Marlyn Laundry has lived in Patentia Village, West Bank Demerara since age three and has been a vendor at the Patentia Market for over 11 years. She said that the village is seeing more economic activity and opportunities with nearby developments like the upcoming Wales gas-to-shore project (Delano Williams photo)
Sunday, July 16, 2023
HAVE you ever paused from your busy schedule to realise the many situations in which birds and animals enjoy some of the freedoms which humans don’t have?
For example, national borders. Birds fly to and fro across national borders without a care in the world. I have often observed that adventure on wings, when
at Lethem in the South Rupununi, Region Nine. Of all the birds that fly the friendly or unfriendly skies, the carrion crow is the least liked or appreciated, for
that matter. However, the carrion crow should be considered a friend of humans for the necessary voluntary cleansing work they do. I once saw the carcass of a dog killed on the street at Lethem reduced to a clean skeleton by crows within a few hours.
While on another visit to Lethem in the Rupununi, I saw one of these jet-black birds gliding to and fro across the Takatu River which separates Guyana and Brazil. That bird had absolutely no concern about immigration laws between the two countries, as humans have to. People must possess certain documents to engage in legal journeys from one country to another. A valid passport or some other acceptable travel document is mandatory. However, there are no such constraints with the humble carrion crow and other birds and animals. Border rivers, such as the Takatu and the Iring on Guyana’s western border, have no greater significance for carrion crows or other birds except their need for water.
There are those times
when it is appropriate for humans to recognise our limitations. While man has ventured to the moon and the depths of the ocean, there are many constraints. The recent deep-sea disaster in which five lives were lost in an ocean exploration to view the iconic TITANIC, which sank in one of the worst ocean disasters in history, is evidence that man does have some limitations with outer space and deep seaexploration at this time. Maybe the limitations faced in 2023 may no longer be there a decade or two from now. Meanwhile, some adventures are still calculated risks.
When I did a three-day solo hike from Georgetown to McKenzie, it was well calculated, despite some risks. The Soesdyke-Linden highway was not yet constructed, and two of the three days of my journey, were through the forest. On the first night, I slept ‘rough’ at the Timehri airport. On the second night, I slept ‘rough’
on the ground in the forest. Pleasant dreams. On the third day, I arrived safely at my intended destination, only to be immediately stopped and frisked by the Guyana Defense Force ranks. A security incident had occurred on the MV R.H. CARR - the Georgetown to McKenzie Demerara River steamer. My interrogators quickly realised that I had indeed just completed a three-day 65 mile journey on foot and offered me congratulations. As for borders, I couldn’t care when I exited Region Four into Region 10. Feeling like a free bird, that man-made boundary was of little significance to me. What really mattered was that I was young and adventurous and enjoying my life in the beautiful country of my birth; a country I love and know much more about than most others due to my extensive travels around the country over the decades.
WHETHER due to an accident or illness, it’s always hard moving forward when someone has lost part of themselves. Everywhere, there are persons who have lost arms, legs and certain senses, such as the ability to hear. And these are the cases that Collin Charles and Alesha Richmon deal with.
In Carmichael Street, in the heart of our nation’s capital, is an institution dedicated to helping others. The J.E Simmons Orthodontic and Prosthetic Appliance Workshop is more than what it appears to be. Located behind the Ptolemy Reid Rehabilitation Center, they specialise in far more than the name suggests. Apart from
the Audiology Department, Alesha Richmon, explained
create the socket which will now be fitted to the patient.”
orthodontics and prosthetics, they also have an audiology department.
The Pepperpot magazine sat down with Collin Charles, Head of the Orthodontic and Prosthetic division at J.E Simmons. Collin stated that a common misconception is that prosthetics and orthodontics are the same thing. But the Senior Prosthetic Technician, explained, “Orthodontics is a device which is used to support the body; it also helps to stop involuntary movement. And in children, it helps to correct deformities. Prosthetics, however, is a science which deals with the replacement of a missing body part.”
He also went on to explain what it is that his department does, saying, “We manufacture and fit prosthetics. We do our clinical assessment of the patient. We work along with the physical therapy department to assess the patients. And once the patient meets the requirements for a prosthesis, we go ahead.” Similarly, Head of
how a hearing aid works, saying, “Hearing aids are sound amplifiers. They make sounds louder. The hearing aids we have are digital, which means that they can be programmed specifically to the patient’s hearing loss. To fit the hearing aid, we need an ear mould. And that is something that has to be custom-made.”
In walking us through exactly how a prosthetic is made, Collin stated simply, “It is a process. Let’s say an amputee comes in. We do our clinical rotation by examining the patient. Making sure they are in the correct shape and strong enough to manage a prosthesis. Once that is done, we proceed to take an impression along with measurements. Then we follow that negative cast which is the impression to create a positive mould. Where we do our modification using the measurements taken from the patient. Then we proceed to
Moving on to the Audiology department, the same amount of care and attention to detail is paid in the production of ear moulds. “This is a repair mold lab. However, we are currently doing a hearing test here as well. We are an extension of the audiology department at the Georgetown Public Hospital. It’s a walk-in clinic because we only started in March of this year. But at GPHC, that is a referral clinic, but here
you just walk in and make an appointment,” Alesha explained. For a hearing test, there are a number of aspects that are determined based on the patient. Similarly in Prosthetics and Orthodontics measurements are taken, a mold is made, and then several stages of moulding are done to acquire a finished product. And after a series of fittings, a person can have a leg replaced and their sense of hearing restored. In some cases, the person does not come with a person who does not come with a prescription. Perhaps the most intricate part of this process is the fact that every patient is different with different needs. “For an amputee, we know exactly what is needed for that person who has the amputation. If I were to work on one patient it would take about five days. But because we have so many patients coming in it tends to
take a little longer,” Collin explained. One thing that sparked the interest of many people is the socalled ‘Bionic’ arms and legs.
have this stigma because they don’t want anyone to know they don’t have a leg.
And although many may assume that they are not made in Guyana, Collin emphasises that they are. A myoelectrical, as it is called, refers to the electronic properties of the muscles. And although we have only had a few done to date, Collin says that there is potential to have more done in Guyana. “It is basically the same procedure. But it’s a little more complex because we have to do testing. Where you use an instrument to test for pulp. Because the deals with a battery sensation along with pulps to be able to give that person control to open and move their hand,” he explained. Both Alesha and Collin have been in their respective field for more than 20 years. In Collin’s case he says his most memorable cases are the most challenging ones. “The most memorable to me are those who have lost both legs, a bilateral amputation - to get those people to walk again; to see them stand up and walk is the biggest motivation,” he explained. And as much as advances have been made there is still a long way to go in more facilities like these and how persons perceive those with an amputation. As Collin shared, “Some people are more into cosmetics. They
And they feel like people are stigmatising them, knowing that they have an amputation. So generally pepe ar into cosmetic function.”
Working for the greater good.
One of the amazing things about the J.E Simmons Workshop is that it is a non-profitorganisation. Meaning that the only cost paid is for the materials used to make a prosthetic. There is cost recovery for the imported material used. In the case of the audiology department, the only thing made is the mould, whereas the hearing aids themselves are bought by the government of Guyana. Alesha went on to explain that, “We do hearing testing, so anyone with a hearing problem can come and have their hearing test done and once that cannot be rectified by a surgery or medication,then we rehabilitate in the form of hearing aids. Those hearing aids are provided no free of cost by the ministry of health. Previously they would have to have been purchased but now they are free.”
Places like this do far more than help people. As you walk through the walls of the workshop, you are met with an assortment of legs, feet and hearing aids that are all custom-made and will restore someone’s confidence, self-image and possibly their life.
