greenery and vast savannahs.

Even though the soldiers and residents exchange cordial relations, there is still need for a Turn to

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Antonio Fraser

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CHRONICLE PEPPERPOT ― Sunday, September 20, 2020

Pretty Debideen and her family

Focus on the Village

A child delivered

by Nurse Pretty Debideen (Carl Croker photos)

The Fort Island Health Centre

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By Michel Outridge

AY B E i t ’s h e r e n d e a ring demeanour or her effervescent personality that makes her stand out, but whatever it is, she is certainly fulfilling her role as the nurse serving her community and its environs.

Pretty Debideen is the community health worker attached to the Ministry of Health and the resident nurse of the Fort Island Health Centre, Essequibo River.

Her role is to provide health care in the community and catchment area of this riverine village.

She serves six islands, which are Beezie, Dookalbo (big and small, Quarter Benabo, Walaputash and English Island.

She goes beyond the call of duty almost all the time and would even venture out of her catchment area to assist

people, who are in desperate need of medical attention and cannot reach a hospital in time.

Nurse Debideen has delivered many babies, some born at homes in the many riverine villages along the Essequibo River as far as Bethany, Karia Karia and Lower and Upper Bonasika, among other areas.

People from near and far would make the journey to the Fort Island Health Centre to seek medical attention and they would be attended to immediately.

Apart from being at the health outpost from Monday to Friday from 08:00hrs to 14:30hrs, she is reachable at her home at any time.

The nurse would also make home visits to shut-ins and the bedridden and use her own boat and engine to get to pregnant women who are in labour, to deliver their babies.

“I would assist women who cannot make it in time to the nearest hospital to deliver the baby, but is always

advisable to get to a hospital for those who have complications,” she said.

Debideen, a native of Region One (Barima-Waini), followed in her mother’s footsteps by becoming a nurse.

Her mother, who is now deceased, was the resident nurse for Fort Island and as a young girl she admired her work and her selfless service to the community.

She has been in the nursing profession for more than 10 years and is a qualified

nurse.

“Growing up, I used to watch my mother tend to sick people and I admired her and told myself I want to be like her and my dream was realised when I joined the profession in 2008,” she said.

In cases of emergency, she would accompany the patient to the nearest hospital, that is, the West Demerara Regional Hospital.

She has been a resident of Fort Island for the past 18 years and left her home vilNurse Pretty Debideen

lage of Mabaruma when she was 15 years old.

The mother of six reported that since the pandemic, she is a frontline worker whose work doesn’t have any boundaries or she would often go the extra mile to ensure people receive free medical attention.

“My door is always opened to anyone who needs medical help and I feel good serving my community; and it is even better when the people I tend to get better,” she said.

The real joy comes from serving and it is one of the greatest feelings in the work is to be a healthcare worker.

Debideen explained that she was drawn to the profession too because she cannot stand to see people suffer and her work doesn’t have any limit.

A VOLUNTEER FOR THE PEOPLE Debideen is also a volunteer with the Amerindian Action Movement of Guyana (TAAMOG) and would assist

to promote the culture of the people as well, as embrace it in many events.

TAAMOG is geared towards the protection of Amerindian rights and to also preserve their cultures and dialects.

Annually, she would organise Amerindian heritage events in her village and other riverine communities and participate in the cultural programme.

She does a lot of work behind the scenes and doesn’t mind at all; she is also a very talented singer and versed in making most Amerindian cuisine.

Debideen also makes from scratch the heritage beverages such as, rice and cherry wine, piwarie and fly among others, from the fruits in her backyard The nurse can also make craft and has an artistic flair for fashion and designing.

She is a household name and her work is widely recognised, yet, she is humble and very giving.

CHRONICLE PEPPERPOT ― Sunday, September 20, 2020

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By Michel Outridge

HE Pepperpot Magazine also visited River’s View Mission, Lower Bonasika, a tributary of the Essequibo River.

he is attached to Life Spring Ministries. Williams related that the people are simple and they life a secluded life among themselves.

He stated that this year due to the pandemic, they will not be having any gatherings such as the celebration of Amerindian Heritage

Residents having a cool bath in the Bonasika Creek (Carl Croker photos)

Residents on their way home with their hampers

The concrete strip into the village and a house in River’s View Mission

It is a riverine community accessible only by boat and it is not unusual to see residents paddling small boats to get from one point to another.

It is an Amerindian village with about 170 families and the main source of income for villagers is farming.

Villagers came from Region One (Barima-Waini) many years ago in search of a better life.

River’s View Mission is located about six miles from Parika by boat and from the Hubu Koker, East Bank Essequibo, it is about three miles via boat. River’s View is the home of plantains, bananas, and ground provisions.

Toshao of the village, Stafford Williams, is also the preacher at one of two churches on the mission and

Month and some people are disappointed, but there is nothing that can be done.

Annually, the villagers would organise a cultural event to showcase their talents and cuisine, which would be on sale. Dishes include wild meat Pepperpot, tuma pot, cassava bread, and Amerindian beverages which are home-made.

Usually, no alcohol is allowed with the exception of Amerindian beverages and even visitors cannot bring alcohol there.

Toshao Williams keeps a close watch on things and ensures there aren’t any conflicts among the people and looks after the interests of the villagers.

Coincidentally, the same day the Pepperpot Magazine

Focus on the Village

Paddling home

visited, the village leader had received overseas donations of clothing, foodstuff and toys for the residents which were parcelled and distributed.

He explained that the needy would first benefit from the donations and it is an annual gesture from their overseas brothers and sisters in Christ.

Williams related that he is originally from Moruca, North West District, but relocated to River’s View Mission 14 years ago.

He is among the first set of people who moved there and has been the village leader for 11 years, when the elder one passed away and he was elected by the people to function in that capacity.

The nearest health post is at Morashee Village, also a riverine community.

They have a nursery and primary school at Lower Bonasika, a short distance away and the nearest secondary school is at Parika.

Williams disclosed that they have no internet signals there, except those on cellphones and often they would have to climb a tree, or go to higher ground to get signals on both networks.

He added that the women of River ’s View are housewives and they engage in craft and cassava bread making.

The men would go out to work and the young people are also active in mining and working on farms.

“We have no connection to the outside world and we need to know what’s going on in terms of news and education, so there is a need for an ICT hub in the village which is remote,” he said.

He pointed out that a few years ago through a grant from the Ministry of Amerindian Affairs, they made a concrete strip which runs through the village and serves as a walkway.

Before, it was a muddy pathway and when it rained it was difficult to manoeuvre in and out of the village.

The riverine community has a landing with a bridge and it is safe for villagers to get in and out via boat.

The settlers of River’s View are from the Carib and Warrau tribes and the older folk, who were the first inhabitants, have since passed away with just about four elders who are still around.

Williams told the Pepperpot Magazine that only

four elders still speak the dialect and they are in their 80s and 70s.

River’s View has a boat and engine gifted by the ministry, but the engine is now down.

The community also benefits from an annual grant of $800,000 to boost infrastructure and improve the needs of the people.

Toshao Stafford Williams

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CHRONICLE PEPPERPOT ― Sunday, September 20, 2020

Focus on the Village

Simon Featherstone, village elder

Filbert Williams, Jr.

The women of River’s View Mission

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By Michel Outridge EM George and her family of 10 relocated from Waramuri, Moruca, Region One (Barima-Waini) 20 year ago and is making their life comfortable in River’s View Mission, Lower

Bonasika.

