Pepperpot e paper 11 19 2017

See inside: Reflecting on► Page II Hackathon 2016 Another glance at the Jonestown ► Page III Massacre

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Editor’s note This week’s Pepperpot Magazine is just another of those editions that evoke the true meaning of what ‘Pepperpot’ is; that is, it provides a rich mixture of stories aimed at bringing you worthwhile weekend entertainment. Our lead story looks at the Iwokrama International Centre and the work that it plans

to do to advance its mandate of becoming a model for sustainable forestry and tourism through recent funding provided by Exxon Mobil. This is a big step for Iwokrama given that the research centre plays an important part of President David Granger’s vision for Guyana becoming a ‘Green State’. As the

Chronicle Pepperpot November 19, 2017 2017 Hackathon comes to a close today, we reflect on the winners of last year’s competition, their innovative idea and how they see the competition as beneficial for young ‘techtrepeneurs’. We also focus on other stories surrounding the work of influential young people pursuing agricultural, entrepreneurial and research- related dreams.

It is certainly inspiring to see the work that this generation is putting in, with an aim to help carve the future of their country.

Reflecting on Hackathon 2016 The winning V75 team

By Gibron Rahim

that Hackathon is an event that proves that there is a future for software development here.

“Our gifted community members also confirm this potential by delivering quality software solutions to many clients both home and abroad,” he said. He also noted that, based on the observed demand, more local enterprises are becoming more aware of the necessity of ICTs to optimise business operations.

The key to nurturing such endeavours lies in creating the environment for them. Such deliberate environments Marks said would give the naturally gifted human capital in Guyana an opportunity to discover and develop their true potential.

“Such environments are not unlike the one created for our 48-hour Hackathon which gave various professionals a place to gather, collaborate, network and

INFORMATION and Communication Technologies (ICTs) are the way of the future. ICT professionals can use their skills to develop solutions to complex problems we face today, right here in Guyana. It is not surprising then that events such as the Ministry of Public Telecommunications’ Hackathon are so crucial. The experience of last year’s winning Hackathon team establishes a solid case for a greater focus on Information Technology (IT) in Guyana.

Hackathon 2017 which opened on Friday at the Guyana Pegasus Hotel ends today. Last year’s inaugural Hackathon saw Team V75 triumph over their fellow teams to win the cash prize of The five core members of V75 (All photos courtesy of Eldon Marks) $300 000. The event was a part of the Ministry of Public TelecommuTeam V75 was directly formed from V75 or Version nications fulfilling its mandate to create an enabling envi75 Solutions. V75, as Marks described, is a software com- produce,” he said. ronment for the growth of ICT. At Hackathon 2017, teams Marks explained that V75 has been fortunate to find a munity disguised as a company. It was formed on January of two to five ICT-skilled professionals were required to relatively new ‘environment’ which seeks to offer great 2, 2014. They prioritise collaboration over competition and resolve identified social and economic problems in Guyana promise for Guyana’s entrepreneurs in the same vein as are big on social impact through innovation. He explained through the creation of IT applications.

Hackathon.