JUST a few months ago, the Sophia NGO Network Initiative held its inaugural Sophia Community Awards for Service and Excellence. The award ceremony is a derivative of the consolidation of efforts by several Non-Governmental Organizations in the community. It seeks to recognise outstanding performances, as well as significant activism and advocacy aimed at advancing the human and physical development of Sophia. Among the areas for which persons can be nominated and awarded are education, environment, health, sports,
business, arts & culture, and innovation.
The Pepperpot Magazine spoke with one of the recipients of the award Marcia Kato, who won the award for her work in environmental science.
Kato is known for connecting Government officials and residents should a problem arise in the area, particularly concerning environmental issues.Kato ‘s primary responsibility is to ensure that the environment is safe, the community’s drainage is okay and bridges and roads in the area are well-kept and properly maintained for
the usage of residents in the community.
Kato shared with Pepperpot that being a member of the Community Policing Group, she was still integrally involved in ensuring that the community is developed. Meanwhile, another member of the group, Sandra King,received an award for her role in the arts and culture.
When she spoke with thePepperpot Magazine, she indicated during her interview that she is a well-respected person in her community and that she would often assist the youths in other parts of
the community, including where she lives, as well as in their school concerts and youth programme.King believes in communication, togetherness, and love for
of audit, business, media, law, broadcasting,entertainment, and education.
The criteria for nomina-
their selflessness and willingness toserve. The issues
each other as children in her community.
While emphasising the fact that she has a passion for children, King could not help but state that she would often find herself encouraging, advising, and mentoring
tions require the nominees to demonstrate a positive impact on the lives of residents ofSophia, particularly remarkable and inspiring individuals, who demonstrate vision, leadership, and innovation indelivering com-
that we face today transcend boundaries, andit is against this backdrop that we collectively seek to breakbarriers and build bridges.” Awards ceremoniesfor the community of Sophiaalso serve as a boost to erase
children to walk in the right way and steps.
The Sophia NGO Network believes that the selection of awardees is based on a majority decision of the Award committee tasked with reviewing submissions to ensure that the established benchmarks are met. The committee, in the form ofthe adjudicating panel, comprises outstanding professionals inthe areas
munity change, and whose actions and outlookcontribute to the upliftment of others.”
The award is presented biennially. A person may be nominated for an award if he or she has been volunteering or serving the Sophia community for at least two years.
Nelson shared, ““Through our work, we have interacted with many persons who inspire others in thecommunity because of
the negativity and demoralisingimagery of the Sophia community, according to the Sophia NGO Network.
Since the emergence of the community of Sophia, there has been a great effort by this non–governmental organisation to engage particularly young people in activities that would uplift their image of themselves and reduce the number of criminal activities.
GOOD customer service is a highly anticipated feature of business interactions with most people, but every so often, good customer service is overshadowed by disgruntled employees or persons who may not understand its value.
Recently, Pepperpot Magazine sat down with some experts who teach the elements of good customer service to talk about its fall and upwardness.
Rawle Dundas, a business owner, explained thatthe quality of customer service is drastically inconsistent, adding thatexceptional service is rare.
“There is certainly a crisis. The demand for excellence has risen with the influx of tourists and business travellers and our general response to persons’ reactions to poor service is the common Guyanese statement ‘is no big thing’. Customers are more demanding, but our behaviour towards them is still too ordinary,” he told Pepperpot Magazine.
Dundas added thatit starts with leaders in every sector and at every level raising the bar, modelling exceptional behaviour, treating staff better, providing adequate training, and following up to ensure the quality of interactions with ALL customers improves. Each individual must also step up and deliver what they believe they deserve. “Put yourself in the customer’sshoes, would you expect or accept poor service?” Dundas posed.
Top-quality staff development (not just a training session) programmes that equip staff, modifybehaviour, respond to the voice of the customer, and monitor performance will help, he added.The customer service expert added that our focus must move from just providing a product or service (a transaction) to consistently providing exceptional service experiences, encompassing every interaction the customer has with your business.
During his interview, the Dundas spoke on the status of customer service and whether or not it is dying. “It’s in a sickly state but not dying. Companies such as Professional Development Enterprise are pushing
Kirk Clarke programmes that promote ongoing interactions in the classroom and beyond. Relationships are also being forged with training experts in the Caribbean with proven track records in the Tourism and Hospitality Industries,” Dundas noted
during his comments.
According to Dundas, the decline has come because we have many nice people offering satisfactory service and not enough customer experience professionals caring for their customers and committed to providing delightful experiences. Another businessman, Kirk Clarke,shared that customer service is a lifestyle;customer service starts at home.
Clarke recalled that there was a time that you would say good morning to older adults, whether you knew them or not, because if you did not, you were scolded by your parents following their complaints.
According to Clarke, that’s where it will take a new generation of people to revolutionise customer service, as he said, good customer service starts with the family.
He believes that good customer service is the readiness to smile, have good manners and ethics.
ON the West Bank of Demerara,a series of villages share similar history, people and values. Going past Good Intent, Toevugt and Wales, there is the village
that connects it to the main road. Most persons living in Patentia have been there for all or most of their lives. This is perhaps how they have managed to keep that
11 years. She says that the Patentia she’s always known has remained somewhat the same, with just a few changes. And although the difference isn’t drastic to outsiders,
something she knows about first-hand because her husband is a worker connected to the project.
of Patentia.
With a population of just about 2,000, it is a small community located in Region
authentic countryside village atmosphere.
Marlyn Laundry has lived in Patentia since agethree
it is noticed by the villagers. Marlyn admitted that with the Wales gas-to-shore project, there have been more
Last year the government launched the Wales gas-toshore project. It is said to be Guyana’s single largest investment in our electricity sector, cutting electricity costs in half. Since its beginning, the project has trained and employed several persons from Patentia and neighbouring villages. Some
of those young people expressed that their training was a good experience that allowed them to learn and meet new people. As Marlyn happily shared the project’s impact on the village, she said, “Now it’s getting better due to the work at Exxon and people getting more money.” This is a sentiment shared by many other villagers. Marlyn then went on to say, “Yes my husband works on the project and to
me it’s coming along good so far. The workers are getting
work and they are paying them good.”
One thing that’s bound to captivate anyone visiting Patentia is the people and their close-knit, family-like hospitable nature. This is perhaps one of the reasons why Rex Fernandes, who once lived there,has continued to visit
SEE PAGE VII
and has been selling at the same market for more than
jobs and more money in the community. And this is
SEVENTY-year-old Vidya Sanichar has called Patentia her home since she was married in 1975 so she has seen the village transform from a thickly forested area to what it is now. “From the time I first came here, this place has changed. It was all forest. And we had a lot more small houses,” Vidya says. Her 30-year-old daughter, Ranuka, was born and grew up in the village. Their beautiful home has stood on the same land for more than 50 years.
The family openly shared their struggles over the years, especially their battles with health. Ranuka has had her fair share of health issues, including brushes with cancer and sickle cell. Today she pays keen attention to her health. But it is clear that just as much attention is paid to her mother, who has many health problems as well. And as Ranuka states, caring for both of them is neither cheap nor easy. “I was a dental technician. And because I am not able to be on my feet 24\7, I stopped, and I started my own business. And I have to maintain her and it is not easy,”Ranuka shared.
However, the family is still finding it well and says that the only thing they would like to see is the addition of a health facility in Patentia. This is a shared thought among many villagers, particularly the elderly.
A changing demographic
A large part of Patentia’s population is made up of elderly people. This is further emphasised by the fact that not many more new or young people are moving into the area. “Almost everybody has lived here for a long time. Everybody has grown up since childhood and lives here now. And as every-
Patentia for the past 40 years.
Rex is Marlyn’s father and has lived in Patentia all those years, he says there have been changes and development in the community.