She related that life isn’t always easy but she try to make it work by assisting her husband to bring in an income to the home by making Amerindian arts and craft and sell.

She also makes cassava bread and wild meat Pepperpot to go with it among other Amerindian dishes that is consumed every day in the household.

George stated that her husband is a farmer and they have a plot in which they cultivate cassava and bananas and when they have enough, they would sell the excess.

The mother of nine added that life in River’s View Mission is not easy because they don’t have access to many things such as online or distant learning for the school-age children which number about 40.

“My 13-year-old wondering when school will reopen he is fed up of being at home and is excited to return to school but with the pandemic, I don’t know what to tell him,” she said.

He is a student of Salem/Parika Secondary School.

The 53-year-old would also like to have a health outpost nearby to cater to their medical needs since they have to travel by boat to get to a health facility.

There is no potable water supply, no electricity and internet access in this community and a few years ago a serious outbreak of a skin disease had plagued these villagers, who depend on the creek water for household use.

THE FARM LABOURER The Pepperpot Magazine also met Filbert Williams,

a labourer on a farm at Lanaballi, Essequibo River.

He is a resident of River’s View Mission and would travel by boat to his work site which is about six miles away.

Filbert Williams, the ‘Medicine Man’ (Carl Croker photos)

The sweet fig farm runs for 20 acres and is privately-owned and at times he is not being paid regularly and over-worked.

Williams is a very good interpretive dancer and usually participates in the annual heritage celebration in the village and would do the ‘Crappo Dance’.

Williams is a village elder, one of the oldest residents in the community, who is known as the ‘med-

Gem George

icine man’. He prepares various bush medicines for others to use to improve their health whenever they are ill.

“First you have to know the bush and what it is used for and mix it and boil it for quick relief of many ailments,” the 76-year-old said.

He disclosed that for snake bites, he would use tamarind seed which he makes into a paste and puts it on the bite and within a half-hour, the person will get relief.

Williams added, too, that dry coconut shell is burnt and put in water to drink for snake bites.

He has many home remedies, and he would assist villagers from time to time whenever he is not working as a boat captain transporting goods and services along the Bonasika Creek to Hubu Koker.

“Wood ants nest is boiled and consumed for malaria and it has proven to be successful,” he said.

He is a jolly fellow, who is always up for a quick chat no matter how busy he is.

THE OTHER VILLAGE ELDER Simon Featherstone is an elder of River’s View Mission and although he is not a man of many words he would engage in a conversation when necessary.

He is 76 years old and originally from Waramuri, Region One and was the first man to bring the gospel to the riverine community in 2004 when he opened the very first church, the New Testament Tabernacle, in the village.

“At that time not much people were residing there and it was much forested and he cleared a piece of land of thick bushes and erected a church and a small house,” he said.

Featherstone stated that he retired from preaching five years ago and is taking things easy these days.

The father of two added that he was not well but is trying as is and is pleased with the development of the village from then to now.

CHRONICLE PEPPERPOT ― Sunday, September 20, 2020

Focus on the Village

Upper Bonasika Creek (Carl Croker photos)

Bishane Lochan

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By Michel Outridge

PPER Bonasika Creek is a tributary of the Essequibo River and it runs for miles way into the savannahs; it is home to mostly Indo-Guyanese and the last village before the five-door sluice is home to Amerindian settlers.

Upper Bonasika Village has about 100 families who are farmers, labourers and fishermen.

It is a peaceful and tranquil community where the people co-exist in harmony and respectfully go about their daily lives.

The Pepperpot Magazine visited the home of a resident, Bishane Lochan, who is a member of the Community Policing Group (CPG) and a farmer.

Even though the houses are far apart, the villagers are familiar with each other and work with each other.

Upper Bonasika Creek has two health outposts, a nursery and a primary school and a few riverside shops, but most people would make the journey to Parika for their wholesale shopping such as buying fuel for their boats everyday use.

“We cannot afford to buy gasoline in here because it is expensive and not pocket-friendly; and we use the boat every day to get around,” Lochan said.

The CPG has a boat and an engine for night patrols and to ensure that the residents in this riverine community can sleep in peace without having to worry about their property.

Lochan reported that from his home, the CPG outpost is about two miles away and they work collectively with the Guyana Police Force.

“We don’t have a lot of social issues, just a few complaints of domestic problems but no real problems that require outside assistance,” he said.

The farmer added that he has a plot where he cultivates pumpkins, cassava, limes, bananas, pineapples, ginger, corn and avocados, among other crops.

Lochan stated that he can afford to employ only one labourer, who is from within the village, a family-oriented man.

He is a local who has lived his entire life in Upper Bonasika Creek and before he was born his parents resided there.

“I am living here for 63 years and this place is the same, but some new people came into the village, but most of the residents are from here,” he said.

The father of two disclosed that the Lower Bonasika Creek needs a boat and engine to assist the schoolchildren to get to and from school, because it is costly for parents to transport them out of their own pockets.

A private service was utilised to transport schoolchildren, to which a daily cost was attached and many people can’t afford it, because to live in the river is very expensive,” he said.

Lochan is also an advocate for his community and would also participate in many self-help activities to enhance the community.

His house and yard are well-kept and clean with lots of plants and flowers to beautify the environment.

Lochan and his family are very welcoming and friendly people, who do not get a lot of visitors.

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also got married during her 15 years in Jamaica. In 1986, she moved on to the USA, where she studied at Howard University in Washington, DC. There, she earned a Master’s in Business Administration. A year later, she migrated farther north to York University in Toronto, Canada, where she gained a PhD in Business.

Later settling in Canada’s capital, Ottawa, Dr Joy Agard-Mighty spent over three decades serving in higher education. During that period, she volunteered for a number of educational projects abroad. The most recent was a stint in Uganda, East Africa. It was organised by the Christopher Knapper Lifetime by the Society for Teaching

and Learning in Higher Education (STLHE). She was recently honoured by that organisation with a special award.

That award is given to educators who have made significant contributions to teaching, learning and education development in Canadian higher education. In April and May of 2019, she again volunteered for a teaching stint abroad. It was to Mbarara, Uganda in East Africa.

During the past two decades, she also made trips to Egypt and South Africa on similar education projects.

Even as the COVID-19 pandemic struck earlier this year, Professor Dr. Dhanpaul Narine responded to a request to teach a class of young adults remotely. That was a challenge for him. “I was not conversant with this method, and it took me a while to learn it,” he said.

“After many hours, I was sufficiently skilled to teach, and it turned out to be one of the most amazing things that I ever did.” At the end of the course, Dr. Dhanpaul Narine invited the students to meet with him at the Trimur Mandir in Queens, New York, and got a chance to listen to their stories. He later received a letter of appreciation from one of the

students, Claudette Henry, which states in part, “Dear Professor Narine, you are amazing. Your warmth and love warm our hearts. You have helped us to dream big and see it come to fruition.

Thanks for believing in us.” In 2017, Professor Narine visited his homeland Guyana and delivered the commencement speech at the University of Guyana. Over the years, Dr. Dhanpaul has also written a number of educational feature articles.

What is particularly noteworthy about these two Guyanese-born, Region-11-based educators, is their willingness to selflessly give to improve the education standards of those who are fortunate to be their students; whether they be conventical or otherwise. There are also other similar Guyanese educators up in “Region 11.”a In closing, let us extend happy 35th anniversary greetings to the President’s College, which is located at Golden Grove on the East Coast of Demerara, Region Four, here in Guyana. It was established by President Forbes Burnham in 1985 as a secluded boarding school of excellence.