That environment in question is weOwn space, that, when they are not working on solutions for their The event was set to run for 48 consecutive hours a shared office space located in South Ruimveldt Gardens. during which all team members needed to particiHe observed that quite a few techpreneurs are pate. At least one person had to be working on the members of weOwn space. application at any given time and all team members Hackathon 2016 was generally well planned could not take a break at the same time. A new rule out and executed, and according to Marks. V75 was also introduced for Hackathon 2017 – subhad only one major recommendation to improve missions could not contain material that promoted future competitions – giving more scope for indiscrimination based on race, gender, religion, novation. Team V75 made the strategic decision nationality, disability, sexual orientation or age. to focus on delivering on functionality due to Team V75 described Hackathon 2016 as havthe time allotted. “However, if we were providing been a rewarding experience. The Pepperpot ed with a designated period for delivering on the Magazine contacted Team Leader, Eldon Marks concept, this would allow developers the room who was able to tell of his and his team’s experifor more creative thinking,” he said. He put ence during the event. He noted that the event was forward the thought that perhaps in the future one that had been long overdue. Guyana, he said, an ‘Ideathon’ could be held that focuses on the has many groups of ‘techpreneurs’ and freelancformulation of conceptual solutions before the ers who had no real public outlet to exhibit their hackathon. The outputs of the ‘Ideathon’ could skillset and receive recognition and encouragement then be fed into the Hackathon competition. prior to Hackathon. “It is important to celebrate Undoubtedly, Hackathon 2017 will have local talent in this industry in particular since IT improved on Hackathon 2016 and will continue has been identified as a major driver for economic to get better as the years go by. It is undeniable development in our third-world country,” Marks that Guyana’s ICT professionals are capable said. of finding solutions to problems placed before The ‘Tell’ cycle Marks and his fellow team members enjoyed them. This can be nourished by providing the every moment of the competition. He described necessary educational opportunities to develop how they felt no tension or anxiety although they these skills. Marks acknowledged that the Declients, V75 devotes their time to pro-bono development, were in competition. He attributed this confidence to their partment of Computer Science at the University of Guyana digital entrepreneurship support activities and offering free great team dynamic and the humility of his teammates. programming courses through their V75 Young Developers has made a step in this direction by recently revamping its “Just having the opportunity to work together to build a academic programmes, and now offering degrees in IT, Group and weOwn space. nationally relevant product with no expectations made the The V75 network comprises over 30 individuals, with Information Systems and Computer Science. experience a fun and enjoyable one,” he explained. One of Even more, though, Marks and V75 believe that we five core members. Four of these core members were able the greatest challenges during the competition, he humoushould not wait until the tertiary level to begin the journey to participate in Hackathon 2016, due to the team member rously noted, was finding somewhere to nap. of software development. “This should be done at an early limit only. Those members were Eldon Marks (team leadThe team chose Challenge IV from the list of challengage, at the beginning of the secondary level, because there er), Ashim Badrie, Shemar Lindie and Asa Brouet. “We es they were presented with. The challenge was captioned proudly state that all core members of V75 are products are a lot of young brilliant minds out there who would find “Effective Incident Reporting” and tasked them with creatof the Department of Computer Science, University of it much fun and interesting to create an application.” ing an application to facilitate the reporting of incidents to Those who are interested in contacting Version Guyana.” the appropriate agency. The app they came up with – ‘Tell’ 75 Solutions as well as seeing some of the work they Version 75 Solutions are firm believers of entrepreneur– was able to do just that. have done can do so at http://version75.com/ ship in software development in Guyana. Marks observed

Iwokrama Chronicle Pepperpot November 19, 2017

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Driven to advance science and ecological tourism MORE than two decades ago the Iwkorama rainforests were offered to the world as a model of sustainable forest management and ecological services that drives communities’ socio-economic growth and livelihood. Satisfied with the achievement of that mandate and the worldwide acclaim, the Iwokrama International Centre (IIC) is now repositioning itself to secure long-term financial sustainability, boost science research and development and foster sustainable forestry and tourism.

The Centre is now setting up an Iwokrama Science Committee that will include international, regional and local scientists, to identify and organise an initial five-year Science Programme that is to be sustained in the long term. A core Science Committee is expected to be installed within the next two weeks to begin crafting the science strategy by early January. These are being implemented with a $62 million grant provided by Exxon Mobil, which has committed to Iwokrama, further financial support for the Centre’s science and advanced ecological development initiative.

In an exclusive interview with the Pepperpot Magazine, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Dane Gobin explained that focus of the science committee and programme will be on advancing Iwokrama’s research in biodiversity, flora and fauna inventories, and DNA testing to determine species.

“One part that we would also like to include is alternative energy as President Granger has articulated his vision to see Guyana going green with energy…we would like to do it at the community level. There are a lot of riverine communities, for example, there is no reason why we can’t look at a smallscale hydro. I know there is the technology out there so, what we would like to do is test that technology so that the riverine communities can have an alternative energy source,” Gobin outlined.

This, in turn, he noted will influence development of the other social sectors in the area including education, health and general community development and way of life of the indigenous populations.