“Every morning we see people that come and clean the area and I think it is a nice thing that they are doing. We have the gas-to-oil thing where Marlyn’s husband works, so yes there have been changes.” says Rex. But the development isn’t the
only reason why Rex loves Patentia. He says it’s the community that he loves and misses. Pointing to the cul-de-sac that ends the road of Patentia, he said, “Well places like there are where the young boys like
body grows older, they start a family and they stay. And that’s how it is from generation to generation because even the house we live in was my grandparents’ house,”Ranuka said.As much as this preserves the history of Patentia, it creates a new problem. With the average age of the Patentia’s residents changing, so are their needs.
One of those needs is healthcare. With concern,Ranuka stated, “There are a lot of old people here. The majority of people that live here are elders. Every time they need to go to the clinic, it’s hard. If we had a health centre in the district it would be easier for
everyone.” There is a health centre in Patentia but it is only accessible to persons who worked at the sugar estate. Due to this, many citizens are calling for a public health centre and dispensary.
This is posing a significant problem for many of the village’s elderly population. And as Vidya emphasised, there are those surviving on their pension, and would appreciate it deeply. “You have to pay to go to the health centres and then you have to pay for blood tests. So what happens is that the little money they, the elderly, get they have to spend it back on their healthcare.So if there was a health centre, it would benefit all the old people.” The bounds of Patentia are very blurred as the village is surrounded by a few emerging houses, families and very soon entire communities. The town of Patentia is an incredibly beautiful place with amazing people. And because of its peacefulness, it is a neighbourhood adored by its older inhabitants.
The gas-to-shore sign located near Patentia
to play things like cricket and football. And I don’t live here now, but my daughter still lives here and I visit every now and then.”
Due to the fact that most of Patentia’s population has lived there a long time, they have all lived through the height and closure of the sugar estate. On
walking through the streets of Patentia, you are captivated by the villages’ humble residents and rustic houses.
A booming old town running on sugar some 30 years ago isn’t hard to see. Patentia and its various parts and people all welcome Guyana’s new oil and
gas industry. But remnants of the estate will live on in every child that knows estate stories and every elder who knows of the days of sugar. The Wales gas-toshore project is a small step in breathing new life into the community of Patentia.
By Faith Greene
PATENTIA has a diverse group of people, but despite some differences, like anywhere else, they manage to reside together in peace and harmony.
Many in the community shared these sentiments and admit that there is an undeniable bond with each other.
This was seen in the case of the Baljeet Mohabir and his wife, KhoomawattieMohabir, an older couple when their West Bank Demerara home was completely destroyed after a fire took over the entire building.
On July 8, no one in Patentia was prepared for the fire that consumed the elderly couple’s home.
Khoomawattie related that it was thanks to her neighbours and friends who lent a hand and helped them during this entire ordeal. She noted that everyone came out, in one way or the other, to help mere moments before the entire structurewas engulfedin flames.
The couple said that they were both at home at the
time of the fire.According toKhoomawattie, she heard a loud sound coming from the road and mistook it for that of a tyre. She said it wasn’t until she went upstairs that she noticed the fire on the main switch on a wall where it quickly spread to a curtain and then to other parts of the now-damaged property.
The woman said that at this point, she began to shout for her husband,who had been talking to their niece, to let him know there was a fire in the upper flat of their home.
She shared that the only thing she managed to save was a phone she had in her hand at the time, her husband’s phone, a charger and her spectacles. Everything else went up in flames.
She said that she even managed to scramble her new bottle of gas which was purchased from herneighbour, and explained further that she was next to the stove where she had already prepared the meal for the day when she lifted the bottle over her table and quickly exited the house.
“I said I didn’t want it to explode because that would have caused more damage,” the woman explained.
Although they made it out of their home without any injuries, the woman said that the fire service took a while to get to their home. She related that had they come in
time their home could have been saved.
Thedamages to their home, according to the couple, have tallied up to millions of dollars in expenses. She said the building was well equipped with everything they would need (television, microwave, refrigerator, etc.)
At present, the couple reside in the home of a friend who lives overseas. They said that he has a house right in their village and is allowing them to stay there. Furthermore, some friends and neighbors and family have managed to give the couple clothes and other means of comfort until they are able to get back on their feet.
Moreover, Khoomawattiehas stated that she has worked extremely hard to maintain her home. “I really struggled,” she said.
When asked if they would like to rebuild the house, the couple said they would like to eventually, however, an assessment still needs to be done on the home. They shared that they are thankful to be alive after something as tragic as a fire.
Recently some fires have broken out in multiple communities and regions across Guyana, some managing to take the lives of those who would have resided in these structures before the fire.
THE Pepperpot Magazine visited the Neighborhood Democratic Council (NDC), responsible for Toevlugt to Patentia, West Demerara. According to the Overseer at the NDC Nekisha Lewis, this NDC is responsible for eight villages in West Demerara:Toevlugt, Malgre-tout, Stanleytown, Belle View, Good Intent, Sisters, Wales and Patentia.
The services and functions of the NDC are to collect rates and taxes; clean residential, cultivation trenches and drains; maintain the burial ground; maintain internal roads and Dams; construct or maintain footpath bridges; and maintain and operate river kokers in a good state.
Lewis said that she would be grateful if communities that are not represented, like Vriesland and ViveLa- Force, were able to have NDCs of their own to avoid them travelling miles away to Good Intent.
“The people stop up to Patentia, so for them to come out, it’s either they come with a taxi, or they ride, and the distance is long. So they could have an NDC at the back there because there are lots of villages at the back there,” said Lewis.
Although a lot of information could not be provided on Patentia, it was said that there are around 2,00 residents there.
She listed out three parts of Patentia: New Scheme, Patentia West and Patentia East. “In Patentia West, we [have] Area L. Then there’s a part, Skull City, that part isn’t regularizesed,” she said.
In terms of community enhancements, Lewis said that they are presently focusing on rehabilitating the
roads. “The NDC is looking to get back ownership of the Center, at Patentia, because it was being managed by GUYSUCO. But the Estate closed down recently so, until we get back permission to do work there, only then we could develop,” she explained. “Before the recent change, they were planning on rebuilding a factory there. Probably they would have done juice, plant the fruits and probably export local juice. But that project was scrapped,” she said about the sugar factory.
Another topic for concern among residents was the lack of employment opportunities in Patentia. Residents would have said that their loved ones have had to travel grave distances to be able to pro-
vide for their families.
When asked about the employment of the residents, she said that the government of Guyana’s Part time jobs are available for residents.
She said even with everything happening in Patentia, more persons are moving in. She noted that those who do leave do so for employment elsewhere.
Furthermore, she said Patentia is a residential area, however, they do have problems where residents still rare their cattle there. She said that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), would have to visit the Village to assess the situation before any penalties for this are given.
She said that the only
maintenance of the pen the animals stay and the implementation of proper drainage systems.
“But if it’s at the state where it’s really terrible to the resident, the EPA would step in and they would probably stop them from rearing or give further advice,” she said She said that the EPA had at a previous time,
stopped a man in Patentia from rearing pigs. According to Lewis, the man would rear and kill, then sell on the market, however, due to several complaints from residents, the EPA stepped in, just in time to end that.
OVER 18 million hectares of rainforests, lush, green tropical jungles, massive evergreen hardwood trees rising to form dense canopies, encapsulating rich biodiversity and unique, complex ecosystems, incomparably the pride of Guyana. Our high forest cover, low deforestation (HFLD) status has put us on the global radar and earned us an international platform to negotiate and set standards for sustainable development in the era of climate action. Our rainforests inspired the novel Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS) of 2009, paving an alternative pathway to development. Even with the advent of oil production, our forests remain the basis of Guyana’s LCDS 2030.