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FORT ISLAND police outpost on the island, since domestic and other issues require a visit to the nearest police station which is at Parika and is costly for these riverine folk.

The people are friendly and most of them are farmers, some of whom have their farms elsewhere, while others utilise the vast land mass for planting in their backyards.

Some residents have livestock and poultry, which they sell to supplement their incomes.

Fort Island is frequented by tourists, but due to the global pandemic all tours and visits to these historical sites are on hold.

THE ACTING HEAD TEACHER OF FORT ISLAND The Pepperpot Magazine met the

acting head teacher, Antonio Fraser, a resident of Parika, East Bank Essequibo, who is residing on the island in the teacher’s house which is located in the school compound.

The 20-year-old, a budding young man of Amerindian ancestry, said he teaches the primary-level pupils, while his colleague teaches the nursery pupils.

In total, the school has in attendance nine pupils and for this term they may have one or two new registrations.

Fraser stated that even though it is his first teaching job he is gaining experience, working away from home and he has made new friends who have quickly developed into family.

Explaining how he landed the teaching job, Fraser added that he was job-hunting after being a miner and the

resident teacher was going to the Cyril Potter College of Education (CPCE) full-time and there was an opening.

He applied for the teaching job and was successful and officially began working in January this year.

“Even though I never taught before I was able to grasp the much-needed skills to keep the attention of the pupils and it brings me great joy moulding the minds of children, because it feels right, something that is fulfilling,” he said.

Fraser, a very outgoing fellow who is always smiling, is easy to talk to and has a friendly disposition and because of this demeanour he relates to the people very well.

He has developed good relations with the locals and can often be observed at the homes of others engaged

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in a chat.

With schools closed since March, the young teacher was at home but with the new school term he has returned to Fort Island to register new admissions.

When school was in session he would reside on the island during the week and some weekends he would return to his home village.

“The island is interesting and there is always something to do, so I am not bored and I have people to talk to,” he said. “I really like this experience so far. I have developed my teaching skills as well as my interpersonal people skills and can relate to others better; and I am gaining plus sharing my experience at the same time as a teacher,” he said.

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― New flour factory soon to become operational

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V E R Y ONE in the Kwebanna Village will soon be employed in some form or the other, thanks to the development of a cassava- processing factory that was constructed in 2018, but only recently received the necessary equipment to function efficiently.

Village Toshao Paul Pierre is perhaps one of the longest-serving toshaos in the country, and he was one of the persons who was instrumental in getting such a facility up and running in the Moruca sub-region.

The population of Kwebanna is over 1,200 and the village was found to have hundreds of acres of cassava farms. While many depend on this type of farming, it is not without a challenge.

“We farm a lot of cassava, plantains, eddoes, yams; everybody does that, but then we would not have enough markets for such produce,” Pierre observed during an

interview with the Pepperpot Magazine.

Nevertheless, they were able to come up with a brilliant solution to the problem.

“One of the things we started in 2018 was the construction of a cassava-processing facility where we will process the cassava into flour.”

In this way, apart from the actual factory workers, the entire village will be able

to support the production of cassava flour. Everyone, therefore, will have opportunities to be gainfully employed.

The project has gone a far way, and according to Pierre, persons will now be trained to operate the machinery that came in recently from China.

In addition to this facility, Kwebanna might be the The cassava-processing facility that will soon become operational

Village Toshao Paul Pierre

only indigenous community that has an operational sawmill that creates employment for the villagers. Pierre has also been a main person in starting up this initiative, which was financed under the Guyana Micro Projects.

“The sawmill is still working here. We are a fairly developed community here and we do mostly lumbering and forestry-related activities for a living,” Pierre, who formerly served as Chairman and Regional Vice-chairman on the Regional Democratic Council (RDC), o f fered.

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An early morning on the upper Waini River

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A

N o l d p ro v e r b suggested that “you never miss the water until the well runs dry”. It is true in many cases. We are all missing and craving for something that we took for granted once in our lives. In the midst of a pandemic, social interac-

CHRONICLE PEPPERPOT ― Sunday, September 20, 2020

tions are perhaps the most craved.

Many of us never understood the importance of those interactions until now. Many of us never understood the impact and effects a face-to-face conversation can have. The very same can be said Turn to for schools and classpage XXIX room settings. I miss it. I miss being able to

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The Human Right of Copyright, 2020

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OPYRIGHT as a human right has eluded Guyana for decades, with obsolete laws on even the registration of Trademarks; we are flagging the tails of all of CARICOM, South America and the rest of the world.

our borders.

The world is changing before us, faster than we can assimilate, probably because we were further behind. However, people resist the ebb and flow of the currents of the times. So, I want to bring forward this article which I found seriously inconsistent. It was in a column I don’t like to read because

our efforts to imitate Ram John Holder as we sing our folk songs, our national monuments and much, much more- none of this exists?

Wrong.

All that I have mentioned are the treasures of our national culture. The national culture is what the inspiration of this land has inspired us to create about it here, to bind our souls

youths vying for recognition before the life trophies young men hold sacred. Find a way to do include some Bill Rogers, licensing, employing, and exploring the entertainment markets where ever Guyanese and Caribbean folk are. That is cultural industries at work.

To disallow the legal platform towards this kind of creative liberation and potential

Guyana has always produced the talents and budding skills to equip that functioning niche platform that the modern world describes as ‘Cultural Industries’ to fill a creative space of its own, but sadly in this respect, we confirm to the cryptic statement “That the best ideas lie resting in the cemetery” in reference to those who remain in Guyana. When I say the rest of the world, I also include Russia and China. Guyana is no longer locked away in a time zone of its own making in response to the impact of negative world trends. We either assume a cultural mind-frame that emerges from within our deeper experience or are shaped into a grotesque skin-teeth clone that is an extension of the crumbs of ‘conspicuous consumption’ on the solitary alter of ultimate idolatry before which the clone will lie prostrate. Surprisingly there has been a fervent anti-copyright and cultural Industries lobby, which revealed the vacuum of understanding its reality and cluelessness about its potential, as well as contempt for the innovative minds within

I’m impatient and a little contemptuous of writers who hide behind pseudonyms of any kind, but it was a musician who told me to read it, since I had the paper: Kaieteur News June 14, 2016, Peeping Tom, the cluelessness hit me when the writer mentioned that “ In other words, cultural policies (should be Industries) are about creating economic industries out of culture, it is a new phase in capitalism. The tentacles of capitalism are now reaching into tourism, entertainment and the environment.” I was flabbergasted that someone with the ability to construct an article did not realise that “Entertainment”-‘ Edutainment’, ‘ the Movie Industry’, ‘The Publishing Industry’ ‘Comic Books, the Video Games’, ‘Toys’, ‘labelled clothing and other merchandise ’ are all cultural Industries.

Then the writer concluded that Guyana has no ‘National Culture’. This was even more ridiculous, so what this writer was implying is that: over a hundred folk songs and over a hundred national songs, our history and our folklore, the reasons for our Village days,

to its aesthetics. When Walter Mac. A. Lawrence wrote ‘My Guyana Eldorado’ and R. C. G. Potter put it into music; they embodied the essence of the Guyanese culture and its imagination.