Additionally, Iwokrama will be looking to implement a collection of science programmes, including retesting its Permanent Sample Paths (PSPs), pre- and post-harvest inventories examining the impact of Iwokrama’s sustainable forestry activities on its reserve, as well as fauna surveys. These activities would be developed in consultation with the communities, building on traditional knowledge of the villagers while ensuing benefit-sharing for involved villages.

According to Gobin, it is expected that the initial tranche of funding will run until June 2018, at which time Iwokrama plans to seek further funding from Exxon to execute the science programme. Iwokrama previously benefitted from the work of a science committee that operated three years ago under an Inter-American Development Bank (IDB)-funded project.

However, Gobin pointed out that one of the main problems that have affected Iwokrama over the years is sustenance of the activities after the donor-funded projects would have ended, adding to Iwokrama’s financial woes. Recognising the need to reduce its reliance on donor-funding, Iwokrama back in 2003 started restructuring its financial model to become self-sustaining with new ideas to generate funding.

SUSTAINABLE TOURISM AND FORESTRY “Core funding has always been a challenge…it is estimated to be US$1 million per year. So we started looking at ways to earn some of our keeps. One way is tourism, for example, and it was a natural transition because we had the cabins that the scientists were using,” Gobin noted.

One of the challenges of tourism is the state of the road leading to Iwokrama from Georgetown. However, the Centre

is looking to maximise the use of its airstrip that was recently constructed and has the capacity to accommodate small aircraft from the Caribbean.

“We are working on getting groups of people to come from Barbados and Trinidad and fly straight to Iwkorama to experience the rainforests…we will be approaching the government soon to see if we can get some support because you will have to make Iwokrama a port, where you can have Customs and Immigration there. We already have the Police and Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) so we have started it already,” the official stated.

In the meantime, Iwokrama is also pushing its sustainable forestry activities utilising forest resources to produce wood and wood products for market internationally and locally.

Iwokrama’s products are certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), including its greenheart lumber that is exported. The Centre’s forestry activities are focused on 21 species of wood produced, using “cut for value” strategy and ensuring quality products.

“We are doing now, we are getting into an expensive piece of software that we will be available to track the log and the wood from the very stump that it was cut in the forest.

That is going to be using, for the first time, barcoding so that you can barcode the piece of wood where you can tap on it and know your cost of production, where it came from and how long you have it,” Gobin explained.

He noted that this technology “improves cost, forest management and inherently conservation,” all in keeping with the Centre’s mandate, while at the same time building on existing partnerships with communities. Iwokrama usually purchases the wood and wood products from the communities.

Iwokrama’s long-term plans also include exploring opportunities under the concept of Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+) which seeks to incentivise the conservation and sustainable management of forests, based on a performance-based mechanism for payments.

Another initiative of the Centre is, to have the donor contribute a certain percentage of funding to cover Iwkorama’s overhead costs. This along with support from the Guyana Government and Commonwealth is expected to position Iwokrama into sustainable operations.

The IIC was established in 1996 with a joint mandate from the Guyana Government and the Commonwealth Secretariat to manage the Iwokrama forest, a unique reserve of 371,000 hectares of rainforest “in a manner that will lead to lasting ecological, economic and social benefits to the people of Guyana and to the world in general.”

The Centre is guided by an international Board of Trustees and provides a well-managed and researched forest environment.

Iwokrama brings together 20 indigenous communities totaling approximately 7,000 people who are shareholders and participants in the Centre’s sustainable timber, tourism, research operations and forest management activities through complex co-management and benefit sharing arrangements.

It promotes the involvement of scientists and researchers in groundbreaking research into the impacts of climate change on the forest and measuring the scope and value of its ecosystem services and a portfolio of sustainably managed and certified business models using innovative governance systems. This includes the participation of the private and public sectors and the local communities, earning income from the forest and its natural assets whilst employing international social, environmental and economic best practice, whilst still keeping abreast of the ever-changing thinking on funding for environmental projects in the face of climate change and the perennial scarcity of international finance.