In many ways, rainforests can be considered the heart of Guyana’s economy and the roots of its society. Even before the global movement for climate change mitigation and adaptation reached its apex, our approach to forests was a sustainable one – it could be argued that we were “sustainable” before sustainability blew up as a concept. This is unsurprising since core principles such as environmental protection and intergenerational equity can trace their roots back to the caring culture of our ancestors – a culture that remains in practice among Guyana’s first peoples, as well as many generations of Guyanese of all ethnic backgrounds who have lived intertwined with forests and interdependently with healthy forest ecosystems.
This year’s theme for World Rainforest Day is “Preserving the Lungs of the Earth”, a fitting metaphor referencing the symbiotic relationship between humans and forests, where trees exhale what we inhale and vice versa. Forests are vital in supplying oxygen – our literal life’s breath. They are equally important in filtering the air by removing carbon dioxide. Carbon dioxide is quantitatively the most harmful of anthropogenically-produced greenhouse gases that contribute to detrimental climate change. So yes, forests are in fact, saving us from ourselves.
Yet, as we commemorate and bring new awareness to this priceless, irreplaceable service of rainforests, let us also consider the significance of the shift in language and context within the environmental movement: from preserving rainforests to conserving rainforests. The notable difference has been the inclusion of people, i.e., the concept of sustainable
‘Preserving the Lungs of the Earth’
HER lips were bruised and hurting, yet she hummed, softly, songs that spoke of dreams and faith, of a love that comes from deep within. Her hands worked deftly preparing tasty delicacies for her food stall, a small business she had inherited from her grandmother. It became her only livelihood, a girl whose dreams had gotten lost in the broken pieces of her life.
“Why did this had to happen to me?” she had often asked
herself as she grew from a little girl to a young woman. A bitter separation between her mother and father had changed everything in Tanya’s life and she had watched tearful, her little heartbreaking as the two people she loved the most in the world went their separate ways.
“What happened to the love they shared?” she had asked herself, “What is happening now to me?”
She missed her dad, but life went on for her and her
mother, who struggled to pick up the pieces. Her father was not visiting too often.
She soon got a new job in a beauty salon and things had begun to improve in their lives until she brought home her new boyfriend. That was another blow in the child’s life for things changed not for the better and soon she was sent to live with her grandmother for a while.
In the nights, she had cried silently, awakening each morning with the hope that her mother would return for her and say, “Let’s go home, baby.”
But though she visited, she never said those words and whenever Tanya asked, her answer always was “I need a little time more.”
Weeks passed into months and when months became a couple of years Tanya stopped asking her. She had to
change school and church, living with her grandmother in a small country house. She helped her with preparing the street food she sold on food court tarmacs, learning along the way.
She had managed to adjust her life but her heart still grieved, for she felt she was left on the wayside to bloom like a wild flower.
A beautiful young woman she had become, simple with a pleasant countenance and always a warm smile. She kept God close to her heart and continued to live with hopes that one day in her life she could find a blessed happiness that could make her smile radiantly.
“Yuh ah read too much ah dem love story book,” Aunt Theresa, a food vendor near to her had teased her.
“Yeah,” Tanya had sighed, “I guess I feel safe living in a dream world.”
“Well, you gotta wake up sometime,” Aunt Theresa reiterated, “Da boy in Block C like yuh and he gat ah nice car.”
“I know,” Tanya had responded with a patient smile, “But he has many girlfriends and has been detained several times by the police.”
“Girl, it was just suspicion,” the old lady retorted, “Yuh cyan worry about dem things.”
FROM PAGE XII
“Not the kind of guy I would like to share my life with,” Tanya had voiced in a serious tone.
Aunt Theresa had looked at Tanya, liking the young woman for her quiet and simple demeanour and she had said to her, “You really deserve someone good in your life.”
Tanya had smiled at the kind woman warmly but said nothing.
Her main focus was to continue earning her own money and becoming self-independently strong. She was saving so one day she could expand into a small, classy restaurant in the city.
She had already drawn up her plans but had to be patient because she couldn’t save much after living expenses and regularly contributing to charity for the poorer kids.
“I will realise my dream one day,” she kept reassuring herself, “one day.”
But life took an unexpected turn.
She was at a Christmas concert when he walked into her life; tall, dark and immensely attractive. But being the simple girl, she was, she had thought he wouldn’t notice her but he did.
She fell for the sincerity in his words and the charm in his smile.
“Such a deceit that was,” Tanya bemoaned as she packed the food containers.
A special relationship had begun and though it brought happiness in her life, she wasn’t sure if it was what her heart really desired.
“Maybe time will tell,” she said to herself, “he’s quite a nice guy.”
And he had started his own small business too, along with a few small investments in trade. One day he had told her, “When I achieve greater success, I will take you away from here for a better life.”
“That’s good,” she had expressed, feeling excited for the future.
But less than a year after they began living together, cracks began to show underneath his façade of charm. At the beginning of the abuse, he had always expressed regrets after hitting her and she had forgiven him, trying to understand the disturbing change. It had left a sense of fear and uncertainty in her heart.
“Where did the guy I gave my love to go?”
She continued her food business on the tarmac but Mark’s business seemed not to be doing well and whenever he made any losses on his investments, he blamed it on her. It came to a point when she couldn’t take any more of his bad moods and the constant abuse. She told him she was leaving.
But he would not let her, promising to change, that things would get better, but things got worse when he came home one night with a gun.
“What is going on?” she had asked him with a deep feeling of dread.
“Nothing,” he had answered casually, “It’s just for protection.”
She did not like it and she did not believe him.
Something was going wrong with Mark’s life and he kept it hidden from her. He had a den in a part of the lower flat that was his own private space and late in the nights, strange men in heavily tinted vehicles came to meet him. It was something he had forbidden her to talk about.
She had grown up in an underdeveloped community where crime was like lurking tentacles waiting to hold captive the weak and the vulnerable. She had stayed strong in mind, not to become a victim, now the one she was sharing her life with had opened that door to her home.
“I can’t allow this to continue,” she had decided and the last night when she had tried to talk to him about it, he had gotten angry and hit her.
And he had warned her with the gun in his hand, “Don’t ever think of leaving.”
“Just when I had thought I found happiness,” she cried silently as she attended to her customers.
“How do I free myself from him?”
To be continued…
On 31st May every year since 1987, “World NoTobacco Day” has been commemorated under the auspices of the United Nations. The commemoration aims to raise awareness of tobacco use’s harmful effects and non-smokers’ exposure to tobacco smoke. The theme of this year’s commemoration was “Grow Food Not Tobacco”.
The consumer community worldwide has always been championing the elimination of tobacco use, and we take the themes of World No Tobacco Day seriously and see how they could be effectuated each year.
Tobacco contains 4000 poisons or toxic substances which, when smoked, chewed or inhaled, damage various body organs, resulting in the tobacco user being afflicted with dangerous ailments. Among the toxic substances are tar, ammonia, acetic acid, carbon monoxide and nicotine.
Tar, for example, damages the teeth and gums and causes tooth decay or carbon monoxide causes oxygen deprivation resulting in shortness of breath and asthma or nicotine, in addition to being addictive, damages the blood vessels and heart. The list of diseases tobacco causes is very long and includes oral and lung cancers and other cancers; heart disease; osteoporosis; arthritis;
FROM PAGE XIV
damage to the eyes and kidneys. It is estimated that a regular smoker will lose 15 years of life.
The negative social effects are many. Tobacco use debilitates the body and causes low performance in the workplace and overall, society would have low productivity and low production. Tobacco users have periods of hospitalisation which could drain a family’s resources and inevitably results in a cost to the State. Lower earnings and premature death of breadwinners could cause much deprivation and suffering in families. Pregnant women who use tobacco could cause their children to be born with many mental and physical defects.