I can only presume that, that writer is oblivious of the topic it addressed, out of some fear or personal apprehension, because had there been interest, they would have read Odeen Ishmael’s groundbreaking article and warning in Kaieteur News Sun, Dec. 06 2009 “ Cultural Industries growing in significance in Latin America and the Caribbean”. But let me overindulge through a suggestive scenario as follows. If a writer can produce a script about British Guiana in the 60s around Jack Mellow and his Vaudeville acts at the Cinemas, with the backdrop of Steel Pan in Federation Yard. A story enveloping hectic life in this forgotten recent era of our history with Guyanese music composed by modern Guyanese musicians capturing the rhythms of that day, make it a competition between young British soldiers and South Hampton

is retrogressive; incidentally this is a project that I have had in mind for some time. Copyright will be useful to the small man but will be worrisome to those who have invested in the media business with intentions to use the IPRs of creative person’s without license or royalty arrangements- in other words as ‘Pirates, as thiefman’. Persons who lack the means for litigation here and more important with local laws that will make the process an act of principle rather than receiving a justifiable court reward. However, since broadcasting on social media places violators in international space and on American airwaves, this might support legal opportunities for contenders from that end, that Guyana denies its creative people at this end.

All in all, the question of the rights and empowerment of creative persons will rest with their capacity to lobby, engage, and positively enable their livelihood as citizens. Trust my judgement, the creative people here have a tremendous contribution to offer. Next week, on local support.

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ODAY I would like to talk about the importance of sleep -- which has more benefits than I believe we all know. Unfortunately, many of us lose sleep

when there is trauma or conflict around us, and so I feel now more than ever, we need to be reminded of the importance of these (what seems) simple, everyday activities.

While eight hours are recommended for

everyone, most people get an average of five hours of sleep per night.

Throughout the day, our brain is basically bombarded with information. Sleeping gives it the breather to process and store the information we need (and even things we don’t need-- such as the lyrics to very annoying songs). This means it improves and builds our ability to learn, memory and concentration, while completely energising us.

“Sleep on it” is a common saying as it brings peace, strength and clarity. It is basically a natural form of resilience.

Additionally, when we sleep, our bodies go through physical changes such as decreased body temperature, slowed breathing and heart rate and relaxed muscles –- all of which help to improve immune system functioning.

Traditionally, researchers and clinicians believed that issues with sleeping were simply a symptom of other psychiatric disorders. However, after many years of research, not only has it been identified as a cause of many illnesses but over 70 different types of sleep disorders have been identified.

The most common are insomnia, which is difficulty falling or staying asleep, and sleep apnea, which occurs when the individual has obstructed breathing that causes multiple awakenings throughout the night.

One who has a sleeping disorder is more likely to develop other psychiatric illnesses than the general population –- some studies show up to four times more. These may include depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), phobias, substance abuse and even suicidal thoughts and behaviours. PTSD and phobias especially prevent sleep as nightmares are common symptoms of these disorders. Substance abuse will disrupt sleep, especially if the drug of choice is a stimulant.

Lack of sleep can pose a wide variety of both physical and mental problems. One is more at risk for various forms of cancer, heart disease and overall reduced immune functioning with sleep. Additionally, inattentiveness, emotional instability, issues with memory, changes in mood and negative thinking are common symptoms of sleep deprivation.

Multiple lifestyle changes can be made to increase our amount and quality of sleep.

Eat and exercise well. These are the ba-

sics that promote sleep by merely keeping us energised throughout the day, allowing more of a deep and uninterrupted sleep at night.

Maintain a regular sleep cycle. Your body is a creature of habit and can definitely be trained into a routine. If you make an effort to go to bed and wake up at the same time every day, your body will eventually adapt to that schedule.

Try to make your bed a sanctuary for only sleeping. Many people watch TV, play games or eat in bed, which encourages your body to be potentially prepared for other things when it is time to rest.

Try your best to keep all electronics out of the room.

Try relaxation or deep-breathing techniques if you still feel energised even after tucking in. Take deep breaths and pay attention only to your breathing. This will allow both mind and body to relax. Specifically, look up ‘mindful meditation’ on Youtube.

If you drink caffeine (coffee, energy drinks etc.), ensure that you take none after 17:00hrs. Most know that caffeine will energise the body, but many do not realise that alcohol and cigarettes/cigars do the same.

While alcohol is a depressant drug and therefore it depresses the central nervous system which can help you to fall asleep, the jolt when the system ‘wakes up’ usually causes the individual to do the same- it affects the quality of your sleep. Cigarettes and cigars are stimulant drugs, which means that they excite the central nervous system, making it more difficult to sleep.

If you have tried the above modifications and still do not get sufficient sleep, please go to your nearest health centre and share your concerns. In some cases, medication may be prescribed to ensure better rest.

Remember to get your rest!

Thank you for reading and please send in any questions, comments or topics to caitlinvieira@gmail.com.

For private counselling sessions, please WhatsApp +592 623 0433 Suicide Prevention Helpline – 2230001, 223-0009, 623-4444, 600-7896 Say Yes to Life and No to Drugs!

Always!

CHRONICLE PEPPERPOT ― Sunday, September 20, 2020

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HE sea defence along Anna Regina fores h o re h a s b e e n f u rther strengthened by 200 metres of geotextile tube groyne, thanks to the National Agricultural Research and Extension Institute (NAREI)’s Mangrove Restoration and Management Department.

Construction works commenced in August 2019 and were completed in August 2020. The contract, valuing $31.5M, was executed by Ideal Engineering Services.

The contractor was tasked with constructing four 50m Geotextile Tubes and four 52m Geotextile scour aprons at the foreshore to form two one 100m groynes.

The orientation of the groynes is 90 degrees to the foreshore. The foundation of the structures consists of bamboo, coupled with a sand base then the application and geogrid material and scour aprons. The groynes have a crest height of 3.5ft on a foreshore with an elevation of +16.76m (GD).

The installation of geotextile tubes in the form of groynes is one of the technologies in addition to mangrove seedling plantation being used by NAREI to restore the mangrove ecosystem and

increase the resilience of the community against storm surges and rising sea levels.

The geotextile tube groynes are positioned along the southern extent of the site and are intended to primarily act as a groyne field to capture and hold sediments transported in the southerly direction (predominant direction of sediment transport for the project site).

The structures will block sediments from entering the sluice channel to the north.

Over time, this will lead to sediment accumulation and increase the foreshore bed elevations. Due to the site geometry, the structure will also function as a breakwater and cause wave dissipation during high water, further promoting sedimentation behind the structure.

According to Kene Moseley, Project Coordinator, “NAREI has implemented a number of interventions along the Essequibo Coast.

These included the introduction of mangrove seedlings, spartina grass and coastal structures. These projects have resulted in significant restoration of the mangroves along the Essequibo Coast; the restoration of this stretch of foreshore will facilitate a continuous mangrove forest between Devonshire Castle and Adventure.”

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‘Harnessing the power of people to fight ocean trash’

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HE International Coastal Cleanup began more than 30 years ago when communities rallied together with the common goal of collecting and documenting the trash littering their coastline. The movement was

catalyzed by the passion and spirit of two committed individuals. Back in 1986, Linda Maraniss moved to Texas from Washington, DC, where she had been working for Ocean Conservancy. She’d Turn to been inspired by the work page XXI her Ocean Conservancy colleague Kathy O’Hara was

CHRONICLE PEPPERPOT ― Sunday, September 20, 2020

‘Harnessing the power ...

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doing on a groundbreaking report called Plastics in the Ocean: More than a Litter Problem that would be published the next year. Linda and Kathy reached out to the Texas General Land Office, local businesses and other dedicated ocean-lovers, and planned what would become Ocean Conservancy’s first cleanup. They asked volunteers to go beyond picking up trash and record each item collected on a standardised data card to identify ways to eliminate ocean trash in the future. More than three decades later, ICC has grown into the largest global volunteer effort for the protection of the environment with participants from more than 100 countries.