FILES E S A C COURT

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Chronicle Pepperpot November 19, 2017

Rape victim could not negate consent

Federal Supreme Court freed rape accused BECAUSE the alleged victim at a rape trial failed to negative consent, rape accused Adams was freed by the Federal Supreme Court in 1961.

The appellant was convicted of rape. The defence was consent.

The woman first accused the appellant, in front of a constable, of having snatched

a ring and money from her.

She repeated that accusation at the police station and made the accusation of rape only after the appellant had said that he had had intercourse with her with her consent, The only other evidence relevant to the issue of consent was that of the medical witnesses who were in conflict with each other.

Held: the conviction could

not safely be allowed to stand and the provisions of s. 16 (1) of the Federal Supreme Court (Appeals) Ordinance , 1958 [1958] should be applied.

Appeal allowed.

Editorial Note: Section 16 (1)m of the Federal Supreme Court (Appeals) Ordinance, 1958 [B.G.], provides as follows: “The Federal Supreme Court on any such appeal against conviction shall allow the appeal, if they think that the verdict of the jury should be set aside on the ground that it is unreasonable or cannot be supported having regard to the evidence. …”

A p p e a l against conviction of rape by the Supreme Court of British Guiana.

C. Weithers for the appellant.

E. A. Ramao for the Crown.

Justice of Appeal Rennie of FSC (Criminal Appeal Jurisdiction) delivered the judgment of the court. He said: This appeal is from a conviction of rape. On June 4, 1960,

Special Reserve Constable Newton Albert was cycling along Sussex Street and came upon Vinton Jarvis and the appellant .

Jarvis was holding the appellant’s bicycle . She called out to S.R. C. Albert and reported to him that the appellant had snatched a ring and 25 cents, from her.

Albert took them to the Ruimveldt Police Station and reported to Corporal Dundas what Jarvis had told him on Sussex Street. Corporal Dundas then asked the appellant if he had heard what the Special Reserve Constable had said, whereupon the appellant said he had known Jarvis for six months; they had an appointment on that night and he took her to the back of Alexander Village and had an affair with her and, it is because he did not fulfil certain promises he made to her that she made the allegations against him.

Jarvis denied knowing the appellant before that night.

The appellant met this denial by telling Corporal Dundas that he could tell him the kind of underwear she was wearing. Confronted with such a challenge, Jarvis for the first time told of having been raped. It is in that setting that the jury had to decide whether or not Jarvis consented to the intercourse with the appellant.

“It does not appear anywhere in that setting that Jarvis made a complaint to S.R.C. Albert or to Corporal Dundas or to anyone else that she was raped.

“Her answer to the ap pellant’s challenge is clearly not a complaint. If she had complained that fact could be taken into account to negative consent.

“But as we have already

By George Barclay

pointed out she did not complain; what she did was by way of face saving and could not, in any way, negative consent.”

The only other evidence that deals with the question of consent is that of a medical witness who examined Jarvis and found slight generalised tenderness of her vagina and expressed the opinion that such tenderness is never caused by intercourse by consent.

On the other hand, another medical witness by the prosecution disagreed with the opinion expressed by the other doctor.

The question now arises what this court should do in a case of that kind …

Except in exceptional circumstances, a Court of Appeal will not upset the verdict of a jury for the simple reason that the jury had the opportunity of hearing and seeing the witnesses when giving their testimony.

We consider that an exceptional case and one coming within the provisions of s.

16 (1) of the Federal Supreme Court (Appeals) Ordinance, 1958,which provides: “The Federal Supreme Court or any such appeal against conviction, shall allow the appeal if they think that the verdict of the jury should be set aside on the ground that it is unreasonable or cannot be supported, having regard to the evidence.”

This is a conviction that we think cannot safely be allowed to stand. The appeal is accordingly allowed, the conviction quashed and the sentence set aside.

Appeal allowed.

Chronicle Pepperpot November 19, 2017

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#SupportCreativity

By Subraj Singh

Names in a Naming Society

AT the University of Guyana, I once encountered a Linguistics lecturer who described Guyana as a “naming society” – due to our preoccupation with the linguistic phenomenon of “naming.” This is particularly reflected in the way the Guyanese people often come up with nicknames for their family and friends.