Governments worldwide have become aware of the dangers of tobacco use by the devoted and selfless work of doctors and laymen who have carried anti-tobacco crusades over decades. This has resulted in most countries today having anti-tobacco legislation. In Guyana, Dr Leslie Ramsammy stands out among the heroes of the anti-tobacco movement and his untiring work over decades has resulted in the strong National Tobacco Act of 2017. This Act, among its other stipulations, establishes 100% smoke-free environments in all indoor public spaces, in indoor work areas, and in all public transportation; bans all forms of advertising, including promotion and sponsorship of and at sports events; health warnings being featured on 60% of all packing of tobacco products including the use of photographs. Furthermore, tobacco products cannot be sold to minors.
The efforts of legislation and anti-tobacco education have begun to bear fruit and the Pan American Health Organization has reported that tobacco use in the Americas has declined from 28% to 16.3% between 2000 and 2020. In Guyana, there is far less smoking in offices, social events, public spaces, and public transport. This may seem ironic when the Demerara Tobacco Company (DEMTOCO) is the most profitable company in the country. The answer to this puzzle is that DEMTOCO enjoys a near monopoly of the tobacco trade.
The Tobacco Industry has carried a counterattack on the success of the anti-tobacco efforts, especially in the Western World. Their strategy is to shift their advertising blitzkrieg to the Developing World and to target children and young people everywhere. In commenting on this trend, Dr Barbosa, Director of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) said: “The Tobacco Industry and its allies do not rest.
Currently, they spread a lot of misleading information that promotes, especially among young people, the falsity that the use of e-cigarettes, heated tobacco products and hookahs is safe”. To underscore this effort to attract youngsters, e-cigarettes come in a large number of flavours including bubble gum and candy. Dr Ramsammy bemoans this situation: . . .”we still have very poor or almost no regulations when it comes to e-cigarettes, vaping and hookah”. . . and calls on the Ministry of Health and other complementing agencies to correct this deficiency and fully implement the 2017 Act.
We end this offering with a recent remark by Dr Ramsammy since it reflects this year’s theme of World No Tobacco Day: Tobacco is a killer and we should not diminish that fact . . . It is unfathomable that a global system will still support the utilisation of 200,000 hectares of land that could grow food to feed the hungry, but instead, we grow tobacco that kills eight million of us prematurely. It is not just a talk about reducing the use of tobacco but that we ban tobacco; it is not quite an agricultural product.”
utilisation.
It is often misinterpreted that the movement towards environmental protection is a movement away from human development. Many factors can contribute to this notion, chief among them being the drastic pollution of the environment due to modern industrialisation and globalisation. Mass establishment of infrastructure and high demand for forest resources, including wood for construction and fossil fuels, led to immense forest clearing and a high incidence of human intrusion. Access to forests increased by the access to wildlife and exploitative recreational hunting. Effectively, conventional economic development has been accompanied by a society imbued with destructive culture – a culture of
exploitation and excess which became the antithesis of the culture of subsistence and care that preceded it.
But as we visualise this, whose society and culture do we see? Is it a Guyanese one? Is it the culture of our ancestors? Does it embody our values? While Guyana, a melting pot of ethnicities and cultures, is no stranger to global ideals and standards imported with consumerism, media, and technology, the values of Guyanese people have certainly played a role in why more than 99% of our forests are still standing;
FROM PAGE XI
forests that store 18% of the world’s forest carbon. We have been able to historically maintain deforestation rates below 1% in the postcolonial era, where global economies have thrived on the exploitation of natural resources. We have been able to retain the status of a country with the second-highest percentage of forest cover in the world even while our people continue to extract forest resources for all scales of livelihood. And while this behaviour is guided by robust institutional mechanisms that sustainably manage forest allocation and governance, those systems themselves have built on the socioeconomic values of forests that predated them. While we have derived the average annual growth rate of timber species from academic studies, we continue to identify our tree species through traditional knowledge. Most of our tree spotters are of indigenous heritage. The people who live amongst the forests will always know its value more intrinsically, beyond timber and beyond money.
Therefore, we must recognise and acknowledge the social value of forests to Guyanese people historically and presently. It is equally important that we understand how that social value has contributed and continues to contribute to healthy, thriving forest ecosystems which are natural capital in our growing economy. Understanding that Guyanese people have been a part of forest ecosystems helps us to avoid what is known as “fortress conservation”. It helps us to understand that conserving forests does not mean excluding people and their livelihoods, but rather that we can promote sustainable utilisation that strives to balance the famed pillars of environmental, social, and economic benefits.
Guyana’s current sustainable forest management (SFM) system is driven by the philosophy and science of sustainable utilisation. The Guyana Forestry Commission (GFC) has the legal mandate for approximately 12.5 M hectares of state forests in Guyana; and, therefore, is responsible for forest resource allocation and management, forest law enforcement and governance, and forest monitoring. The Forests Act 2009 and the Forest Regulations 2018 are the overarching legislative framework for forests in Guyana, while specifications for the SFM framework are detailed in Codes of Practices and Guidelines for Forest Operations.
The GFC’s mandate allows for it to support a productive forestry sector that primarily focuses on commercial timber extraction along with other non-timber forest products, within the limits of an ecologically sound, empirically informed system while also avoiding land use conflicts and accounting for crosscutting, intersectoral perspectives through a multistakeholder approach.
Guyana’s SFM framework is designed to conserve our rich tropical rainforests by implementing the following prescriptions and strategies:
✔ Setting annual quotas for the volume of timber that can be extracted per hectare;
✔ Implementing cutting cycles that stipulate equivalent resting periods for sustainably harvested forest concessions;
✔ Implementing minimum diameter limit for commercially extracted trees. A minimum of 35cm dbh is SEE PAGE XVII
FROM PAGE XVI
used based on this being the average diameter at which most tropical hardwoods are mature, reproductive adults;
✔ Implementing an 8-metre proximity rule so that only one of two or more reproductive trees of a species can be harvested within that area, to retain parent trees;
✔ Designating 4.5% of productive forests in any large-scale forest operation area as a biodiversity reserve, to retain an intact, natural composition of the area for reference, monitoring, and future rehabilitation if necessary;
✔ Requiring that large-scale operations conduct pre-harvest inventories, identify trees to be cut on stock maps based on GFC regulations, and submit detailed datasheets and stock maps for reference and compliance monitoring;
✔ Allocating barcode-based forest tags for all trees harvested as part of a state-of-the-art wood tracking system;
✔ Tracking wood supply chains from tree to finished products, to verify that wood products are legally and sustainably sourced. This has been recently enhanced by the finalsation and implementation of EU-FLEGT VPA;
✔ Conducting various scales of forest inventories to collect data on type and quantity of forest resources and evaluate commercial and conservation potential for more efficient utilsation and effective management;
✔ Guyana’s REDD+ Monitoring, Reporting, and Verification System (MRVS) annually measure deforestation and forest change, as well as collects forest carbon data from destructive sampling to better inform management systems and conservation efforts;
✔ The MRVS has been a key fixture in the Guyana-Norway Agreement, reporting on the maintenance of low deforestation rates and intact forest landscapes;
✔ The Forest Area Assessment (FAA) component of the MRVS uses remote sensing to identify key drivers of deforestation and hotspots of forest change; as well as to monitor any conflicting land use and illegal activity visible in satellite imagery;
✔ A massive GIS database on forest resources, activities, and status is kept by the GFC for reference, management, and monitoring; and
✔ Since forests are still a vested interest for many other sectors and agencies, the GFC is a member of many national multistakeholder and inter-agency committees and boards to deal with mutual issues and resolve conflicts.