The Caribbean Youth Environment Network Guyana Chapter and the Environmental Protection Agency have been collaborating for the past six years to coordinate and execute activities for the coastal cleanup. The event in Guyana mirrors that which takes place on a global scale; from an ever-growing number of volunteers to the type of litter collected and recorded. Last year, approximately 500 volunteers joined the three-day effort and collected more than 36, 849 pieces of litter from our coastlines at the Kingston Seawall and #63 Beach. During the cleanup in 2019, the items found are included in the table in this article. #CLEANON - CLEANUP DURING COVID This year, the International Coastal Cleanup will be held under the theme “Harnessing the power of people to fight ocean trash”. Given the current COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent restrictions on large gatherings, the CYEN Guyana Chapter as the National Coordinating Body, has decided to postpone the activity to a later, safer date. Where safe, small cleanups can happen, and volunteers are asked to track their impact, collecting essential data on the amount and types of trash collected and submitting it all through Ocean Conservancy’s app, Clean Swell.

HERE’S WHAT YOU CAN DO BEYOND ICC: * In your community: If you can, do an individual or small-scale, socially distant cleanup in your neighbourhood; * At home: Learn how you can reduce waste; and * Support the ban on single-use plastics and other waste management legislation.

The EPA wishes to thank all groups and individuals involved in the coordination and execution of ICC over the years - for their unwavering support, time and effort.

The full ICC Guyana report can be downloaded from the EPA website http://www.epaguyana.org/epa/ forms-downloads/epa-reports/category/18-epa-reports Remember to stay safe and follow the guidelines for protecting yourself and others from COVID-19!

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. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram and subscribe to our YouTube channel.

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Handmade Moroccan Clay shampoo bar, vanilla bean body scrub and tomato and cucumber body soap from Kishy’s Crafting Cottage

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By Marissa Victoria Foster

The owner of Kishy’s Crafting Cottage, Mariska Gittens-McEwan

ARISKA Gittens-McEwan is a self-driven, ambitious, hardworking woman who always had a knack for creating and inspiring, but she never had the opportunity to do so until two years ago when she took a leap of faith.

Her business, Kishy’s Crafting Cottage, is focused on helping others with their skincare and haircare journey by crafting the best handmade, local products from the highest

quality ingredients.

When her daughter was born in 2013, McEwan realised that she did not want to put anything harsh in her hair. As such, she started to experiment until she got the right formula for her daughter’s hair. Two and a half years ago, she felt stuck in her daily ‘nine to five’ job and routine. That motivated her to follow her passion that she had been putting on the back burner for years. Mariska released her formula to the public in June 2018 and from then to now has progressed to owning one of Guyana’s best skincare and hair care line of products. She also inspired her daughter Corey McEwan as she is following in her footsteps with her very own business.

One challenge she had to overcome was being conservative and shy to get her business known to others. “I quickly overcame it and got to work on letting people know about Kishy’s Crafting Cottage and that we were there to help in any way possible,” said Mariska. When asked what Turn to page XXVI makes her business unique from others,

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By Mauree Rampertab

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NN Marie, a young native girl of the Arawak tribe, sat on the bank of the creek looking across the smooth, tranquil waters - in awe as she always does at the magical splendor of the sunset in its burning red and tangerine glow.

The natural beauty and serenity of this place in the interior that she called home lived within her heart; a deep love that in her mind, she gave wings to fly like the magnificent Harpy Eagle. It was a love that soared from the Pakaraimas; over the majestic Kaieteur Falls; across plains and sprawling savannahs and, through the lush green forests, home to exotic birds and rare flowers.

From time to time, she had tried visualising her fore-parents walking 11,000 years ago from Northern Asia, across the Bering Strait during the Ice Age, to this land in the South American continent. A land with black-water creeks, rich vegetation and untouched beauty, waiting to be discovered; to be peopled.

The different tribes with their tradition and culture, the first to walk this land, had settled until a white explorer laid claim to its discovery. Every time she heard that story, she always wondered, “How can anyone discover a land when it’s already inhabited?”

The riches of the gold and diamonds attracted strange and dangerous men who were desirous to find such, but for her, an Amerindian native, the richness was the land’s splendorous beauty; the cool, fresh air; the gushing streams; the soft, whispering of the wind and sounds of the jungle.

She was adventurous, and the exciting part of her life was to explore and discover places even skilled hunters and trackers knew not; the hidden places where rare flowers, birds and butterflies made their homes, nature’s secret little hideouts.

It was that adventurous spirit that had helped her find the lost plane. It had crashed in the jungle with a European family on board eight years ago, and the young white boy whose life she had saved had become her friend. He promised her to return one day, and true to his words, he did come back years later with a team of archaeologists to film a documentary on the fabled El Dorado - City of Gold.

“I can’t believe,” she had said to herself, in her native tongue, “that after over centuries they still believe this tale.”

The early explorers had spread tales of a land so rich, the streets were paved with gold. Those tales spawned a legend of the lost City of Gold, because it was never discovered, though excerpts from journals written by early explorers pointed to the fact that El Dorado did exist.

David’s team spent two months but found nothing new and El Dorado remained a legend. A special friendship between them since she had saved his life grew into something beautiful as they grew up and before leaving on his last visit, he had given her an engagement ring and promised to come back for her so she could travel the world with him on expeditions.

“Wait for me,” were the last words he had said to her.

Ann Marie twirled the diamond band on her finger and sighed deeply.

David had been back two weeks now, and the Toshaio had performed a simple traditional ceremony, joining them in matrimony. Soon it would be time to leave but she was not feeling overjoyed. She knew visiting the Aztec ruins and Mayan dynasties across Central America would be adventures of a lifetime, but her heart was here; written on the leaves, carved

←←← on the tree trunks, flowing with the gushing streams, the home town Maureen is a short story writer with a passion for the her ancestors had discovered, their footsteps imprinted on the Arts, Literature and History. land. How could she leave?

She has penned over 200 short stories and is the author A distinct barking sound broke into her musing, and she of three books - Butterflies in Paradise, Storytime and looked up across the water. The otters, their dark glistening Footprints from India. She is a storyteller whose vivid heads bobbing in and out of the water, were swimming to- imagination crosses boundaries and tranwards her. They were her aquatic friends, whom she always scend time to pen stories. saw at sunset. She spoke to them in her native tongue as they frolicked, splashing the cold black water all over her. She laughed, and above the din, she heard the sound of a loud screeching and looked up into the sky as a Harpy Eagle, the largest in the world, sailed past to its habitat.

A soft wind blew past, ruffling her long black hair, and tears misted in her eyes, “It’s all here,” she thought, “Our past as a people from a faroff land who came to this rich, green land.”

The sun sank deeper in the west, and she stood up and watched the otters as they swam back up the creek until she could see them no more, and she whispered, “I’ll see you again, one day.”

“Ann Marie!”

She turned at the sound of David’s voice, and smiled through her tears.

“I’ll miss home.”

“I know,” he said wiping her tears, “You’re my Indigenous princess, and I don’t want that to ever change, so we won’t stay away too long from your homeland, because this is where your heart is.”

He slipped a gold bracelet with tiny intricate carvings on her wrist.

“What is this?” she asked.

“Something inspired by your Mayan ancestors in Guatemala.”

A spark of interest stirred in her eyes, and she knew this journey was going to take her through many lands her ancestors made their homes, and that one day maybe, she will reach that point in Northern Asia where it all began, bridging that link to South America that is now home.