Truly, is there any Guyanese who does not have a nickname – one that is often reflective of some physical characteristic or attitude? Popular examples include Tallman, Smallie, Fine-girl, Putagee, etc. However, sometimes more unusual examples tend to emerge once in a while: Bora (the father) and Lil Bora (the son), Big Mouth, Uncle Beggar, etc.

Sure, we laugh at nicknames sometimes, but there’s no doubt that nicknames reflect our desire with naming things. This desire is further reflected in the interesting way gravel roads, streets, and pathways, particularly in rural areas are assigned names of certain families living in the areas, by those same families (Singh Street, Persaud Road, etc.). Names are important. Names are literature, and names contain many facets that are representative of history and culture. Therefore, I was very concerned when, last week, I came across a News Room Guyana article that was floating around on social media, claiming that the Mayor of Georgetown has plans of allowing a street in the capital to be named after the Chinese city of Fuzhou.

Renaming a local street after a Chinese city is problematic for several reasons, but first, let us observe the pros of such an act.

Several people have pointed out that the relationship between China and Guyana can be further cemented/validated through the act of renaming the street after the city. However, this position raises several other important questions, one of which, as articulated by someone on Facebook goes: Is China naming one of their streets after somewhere in Guyana? If not, then the idea of assigning names here becomes one not only of establishing/confirming relationships, but also representing the unevenness and imbalance of such relationships. Of course, there is a longer conversation to be had here about political relationships and the way they manifest themselves in physical, material things, despite politics being built on philosophic thought, the need to do good, and other abstract ideals. But now I am in danger of moving into more sociological/political/philosophical realms when my area of expertise is literature.

Names are literature. Each street in

“Taixi Central Business District in Fuzhou, China (Image source: Wikipedia”)

Guyana carries a name that gives honour or pays homage to some person or aspect of our Guyanese past. Quamina Street, for example, is named after the famous Guyanese revolutionary. Therefore, it is possible to read the names of our streets as if one were reading a history book – each street name carrying with it many years of history, many characters, many events, many conflicts. Naming streets after icons is something that needs to be continued because there are far too many Guyanese pioneers who have yet to be recognised for their major contributions to Guyana. A few writers who are more than deserving of the remembrance of having a street named after them include Edgar Mittelholzer, Walter Rodney, Sir Wilson Harris, Mahadai Das. There are many other writers who would fall into this category, and there are many other fields, besides writing, to choose from. What is truly interesting is the fact that despite overlooking Guyanese icons in favour of a Chinese city, it is doubtful whether the Mayor and City Council is actually doing anything else to honour the many Guyanese personas who deserve such honours.

The thing about names is that they often stick. They come to signify things in later years that they had not signified when they were first given. In literature, we have Charlotte Brontë who published her Jane Eyre under the male pseudonym of Currer Bell. With new waves of feminism, we were able to recognise that Brontë’s change of name was reflective of the patriarchal nature of the times she lived in and was one of the ways to ensure she got published.

Fifty years from now, what exactly will we look back on Fuzhou Road (if it happens) and say? Will we view it as a mistake – as an opportunity to honour our own that

was denied? Will we view it as something necessary that was done after much thinking, deliberation and discussion? Will it be seen as a scar that mars the face of George-

town – a mistake in our history made in haste to satisfy a bargain that did not bring as many good things as was projected? On the flipside, if we name a street after a Guyanese icon – someone whose ideas and work has helped to shape this country into the best version of itself we could have been at the time that person existed – in 50 years, will be there be a plethora of possible scenarios to choose from or will there be just one single reaction: one of pride, justice, honour, and fulfillment?

Names are important. They should not be given after much thought and much consideration. Names are forever. Names, for the most part, remain unchanged, but the way people react to them is ever-shifting and ever-changing.

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Chronicle Pepperpot November 19, 2017

The path to success

The determination of one young Doctor

By Marinella Glasgow

come to an end.”