Guyana’s SFM framework is a living one that is constantly being improved through the findings of forest inventories and research, monitoring feedback, and stakeholder engagement. A massive National Forest Inventory (NFI) has been ongoing since 2018, with field data collection expected to be completed in 2023. The hardworking field officers have persevered through Hinterland flooding and a COVID-19 pandemic to collect priceless forest resource data that is expected to revolutionise forest management in the following key areas: informed forest allocation, planning, and management; updated forest resource information databases and maps; valuation of forest resources; and zonation of forests by use potential and resource value; and effective utilisation of resources.
Finally, balancing competing and sometimes conflicting interests will always be difficult in Guyana’s rich, complex forest landscape. However, the social value of forests, while it may be hard to see in the clothes we wear, the food we eat, and how we live, remains a part of Guyanese culture. It is easy to think of climate change as a global agenda or conservation as a political move to strengthen international relations. But the core of it, the care culture and the value that inspires it, have always come from ancestors who first learned of its value during foraging and shelter construction to university students studying forestry with passion.
In addition to our valuable, sustainable forest management framework and our ambitious low-carbon pathways to development, Guyana’s rainforests will stay standing. Our lungs will continue to breathe for generations to come because we are a people who care.
“Real friends are the ones you can count on no matter what. The ones who go into the forest to find you and bring you home.And real friends never have to tell you that they’re your friends.”
My just concluded US tour was a success mainly because of genuine friendships. I am always aware of their value, but this trip reminded me of that. God positioned people to make my trip successful from Miami to Fort Lauderdale to Orlando, Atlanta, Washington,New Jersey then finally to New York. True friends are usually those who offer you support, improve your quality of life, promote self-confidence, provide honesty and unconditional love, and help you progress mentally. It often takes time and effort to foster deep, healthy friendships. We need to support each other on our respective
missions. I had a few invitations for the 4th July holiday in the US, but I decided I would be with my friend Lorna who recently had knee replacement surgery and was in bed. I cooked for her and joined her in bed and we had a blast talking about past, present and future events. She loves Family Feud with Steve Harvey and we watched back-to-back episodes.
I also discovered that Steve also has a show where he is a people’s court judge. Those three days were absolutely magnificent, and it reminded me what true friendship is. The only thing she was sad about was that she could not attend the event our friend Doris was hosting for me, which was the last event of my US tour featuring my collection and books. It was an appropriate wrap to a successful trip.
SEE PAGE XXVII
ALL over the ancient world, concoctions were used through clandestine requests by citizens to sorcerers and sorceresses to inflict injury, mental disorientation towards submission, and death on specific victims. This often included unfaithful spouses to relatives for gain, to the competitive other, and even towards social elevation, and little has changed with the desperate. The perpetrators, on accusation and trial, were put to death (we’re not talking about an ancient world of fair trials).
Those who have had some reason to pay attention to the documentation of human origins concerning our legal and healing practices would come across some of this data on what was confronted and used for what purposes. There are lists of sinister personalities and poisons over the colonising era, and further back to the ancient world that point to a sinister stream in human nature that we invoke, based on our temperament and our ethical values. But some people are driven, out of unforeseen malice for the other; like the woman who gave a child a potion as a gift through a cake out of envy that he was brighter than her child. Luckily, the child survived, through some uncommon favourable circumstances.
There was a need to glance back to resonate with the fact that what is happening now in the following paragraphs is not to be interpreted as the world is ‘getting worse’. The reality is that we must become wiser to meet the evolution of the familiar.
The following content is a partial extract from a DISCOVER MAGAZINE MARCH 2012 article: CHEMISTS IN
THE SHADOWS: “The fastest growing trend is a more complicated class of compounds brewed up by trained chemists like P……. *……. who are searching for exotic steroids, or pursuing novel psychoactive compounds. In just the past two years, the use of synthetic stimulants that produce a meth-like high, and are marked as ‘bath salts’ has exploded. In 2010 alone, 41 new psychoactive substances were, by European nations, more than triple the amount identified in 2008, according to a report issued by the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction. (No similar statistics are kept in the United States, but many of the drugs end up here, too.)
DERIVATIVES OF PCP AND COCAINE
The new substances include derivatives of PCP and cocaine, as well as new forms of synthetic cannabinoids; compounds that are similar to tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the active ingredient in marijuana.
SEE PAGE XXIII
Many of these psychoactive substances are little-known com-
pounds culled from obscure research journals like A***. While some published steroids have a research trail, most psychoactives have never been tested on humans until, that is, they show up at clubs or parties. When these recipes hit the mainstream, they often go viral through websites where chemists and entrepreneurs of all stripes trade recipes. These drugs can end up being mass-produced by chemists-for-hire in China, who advertise “Custom organic synthesis” on the web, and take their orders from the emerging breed of transnational rogue chemists. “There are a lot of smart people out there who know how to read chemistry papers,” says Nathan Messer, president of the nonprofit organisation, DanceSafe, which provides drug testing at festivals and parties. “It usually starts off as some people making it themselves, and if it works out, they will contract it out to China, set up a distribution chain, buy it in bulk, and sell it,” Messer added.
So, it’s gone beyond just burning local ‘ganja’ farms, and as things get harder on any domestic platform, opportunities of dubious likeness that defy conscience will be embraced. It happened before, especially now, if there’s a possibility that these schemes can be camouflaged as pharmaceuticals or sports-health hype items. A lot of First World entertainment sports, like wrestling, have paid the price through the body count of the fallen. Also, actors, bodybuilders, etc, and the dependency on proposing super boasters are now part of the culture. The featured article is 12 years old. There was no summary at any point then of referring to the content as will be, in the near to be, as past tense. I can only hope that its report is in the ‘aware of, in the relevant protective fields locally.
I have had the unfortunate human experience of dealing with an offspring with a drug problem. Thanks to the DRUG COURT, their support systems, and a friend with a legal law firm, some progress has been achieved. Still, I can’t come to terms with any understanding of witnessing medications that layfolk describe as producing ‘robots’ out of addicted and mental health subjects, nor of medications that are prescribed to help that lead to relapse. I do realise that we are witnessing beyond Guyana that cough syrups bought from sources have killed children, only to be told that the producers had purchased some illicit component from an unusual source. Some errors cannot be rectified; we must transcend the parochial to contend with the world before us, what has already migrated here, and where it inhabits.
THIS week’s column piece is yet again another discussion on the earth and our role to help clean it up. Since the dawn of the industrial era, we’ve been increasingly polluting the place we are supposed to call home. We are actively killing the place that gives us life. I often use this space to speak on social justice and issues but how much good will that do if I don’t also incorporate the very ground we stand on? It makes no sense we make all this progress as a species, only to not have a home at the end of it all. As discussed last week, every day the earth produces millions of tons of waste. We simply dump it and get on with life.
With that in mind, I have witnessed people turning “trash” into “treasure” or “upcycle” their waste. I remembered for my Grade Nine Examination many moons ago, we were asked to make household decor or items with recycled materials. I am sure that my broken CD and plastic bottle floral vase is on top of some teacher’s desk instead of in a dump site. At the time, I didn’t conceptualise it but, yet still, I appreciated the sense of purpose it allowed me to feel at the time. The
AS is seemingly customary for me, the recent announcement of the results for this year’s National Grade Six Assessment (NGSA) has once again given me a reason to think about the educational disparities in Guyana and reflect on what is being done to bridge existing gaps.
This year, three sets of gaps were identified. The first was that boys’ performance continues to be marginally lower than girls. In some subject areas, the performances were almost equal, yet boys’ performances seemed to dip slightly below the girls. Education Minister Priya Manickchand said this trend may warrant some sociological studies.