A legacy that will live on; a (Deviantart photo) life, a culture to celebrate as Indigenous people.

Biography: Maureen Rampertab was born in the ancient county of Berbice and grew up in the countryside of Canefield, Canje.

Now living in turkey en, Greater George-

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HIS month is moving so FAST. More people are talking about the hours getting shorter. We have to be more intentional now more than ever about our time management so we can be more efficient to increase our productivity.

We are hosting a virtual Time Management Mastermind on the 24th and 27th of September; and if you think you need some help in this area, please join us.

Last week I featured some of the co-authors in the MEN ACROSS BORDERS anthology. The Men Across Borders anthology will be launched on the 30th of September on Amazon.

This anthology of stories provides an intricate insight into the adaptability of the willpower of man. Men Across Borders is an appropriate title for a stimulating study of resourceful affirmations of men coming from diverse cultures, yet facing similar challenges.

This compilation offers a window into the souls of men, allowing others to appreciate that all men contend equally with the search for self-worth. Through their unique testimonies, salient lessons are taught, implicitly, through an incisive understanding of their resolve and their experiences.

I am introducing five of the other inspiring co-Authors from Guyana and around the world: Shawn English is a man of God and an accomplished musician, known for spreading his passion for inspiring young people with his upbeat and diverse lyrics in songs such as “Trixx” and “Awesome God.” Though Shawn feels led to specifically advocate for youth, his sound is timeless, influencing all generations that hear and identify with his positive messages.

In 2006, at the age of 20, Shawn entered the GT&T Jingle Competition (the biggest competitive music event in Guyana).

Not only did he win the competition, but it also opened many doors for his fresh new sound. Later that year, Shawn released his first single,“Blinded,” which received good reviews, especially in the rock fraternity. Other songs such as “Chains” and “The Name” (with Rene Chester) followed in the subsequent year.

Uon Thomas Sandiford, born to Pamela Bryan, a staunch businesswoman and Thomas Sandiford, an esteemed diplomat, Uon Thomas Sandiford rose from humble beginnings in South Georgetown, Guyana. As the last of six boys in a family of six siblings, Uon has become one of the most extraordinary personalities in the medical field and by extension Guyana. Warm and inviting, considerate and funny are just a few words that describe Uon when asked about in local and international circles, but he is also brilliant.

After four amazing yet equally hardworking years at the West China School of Stomatology in Chengdu, China, he was awarded a degree in Doctor of Medicine and Dentistry. It was during this time his love of volunteerism, entrepreneurship and, of course, dentistry was born.

Félix Figuera, son of Adelfina Guillen de Figuera and Victor Figuera, a peasant who was a farmer his entire life. He as born in a farmhouse that no longer exists, called Zorro Azul (Blue Fox) in a Village named Naricual, State of Anzoátegui, Venezuela.

As a child, most of his time was spent with many deficiencies but always dreaming of a better life. It was known that there was another way of life and he eagerly longed for it. After spending several years working as a labourer, no satisfaction was gained and he knew that God had another way that would lead him to a different and great purpose. One day, in the year 1979, Félix had an encounter with God that changed his life forever. He started a new life, got married to his wife, his beloved Maritza Bellorin, who made him a father of six beautiful children.

Samson Zee, an entrepreneur with over 30 years of experience, Samson Teaches Success Mindset, Business Strategies, And Corporate Transformational Change. Whether it’s sales, customer service or Corporate Change Consulting, attendees will be equipped with the necessary skills to champion the ever-changing business world. Samson has spoken across Asia and is sought after for his motivating magic. He has spoken to various MNCs, government organisations and academic institutions. Sharing the same stages with well-known names such as Robert Kiyosaki

and Les BGrown, Samson delivers powerful key messages and profound take always.

Wil Pluck Wil Pluck has been an educator and has earned the noble distinction of being awarded ‘Best Teacher of the Year’ for two consecutive years in The Bahamas where his students repeatedly topped the country. His first teaching appointment was at St. Rose’s High School, after which he was transferred to President’s College -- ‘School of Excellence.’ At both institutions, Wil Pluck served as the Art Master. At the college, he was also elected twice (consecutively) to serve as Secretary for the Teachers’ Association there. After such ‘red carpet’ achievements in the teaching profession, and having had many students winning gold, Supreme Gold, silver and bronze (internationally), he resigned and took up an appointment as public relations officer for an industrial agen-

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cy, Guymida. This brought him into alignment with mainstream media (radio programmes/Editor of its magazine and newsletter).

After serving in such a capacity for a while, he pursued the interest of exploring a wider regional interest for research and exposure as a journalist. With such an intended focus/function, while he extends compassionate hands on Haiti…memories of Jamaica remain of him most charming…with envied pre-eminence of also providing the most hospitable, prolific and uninhibited platform for his writing as a media practitioner – journalist/reporter/art & social critic.

I am super excited to be the person compiling this anthology that is providing a platform for men to share their journeys.

I am simultaneously working on the next WOMEN BORDERS and if you are interested in a chapter, email anthologymenandwomen@gmail.com as we continue to celebrate this beautiful journey called life BEYOND THE RUNWAY.

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Turn from page XV VILLAGE POLITICS Pierre, having written the then Common Entrance exams, was granted a hinterland scholarship to attend secondary school in Georgetown. Afterwards, he returned to Region One to do farming and mining.

But he became involved in the village politics that would see him being elected toshao of the village in 2001. In 2006, he then moved on to national politics and it was then that he started serving on the RDC. Also Vice-chairman of the National Toshaos Council, Pierre despite the challenges associated with the indigenous communities, there has definitely been progress. “No doubt about it. We now have more schools; trained teachers; education is now easier to get than before; we have more trained health workers from the communities; hospitals are served by doctors, roads and other services,” he pointed out.

However, he said there is still a far way to go for the indigenous communities to come on par with those on the coastland.

Pierre, whose term of office as toshao will come to an end next year, said he wants to see the rights of the indigenous peoples respected more fully, and also that their land issues get resolved.

The sawmill at Kwebanna

Healthy skin and ...

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she replied: “My passion for my work sets me aside from anyone else because this is not just a job or a way to make money for me.” She continued by saying: “This is my life, this is my dream, this is my passion and my way of giving back to the world and helping others who struggle daily with skincare and haircare issues.”

Kishy’s Crafting Cottage can be found on 129A, Duncan Street at the Babe Cave. Her products vary from hair serums to shampoo bars, body and face soaps and even body/facial scrubs.

She is a living example that it is never too late to start living your dream. Her brand is proof that there are quality and creativity in handmade Guyanese products—sometimes, local is better.

Locally made skincare and hair products from Kishy’s Crafting Cottage

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N 1995, Dr Cheddi Jagan designated September as “Amerindian Heritage Month” to promote the interests and enhance the image of the Amerindian peoples. Each year, Heritage Month is given a theme, and this year’s theme is “Fostering Traditional Practices for a Safe Environment.”

The local Amerindian population in Surama (Photo Courtesy of Jamie Lafferty)

The celebration of Amerindian Heritage Month recognises Amerindians and their culture as a distinct part of the Guyanese mosaic. It is also an assertion that Guyana is a plural society and not a monolithic one. During colonial times and until about the 1970s, Guyana was regarded as a society where Western and particularly British culture predominated. Though there were strong strands of Portuguese, Chinese and Indian cultures in existence, as well as vibrant African cultural survivals, these were regarded as of temporary existence and would either be absorbed or gradually eliminated Turn to by the dominant Western culture. page XXX Amerindians and their culture were not even regarded as part of

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HE modern toothbrush, which is actually a high-tech instrument made of plastic and nylon bristles, started as not much more than a humble toothpick. Toothpicks are made out of wood, thorn, metal, or porcupine quills and have been around for at least 3000 years.