A career choice in the medical field requires a certain kind of determination and dedication. Doctors undergo years of training to equip them with the required skills which later lead to them spending a lifetime honing these skills and questing for the delicate balance between their personal and professional lives. Dr. Faqueeda Watson is among the profound new generation doctors. Dr. Watson has chosen to dedicate herself to the profession of medicine. She finds her motivation in her numerous challenges and her undying love for the human race.

Dr. Watson, a native of Georgetown, has always wanted to help others. She explained that becoming a doctor had been her one and only dream since she was seven years old.

She also explained that due to her constant attack by the cold/flu as a child, she was motivated to help those that may be like her. She attended the Sacred Heart Primary School and was rewarded a place at The Bishop’s High School. She recalls her years of secondary school as challenging.

“I was never the top student in my class and sometimes I would feel discouraged due to my performance but I never forgot my goal,” she told the Pepperpot Magazine.

MAKING A DIFFERENCE Today, Dr. Watson is an influential and hardworking advocate of the Ministry of Public Health. She strives each day to aid the citizens of Guyana who may be in need of medical care. She also expressed her affinity for young people because she can use that opportunity to tell her story, thus, motivating someone.

She emphasised that the transition to the new work environment was not difficult, because of her numerous years of volunteerism. She does not categorise an occupation with a person’s status but helps wherever possible. “When I was an intern, if the porter couldn’t push the wheelchair, I did it. If the nurse was unable to administer the patient’s medications, I did it.” Helping persons who are in need does not make you less of a person, she emphasised.

FACING CHALLENGES After she graduated in 2007, she embarked on the CAPE programme and came up victorious. In the year 2009, she applied to the University of Guyana to do the Pre-Medical Programme.

Dr. Watson admitted that it was not always smooth and favourable. There were many times she questioned whether to continue in her pursuit of medicine. She explained that she would sometimes worry about her family since they were always supportive despite the challenges she faced in medical school. She revealed that she occasionally felt disheartened and did not think she could continue.

“Sometimes I thought that this wasn’t for me and I needed to embark on another path; something much easier,” she said.

The support of her family was a crucial part of her motivation to continue. “I remember when I used to go home

and I talked to my family and they’d be like ‘You can do it’,” she recalled. “You feel motivated all over again.” She praises the supportive nature of her mother and sister, who always believed in her even when she didn’t.

Though the journey was rocky, she strived and in the year 2011, she graduated from the University of Guyana with honours. She recalled, “My graduation day, I cried.

I cried because I knew how hard I worked and the many struggles I experienced. I knew how many nights I went without sleep and how many days I studied and that day I was just overwhelmed that my turbulent journey had just

FINDING BALANCE Doctors ply the delicate thread between personal and professional lives. When posed the question of whether she finds it difficult to balance these two, Dr. Watson replied Despite the challenges, she may have faced on the journey to becoming a doctor and may still have to face along the way, Dr. Watson remains committed to her profession.

Her compassion and dedication shine through her work. The best part of being a doctor for her is seeing the smiles on the faces of her patients after she has helped them. “For me, it just gives a feeling of fulfillment knowing that you have changed someone’s life at the end of each day,” she said.

When posed the question of her continued motivation, she proudly identified her role model: her mother. She also idolises her outstanding sister and appreciates the company of her courageous best friend, Dr. Patricee Douglas.

She also encourages the youth to rise above the challenges. “The road would never be easy. We would never rise unless we fall.” She shares her favorite quote by Winston Church-Hill which states, “Success is stumbling from failure to failure without the loss of enthusiasm.”

Chronicle Pepperpot November 19, 2017

VII

How is your breath?

IT is well known that many dental patients are ashamed to complain about bad breath. Anyway, what are some of the conditions and circumstances which can cause or aggravate this preventable situation?

Regular readers of this column should know that the most common fundamental source of bad breath is related to the presence of oral bacteria and therefore the best way to get a fresh breath is to keep down the proliferation of bacteria in the mouth.

The odour of one’s breath may be related to specific issues and conditions. Take notice of the fact that many of them directly correlate to oral bacteria. Whenever there are sites of infections such as decayed teeth, calculus, gum disease or abscesses, bad breath cannot be treated effectively unless these sites are removed. Conditions which promote the growth of oral bacteria such as not cleaning, or not being able to clean,

can control this type of bad breath simply by avoiding or avoiding or minimising your consumption of these foods.