The second gap is between the performances of pupils from private schools compared to those in public schools. Using entrance into Queen’s College as a yardstick, Minister Manickchand said this gap was lessening. According to her, 140 children were placed in QC in 2019; of that number, 89 came from private schools and 51 from public schools. Now in 2023, 189 children are being placed at QC, with 106 from private schools and 83 from public schools. With these figures, it is believed that the gap is reducing. In coming years, we could see more improvements with more upgrades and trained teachers being infused into the public education system.
This last gap- the most striking of the lot- is the one I want to focus more on. That is the gap between hinterland learners and those on the coast. When asked about this at the announcement of the NGSA results, the Education Ministry did not have ready statistics. The subject Minister, however, acknowledged that the performance of hinterland pupils does not match up to those on the coast at the NGSA.
According to her, there are several reasons why the Education Ministry has been unable to “catch the gap” and bridge this disparity. One of the major reasons, she said, is because these regions have the lowest number of trained teachers.
For context, learners in the hinterland regions- which include Regions One, Seven, Eight, and Nine- traditionally had less access to resources than their colleagues on the coast. The geography and population size of the hinterland regions, in large part, have contributed to this. Sometimes learners have to stay in different communities, away from their families, to attend a school because there is none in their hometowns. And in the past, it has been difficult to get textbooks, for example, into some communities. During the COVID-19 pandemic, when learners had to return home, internet connectivity challenges were most pronounced in the hinterland; online schooling was simply not possible for many children.
All that being said. Manickchand emphasised that her ministry is trying to address the matter. It has provided textbooks and other supplies to all children, and efforts have been made to expand radio coverage so, at the very least, children can listen to lessons created in Georgetown. Worksheets have also been prepared.
Beyond this, the Education Minister reminded the gathering that her ministry is now on a massive undertaking to get all teachers trained by 2025. She said this should let children in the hinterland benefit from trained teachers engaging them- something she says has a direct correlation with improved results.
It is nice to hear about these plans, but it is daunting to see firsthand how these challenges manifest for children.
Acknowledging this situation reminded me of Karisparu and some of the other communities where the girls who died in the recent fire at the Mahdia Secondary School’s female dormitory hailed from.
FROM PAGE XXV
Karisparu, for one, is a small community deep in the Pakaraima mountains of Region Eight. Getting to Karisparu is difficult; you can fly (it is a less treacherous journey by helicopter), use All-Terrain Vehicles (ATVs) or walk for days. There’s no internet or mobile connectivity there, and it is evident that there isn’t an abundance of resources like textbooks. Still, many believe their children can go to school and become the doctors, nurses & teachers the community badly needs. There’s a primary school there, and the children who move on to secondary school primarily go out to Mahdia. That’s why the girls stayed in the dorm. That means they spend months away from their families, only returning at the end of the school term. The other students at the dorm become family, even if they aren’t from the same communities. It is most important for these children to make sure the solutions we craft and implement work.
When I think about the plans that are touted as solutions to help bring some equality in the delivery of education, I think about the children in Karisparu, Micobie, and other Region Eight communities. I hope that in a matter of years, we will not be talking about catching the gap in the hinterland, and instead, we find other concerns to address and remedy.
If you would like to discuss this column or any of my previous writings, please feel free to contact me via email: vish14ragobeer@gmail.com
FROM PAGE XXIV
concept of turning “trash” into something useful again completely makes sense to me and I don’t understand why more people don’t do it.
You can recycle and break down a material or waste by breaking down or “downcycling” the material and creating a new product. Another alternative to reduce waste, however, is repurposed trash or “upcycling”. Unlike recycling that breaks down materials and creates new products, upcycling is basically reusing the item in a different way or refashioning it. In upcycling, waste is seen as a resource or material to use. My mom is a coffee lover, so she usually purchases coffee in glass bottles. She’d also occasionally make pepper sauce, “achar” and other pickles for our house to use. She’d clean her coffee bottles thoroughly to prevent contamination and then add her pickles in.
When I asked her why she did this, her response was, “I can’t throw away these good bottles. I have to put them to good use. It also saves me money to not go and buy storage containers as well”. My mother is giving those coffee bottles a longer lifespan for their use. She’s giving them another purpose instead of allowing them to end up in a landfill.
The purpose of “upcycling” is not to always save money or even make more money (when selling) because, at the end of the day, the concept is to reduce waste and improve the quality of our environment. It’s a practice that should be encouraged more. You can use bottles as vases, turn old clothes into cleaning cloths, turn old toothbrushes as a cleaning brush, turn cardboard tubes from tissues as craft supplies. There are also many other ways to be creative and innovative, you just have to channel your inner artist or inventor.
Apart from household projects, there are also some people who turn this into a business as well. They make products to sell using repurposed waste materials. You can make tote bags out of old T-shirts or make decor pieces out of used popsicle sticks. Whether you’re creative with it for business, or you’re simply a mom looking at ways to reduce waste while saving money—I hope you understand that your role is important in helping the environment around you. No matter how small a contribution is to saving the environment, it creates a bigger impact when it adds up.
FROM PAGE XVIII
Thank you to Doris Rodney,owner of the Hills Restaurant, for supporting me from the time we met. I admire her strength and determination. The only dangerous thing about visiting her restaurant is the delicious food, pastries and cakes, especially the sponge cake. She did not hesitate to organise a pop-up shop at her restaurant for me to connect with my clients after the pandemic and meet new ones. Another woman I greatly respect and love is Patricia Jordan-Langford, who continues to contribute significantly to the Guyanese and Caribbean Communities in New York. She went beyond to make this event a success.
Claire Patterson-Monah is a sweetheart and contributed to this event’s success. She also wore one of my outfits she bought years ago and was sharing when she was on vacation and someone fell in love with the Sonia Noel skirt and she gave it to the person.My sister Sherif also showed up in her Sonia Noel Designs and ordered one from the new collection. Friends such as Ventrice Simon,June Persaud, Rose October-Edun, Sharon E. Webb-Richards and Radhika Olartealso showed up and supported.
The photos did not capture the hugs, kisses, laughter and love that was evident at this event.
Doris should be a DJ as a side hustle because her music selection was amazing.
Doris,myself and Bibi Alli listened and sang along to the amazing playlist after the event. Bibi Alli is another sister who contributes to humanity; her story is very inspiring. She hosted the event in Queens for me at her son’s studio Twisted & Brushes, which provided a beautiful artistic backdrop. Thank you to Sara Khalil, Gypsy Persaud, RomaneeKalicharran, Cloyette Harris Stoute, and my friend Joselyn who organised the sponsorship of the Bartenura Wines for the event.
Having one of my favouritemodels for the fashion display at the Pop up Shop was awesome.
Viv has been modelling for me for over two decades.
“Sonia Noel affair as usual is energetic, exciting, and exclusive in her designs. Always a Blessing to see you SN love your new collection, love you, your Spirit and your Authenticity” These are the sentiments Ms Pat shared on FB after the Queens event.
I had the opportunity to also showcase in Jersey at my friend Shirley Hendricks’ luncheon. I also had the chance to speak at the event and convinced my gorgeous sister to model and she enjoyed it tremendously.
There are not enough words to describe the impact this tour has created and has motivated and empowered for the next half of this year, which is moving rapidly.
I encourage you to take time out and identify the people who are your genuine friends as we continue to celebrate this journey called life BEYOND THE RUNWAY.
Dear Student, Welcome dear friend. As you study efficiently, you apply reading comprehension to understand, and extract required information from various written texts. Look.
Different reading strategies are needed when searching a noticeboard for part-time job advertisements and when reading a specialised journal article for new information. If both purposes are achieved, you would have rejected all irrelevant information in the first case and gone beyond the gist of the text with more detailed comprehension in the second case. See?
Love you.