Roman and Greek civilisations valued oral hygiene; even slaves had access to chew sticks made from the wood of trees and shrubs such as liquorice, lucern, mallow root, myrtle, dogwood, or the tender shoots of peach. The end of each stick is unravelled by chewing and separating the fibres which scrape the teeth. These sticks still are used extensively in some parts of the world today.

In Arabia and India, chew sticks or siwaks have a religious ritual significance. By brushing for 15 minutes is believed to be the equivalent of 70 prayers. The siwak is mentioned in early literature from Mesopotamia, believed by many to be the cradle of civilisation.

Virtually every civilisation has at some time produced powders, slaves or washes to freshen the breath and ward off oral disease. Hippocrates, the father of medicine, compounded a tooth powder that included burnt hare’s head and mouse parts.

Roman literature is replete with recipes for dentifrices (toothpaste) and instructions for their use. The physician Rhazes (850-932 A.D) was the first one to recommend filling cavities.

Abulcasis (1050-1122 A.D) illustrates and describes dental scrapers for the first time in “De Chirugia”, a work that remained a standard surgical textbook for centuries. It shows 14 scrapers and describes when they should be used. Today, we still use scrapers.

Sometimes on the surface of the teeth, both inside and outside are deposited rough, ugly looking scales, green, yellow, this corruption is communicated to the gums, and the teeth are in the process of time denuded. The ancient dentists used to lay the patient’s head on their lap and scrape the teeth.

Giovanni Archoli, an Italian physician who died in 1484, wrote 10 rules for dental hygiene, including cleansing the teeth after meals. He was one of the first to mention the connection between food and dental decay.

By the 15th century, English barber-surgeons performed dental procedures. They scraped teeth with various metal instruments and rubbed them with a stick dipped in “aqua fortis”, a solution of nitric acid. The acid certainly made teeth white -- before they ate the enamel away and caused teeth to die.

During the 1800s, toothbrushes were made by hand. The thighbones of cattle were considered superior for use as handles because they were the only ones strong enough to withstand pressure, especially when brushes became wet during use. Bristles came from the necks and shoulders of swine, especially those in colder climates such as Siberia. They were considered stronger. Badger bristles were avoided because it was believed that they were too soft.

One of the first illustrations of a toothbrush accompanied the 1818 tract “Le Dentiste des Dames (the women’s dentist). A fashion among American men was not to clean their teeth at all, but have the service performed periodically by their barbers.

By 1840 toothbrushes were being manufactured in France, Germany and England. The use of new production methods and cheap labour enabled omate brushes to be made with decorated handles and innumerable small knots of bristles. The French took the art of manufacturing brushes to Japan, where cheap brushes were made for poorer people. In the 1890s early studies began to link tooth decay with oral hygiene and Americans took the brush to fight bacteria. Today, in a good supermarket in the USA, one can count at least 80 different products and brands of oral care items, including scores of different toothbrushes.

The Florence Manufacturing Co., one of the first to produce toothbrushes in America, began operating in the mid 1880s. In 1885, the company made a popular model called the Pro-phy-lac-tic Brush, and in 1924 they became the first to box their brushes to prevent contamination.

The first nylon brushes were made in 1938, developed by researchers at E.I Dupont de Nemours. The use of nylon filaments gained widespread acceptance because of the wars and other world disturbances that interfered with the importation of good natural bristles. Manufacturers still use the combination of nylon bristles with plastic handles.

By 1990, electric brushes are believed to have captured roughly 20-25 per cent of the market. By 1994, toothbrushes that operate on principles of ultrasound became available to the public. From 1990-1995, several dozen new brushes flooded the American toothbrush market, featuring all kinds of shapes, sizes, colours and functions.

CHRONICLE PEPPERPOT ― Sunday, September 20, 2020

Turn from page XVI pack my bags, get ready for classes, head out my door and enter an environment of people who crave success and education. I gained energy and motivation from my committed peers. I gained inspiration from my lecturers/ teachers. I gained the need to progress every time I walked into the gate and glanced the “University of Guyana” sign.

My environment at the university helped me to excel. I know the same can be said for many others.

My environment inspired me but can the same be said about online learning? Am I the only one that feels demotivated at times instead of the opposite?

No, I am not asking for us to return to physical classroom settings but how can we feel the same way as we did before COVID-19 changed our lives?

I can speak on behalf of myself as a student but what about teachers? Do they feel the same way?

Well, Ashminie Persaud is a teacher at Line Path Secondary. She expressed her concerns about online teaching and how it affects her as a teacher, as well as, her students. She said: “In some classes, at least half of the students do not have internet connections to begin with. Even the ones who are taught online do not grasp the concepts that well because they are already used to teaching in physical classroom settings”. She continued by saying: “Google classroom and zoom are hard for a lot of students to understand keep up with. A lot of them don’t even have phones and computers. There are classes that have all the students with internet connections and that can be a good thing but there are also other classes in the same batch that does not and that leaves the other without internet at a disadvantage compared to their colleagues”.

It was difficult enough to write the Common Entrance, Grade Nine (9) and CSEC Examinations after being taught in physical classroom settings, much less a child who is forced to do so with online teaching. Let’s put aside the need for social interactions; there are still many other issues involved. As Ashminie pointed out, the limited amount of students who are without internet connectivity is a major issue. Some might have internet connections, but is it fast and secure? Are teachers fully equipped with the materials and knowledge they need to utilise online settings?

Have we also taken into consideration the mental strain it will have on teachers? We are a developing third world country and our knowledge and resources with online mediums are very limited.

Realistically speaking, policymakers and teachers are learning just as the children/students in this process. I have chosen to write on this because I am currently a student myself and I know how frustrating it can be. I hope that we do not view online classes as a “quick fix” to teaching our students. Whatever policies and rules are to be in place, I am hopeful that the challenges of both teachers and students are considered and that at the end of it all, we also consider the human experience and how important it can be for us to excel in healthy environments, including online ones.

We merely ought to substitute those experiences and feelings with these online mediums due to social distancing—not replace them.

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Turn from page XXVII

the equation.

With independence from colonial rule, African, Indian and even Portuguese and Chinese cultural groups became more assertive as to their identities, and later Amerindians did the same. Amerindians had always been regarded as a marginalised group, and when their assertion of their distinct identity began to appear, all groups welcomed it. Now Guyana recognises itself as a plural society where all racio-cultural groups have a place and could express their identities without anyone accusing them of racism. The long-held assumption of the superiority and all-encompassing nature of British culture is gradually fading away.

This year, Amerindian Heritage Month comes at a very unusual and unique time: the COVID-19 pandemic is spreading uncontrolably and national elections have just concluded and a new povernment has been installed. The pandemic has greatly curtailed exhibitions of Arts and Craft and shows of the performing Arts. An attempt is being made to use the computer, TV and other informaion technologies to project such Amerindian shows and exhibitions to the public and especially to the Amerindian communities in the Interior.

This has had the unexpected effect of exposing interior communities to the modern world of information technology.

The fact of Amerindian Heritage Month coming almost simultaneously with the installation of the new government resulted in its gaining greater political notice and President Irfaan Ali has rolled out a programme of comprehensive social and economic development for Amerindian communities.