A brief conversation about using reading skills
The terms: 1) skimming: quickly running one’s eyes over a text to get the gist of it; 2) scanning: quickly going through a text to find a particular piece of information; 3) extensive reading: reading longer texts usually for pleasure (can be fluency activity and mainly involving global understanding of subject matters); 4) intensive reading: reading shorter texts to extract specific information (an accuracy activity involving reading for detail).
If you look at past English Language papers you will notice the types of reading skills that you need to carry to the examination. Look at the following question-types which can have two different functions.
1. To clarify the organisation of the passage (just any passage type).
The questions can be about:
- the function of the passage
- the general organisation (e.g., argumentative)
- the rhetorical organisation (e.g., contrast, comparison)
- the cohesive devices (e.g., linkwords)
- the intra-sentential relations to some extent (e.g., derivations, morphology, hyponymy)
2. To clarify the contents of the passage.
The questions can be about:
- plain fact (direct reference)
- implied fact (inference)
- deduced meaning (supposition)
- evaluation
The reading skills, question-types and question-functions are much related since a given exercise uses a certain type or set of questions, with a certain function, to make you display a certain reading skill.
Give the main idea of the two passages below.
The first agent Leamas lost was a girl. She was only a small link in the network; she was used for courier jobs. They shot her dead in the street as she left a West Berlin cinema. The police never found the murderer and Leamas was at first inclined to write the incident off as unconnected with her work. A
month later a railway porter in Dresden, a discarded agent from Peter Guillam’s network, was found dead and mutilated beside a railway track. Leamas knew it wasn’t coincidence any longer. Soon after that two members of another network under Leamas’ control were arrested and summarily sentenced to death. So it went on: remorseless and unnerving.
(From J. Le Carré: “The Spy Who Came In From The Cold”)
The main idea of this passage is that
a) the police couldn’t stop the murders of Leamas’ men.
b) Leamas couldn’t understand why so many people were killed.
c) Leamas knew someone was killing his agents.
d) the murders of Leamas’ agents were savage and cruel.
The Hotel Taft was on a hill on one of the better sections of town. A wide street curved up past large expensive homes until it neared the top of the hill, then there was an archway over the street with a sign on the archway reading Taft Hotel and as it passed under the archway the street turned into the entranceway of the hotel. Benjamin drove slowly under the archway, then up the long driveway until he came to the building itself. He had to slow his car and wait in a line with other cars, most of them driven by chauffeurs, stopped by the entrance of the building for a doorman to open the door for their passengers. When Benjamin was beside the entrance an attendant appeared at his car and pulled open the door.
(From C. Webb: “The Graduate”)
The main idea of the passage is that
a) Benjamin was going to stay in the Taft Hotel.
b) The hotel Benjamin went to was a luxurious one.
c) There was an attendant waiting for Benjamin in the hotel.
d) Benjamin was impressed by the quality of the hotel.
Choosing the right word
1. Select from the list the appropriate words to insert in the blank spaces within the sentences. No word should be used more than one time. advise advice formally formerly principle principal accept except complement compliment all ready already
1. Today I received a nice ____ on the outfits.
2. Please ____ the members that the meeting will begin promptly.
3. The firm used the interest from its investments but kept the ____ intact.
4. The representatives are ____ to begin the sales campaign.
5. It is ____ too late to improve sales in this quarter.
6. Ms. Arthurton ____ worked in our regional office.
7. The Board of Directors always takes the ____ of the company’s attorney.
8. I would willingly ____ the responsibility that goes with the job.
9. Everyone ____ Charles spoke in favour of the plan.
10. This product is a fine ____ to our line of tools.
2. Some of the following groups of words are sentences. Others are dependent clauses that are incorrectly treated as sentences. Identify each.
1. Elizabeth misplaced the original family tree diagramme.
2. Because she misplaced the original family tree diagramme.
3. When Grandpa Moffatt bought the grocery store.
4. If we do not finish by tomorrow morning at 9 o’clock.
5. Beaufort has applied for a position with Polyester Manufacturing Inc.
6. Before James tendered his resignation.
Mountains will heave in child- birth, and a silly little mouse will be born.
HORACE (65-8 B.C.) Ars Poet- ica, 78
WE tend to think of bad breath- halitosis- as an adult problem. So it is always a shocker when parents smell foul breath coming from their little angel. If it persists, they often worry that something is seriously wrong with their child. As one mother recently told me when she brought her son to my clinic, “I’m afraid that my child is rotting inside.”
It is true that chronic bad breath in adults can be an ominous sign, which in extreme cases, can even indicate stomach cancer. But in children, though, halitosis is hardly ever connected with anything that serious. A study published in the March 2009 issue of the Journal of Pediatrics reveals that most bad breath in children comes from the mouth or the nasal cavity.
Several things in the oral and nasal cavities can cause bad breath in kids.
• The most common cause is simply poor dental hygiene. Bacteria feeding on stagnant saliva and food particles are the cause of classic “morning breath.” And we all know that morning breath can turn into “afternoon and evening breath” if your child doesn’t get good tooth and tongue brushing in the morning and at night. Sometimes food particles get caught in little crypts in the tonsils. This too can cause a foul odor.
• Tooth decay can also be a culprit. If the decay hasn’t yet affected the dental root, your child won’t experience pain but may just have smelly breath.
• Both acute and chronic sinusitis have been associated with bad breath. In these cases, though, bad breath isn’t the only symptom. Sinusitis is usually accompanied by a daytime and nighttime cough and possibly a fever, face swelling, or a thick yellow-green nasal discharge.
• Bad breath can signal pharyngitis -- a throat infection. Usually, your child will also complain of a sore throat. As with sinusitis, the odour is probably from the bacterial infection itself and bacteria feeding on stagnant saliva because your child is mouth-breathing.
• Seasonal allergies could be the cause. Allergies can cause pooling of mucus in the back of the throat (postnasal drip), which can be accompanied by halitosis. In this case, your child may also complain of symptoms such as a dry cough that worsens at night, itchy eyes, and a runny nose.
• Finally, it’s practically a rite of passage for a child to shove something -- typically a corn kernel, a pea, or a dime -- up into his or her nose. If this foreign body is left there, it can begin to rot or cause a surrounding infection. In this instance, the bad smell will come predominantly from the nose, not the mouth.
1. First of all, try not to make your child feel self-conscious. As they grow older, children will have lots of time to obsess about bad breath, and there’s no need to get them started prematurely. Instead, use this to teach your child good self-care habits. Explain that washing teeth is as necessary as washing other body parts.
2. Let your child pick out a toothbrush and toothpaste. Just make sure that the toothbrush has soft or medium bristles and is small enough for the child’s mouth. The toothpaste should contain fluoride. Commercial mouthwashes and breath freshener lozenges are poor substitutes for brushing teeth and are not recommended for kids.
3. Supervise your child’s toothbrushing twice a day, something many parents overlook in the rush to get out the door in the morning or to get kids in bed at night. Brushing your teeth with your children is a good way to teach them how to do it properly.
4. Once any two of your child’s teeth touch, you should start them on flossing, says the American Dental Association (ADA). This will make gums healthier and remove decaying food particles.
5. If you see food caught in your child’s tonsils, have them try gargling with warm water to dislodge the food.
6. Make sure that your child gets regular dental checkups at least once a year beginning with his or her first birthday, recommends the ADA.
If you suspect your child has shoved something up his nose, contact your health provider for further advice. Generally it isn’t a great idea for parents to try to fish out
the object because they usually succeed only in shoving it further up the nostril. If bad breath doesn’t go away with careful dental hygiene, consult your dentist. If the bad
breath is accompanied by a cough lasting more than 10 to 12 days or a fever or thick nasal discharge, then contact your health provider.