Many of these programmes were in the PPP/C’s election manifesto and this permits the Amerindian communities to bring greater pressure on the government to effectuate them.

These programmes include the availability of potable water and electricity, as well as education and better medical services to the interior communities. Amerindian land-titling was also promised. The extension of social services to the Amerindian communities provides a great challenge, since such communities are not concentrated in a few locations but are thinly spread over the interior.

The government will continue to work towards achieving the prescriptions of the Amerindian Act of 2006, which addresses land-titling, Intellectual Property rights, Mining and Forestry rights, Governance of Amerindian villages and Environmental Protection. This environment segment of the Act falls squarely within the theme of this year’s Heritage Month and supports the efforts of Amerindian communities to use natural resources sustainably. Amerindian communities have grasped the imperative of preserving a safe environment. The Heritage Month message of the Chairman of the National Toshaos Council, Mr Nicholas Fredricks,, encapsulates this concept: “This is when mankind has to realise that money is not all; we need to protect the environment, we need to protect our land, so that we can survive and our future generation will have a safe place to live.”

There is one consideration which this year’s Heritage Month has not stressed and which this column has advocated over the years, that is, the use and preservation of the Amerindian languages. Among the things advocated are: standardising the use of the Roman script in writing the various Amerindian languages; working out grammars of the languages; a compilation of dictionaries; and deciding on a Lingua Franca among the seven languages. The preservation and use of these languages are urgent, as they are in danger of disappearing when faced with the growing pressures of English.

This year’s Heritage Month witnessed the climactic event of all Heritage Months so far when Mr Lenox Shuman, attired in full Amerindian dress, was installed as Deputy Speaker of Parliament.

CHRONICLE PEPPERPOT ― Sunday, September 20, 2020

Ingredients ► 2 lbs Wild Meat (Labba, Deer, Hog etc.) ► 5 cups Cassava Juice ► 2 tbsp Thyme ► Salt to Taste ► 6 Cloves Garlic ► Black Pepper ► Onion ► Ginger ► Olive Oil ► 4 - 5 Cubes ► 2 - 3 Red Peppers

Instructions ■ Cut and wash meat ■ Add all ingredients except cassava juice and oil ■ Let sit for 10 mins.

■ Heat pot (for boiling/pressuring) ■ Add oil ■ Add meat and stir ■ Let meat cook until water dries out ■ Add cassava juice ■ Cover to boil or pressure until meat is tender ■ Check meat after 15 mins. If cassava juice evaporates add more served with bread, rice or provision.

■ You can use more meat, just increase ingredients.

■ You can refrigerate or reheat morning and night ( let boil)

familyoven.com

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THOUGHT FOR TODAY Of Man’s first disobedience, and the fruit.

Of that forbidden tree, whose mortal taste Brought death into the world, and all our woe, With loss of Eden.

JOHN MILTON (1608-1674) Paradise Lost (1667), 1668 edn. Bk.i,1.1

SEPTEMBER 20, 2020 STUDY SUCCESS Dear Student,

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EL-

COME, dear friend. Have

you been recording your experiences from books, magazines, and newspapers; not forgetting those issuing from television and internet services? Also, have you been noting your personal experiences, friends’ experiences, neighbours’ experiences, happenings to relatives abroad? Yes? Good. So, your caché is varied enough to easily choose the best for essays and short stories and other forms of responses in classroom practice.

Keep on filling and using your notebooks and keep on functioning in study groups. Be wise.

Love you.

beaks.

B. Bird lovers ….songbirds.

C. They use ….in trees.

D. Tiny hummingbirds ….straw.

3. Which statement best describes the main idea of paragraph 2?

A. The main idea is stated directly in the first sentence.

B. The main idea is unsupported by evidence in the paragraph.

C. The main idea is understood from details included in the paragraph.

D. The main idea of the paragraph does not contribute to the main idea of the passage.

MAKING SENSE of the PASSAGE How is your reading for Main Ideas?

Directions: Read the selection. Then answer the questions.

You can learn a lot about a bird from looking at its beak. Birds such as cardinals, sparrows, and finches have strong, thick, coneshaped beaks. These beaks are perfect for cracking seeds. Bird lovers place feeders filled with seeds in their yards for songbirds.

Woodpeckers, on the other hand, have long, chisel-shaped beaks. They use their beaks to peck holes in trees. Tiny hummingbirds have long, tubular bills that they use in much the same way that we use as a straw.

Herons walk on long, slender legs. Herons have long, straight bills with sharp edges that keep a slippery fish from escaping. Other fish eaters, like the cormorant, have a hook on the end of the beak for holding a fish.

Wading birds have long, narrow bills use their beaks to probe in the sand for tasty insects or worms.

WRITING LETTERS The Successful Everyday

Something to Do 1. What is the unstated main idea of this selection?

A. A bird’s beak gives clues of what it eats.

B. Birds eat a wide variety of foods.

C. Fish eaters live near the shore.

D. Most birds’ beaks are irrelevant.

2. Which sentence does not directly support the main idea of paragraph 1?

A. Birds ….cone-shaped

Letter of Request Date Dear Mr. Webster: Please send me “Mighty Word”; the leaflet advertised in this month’s “Gospellers” magazine. My address is 1562 Manson Drive, Washington Park, Greater Georgetown.

I certainly appreciate your distributing this valuable leaflet.

Yours truly, Danielle Dacon A letter ordering a product, or a service brings in money for the business organisation to which it is sent.

Other request letters, however, do not directly benefit the receiver. In fact, it is believed that they may cause an inconvenience, cost of money, or take up valuable time reading it.

Even if the reader sees no direct benefit, the request letter can still achieve its purpose, if it is persuasive and appealing to pride, fair play, fear, recognition, or self-worth, among other attributes.

Do you see how the everyday request letter above tries to appeal to recognition and self-worth by using the statement: “I certainly appreciate your distributing this valuable leaflet”?

Qualities of Request Letters In the request letter, close attention must be given to the reader’s needs, and so bring closer the reader and the purpose of the letter. Among other things, it must be well

written and tactful.

There should be evidence of the following qualities: 1. Conciseness: Avoid the needless repetition of words and ideas. Make sure that every word in the letter contributes to its good success. Avoid including any unnecessary ideas that do not readily contribute to the reader’s understanding of your request.

2. Clarity and completeness of Ideas: Whatever you write, test it for coherence.

Have enough details to give a vivid picture enough for the reader to take the desired action.

3. Courtesy and Tactfulness: Use the person’s correct name; spell it well.

It is always better to address it to a person rather than to a company. Use expressions of appreciation. Here is how you may end: a. “May I please…” d.

“I would appreciate having…” b. “I would appreciate having…” e. “Please send me…” c. “I will be grateful if you...” f. “Will you please…”

4. Use Expressions of Expectation (especially in anticipating a favourable response to a special request): a) “I hope that we can count on your cooperation.” b) “Your suggestion would be genuinely appreciated.” c) “I would appreciate the help.” d) “We will be grateful for this special service.”

5. Make it Easy to Respond: a. Be courteous; it makes it easier for the receiver to grant the favour. b. Include a copy of the programme or plan for the receiver to gasp a better and immediate understanding of the event; and of course, a good appreciation of what the company is getting into.

In summing up, remember the cornerstone to successful request letters: i. Attention-getting statement or device that encourages the reader to continue reading the letter. ii. Statements that present fact, or that meet the reader’s needs. iii. Presentation of request in terms of how it will benefit the reader if possible. iv. Request for action

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