You are probably familiar with people who have “smoker’s breath”. While the odour associated with smoking is multifactorial, a great part of it is related to the tar, nicotine, and other foul-smelling substances derived from tobacco smoke which accumulate on a person’s teeth and the soft tissues of the mouth (tongue, cheeks, gums).

Once again, this is not the precise type of bad breath we are now dealing with. Short of quitting smoking there is no effective way to totally eliminate smoker’s breath, although immaculate oral hygiene can help reduce it.

As a contributing factor, the act of smoking does have a drying effect on oral tissues.

Decreased moisture in the mouth limits the washing and buffering effect of saliva on oral bacteria and their waste products.

those areas where oral bacteria reside such as the tongue (starting from as far back as possible) behind the last molars, the contact area between two teeth and the gums, also contribute to foul breath.

Sometimes food can result in tainted breath but how do foods cause this? Everyone knows that certain foods have a reputation for causing bad breath, possibly the two most notorious ones are garlic and onions.

Incidentally, alcohol is included here. When foods are digested their component molecules are absorbed by our bodies and subsequently carried off in our bloodstream. Some of these molecules, which can have unique and unpleasant odours,will be released into our lungs as our blood flows through them. As we exhale our breath will carry these offending molecules out of our bodies.

While this type of bad breath can be annoying or embarrassing this is not the type of breath problem I consider to be clinically critical. Bad breath related to the consumption of certain foods will resolve on its own in a day or so as your body completes the process of breaking down and utilising or else excreting the offending molecules. You

It is a known fact that persons who smoke have a tendency to have problems with periodontal disease (“gum disease”) than those who don’t. The causative agent of periodontal disease is bacteria.

Even if you don’t have significant problems with bad breath you probably have noticed that your breath is least pleasant when you first wake from a night of sleep.

This is because while we rest our mouth dries out, due to our body’s natural tendency to reduce saliva flow when we sleep. The result of this mouth dryness is “morning breath”.

This same souring effect is often noticed by teachers and lawyers whose mouths have become dry after speaking for prolonged periods of time. Along these lines, persons with chronically dry mouth, a condition term “xerostomia”, tend to have more difficulty keeping their breath pleasant.

Moisture in our mouth helps to cleanse it. The presence of moisture encourages us to swallow. Each swallow we take washes away millions of bacteria, as well as the debris and food particles on which they feed. Moisture also dilutes and washes away the waste prod-

ucts created by the bacteria which live in our mouths.

Saliva is a special form of mouth moisture, It’s the body’s natural mouth rinse.

Beyond the washing and diluting effect that any moistness will produce saliva, saliva also contains special compounds which kill oral bacteria and other ones which buffer the effects of bacterial waste products.

When our mouth dries out all of the benefits which moisture can produce are lessened. The net result is that conditions for bacterial growth are enhanced while the neutralisation of bacterial waste products is reduced.

Some persons have chronically dry mouth, this condition is termed “ xerostomia”. Xerostomia can be a side effect of the medication a person is taking. Antihistamines (allergy and cold medications), antidepres-

sants, blood pressure agents, diuretics, or anti-anxiety medications are each known to produce xerostomia. As a person ages, they may find mouth dryness to become more of a problem. It seems that with age, our salivary glands tend to work less effectively, and the composition of our saliva also changes.

Both of these factors result in less effective salivary cleansing and buffering.

Compounding the problems associated with mouth dryness, long-term sufferers of xerostomia are known to have an increased susceptibility to periodontal disease (gum disease). Periodontal disease is a causative factor of bad breath.

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Chronicle Pepperpot November 19, 2017

CHRISTMAS SECURITY

ON Monday last, the Police launched their Christmas Security Plan. The occasion was attended by the consumers represented by the Guyana Consumers Association, the Private Sector Commission, the Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Association of Private Security Organisa-

tions and many senior Police Officers among others.

Every year, the Police have been launching their special Christmas Security Operation until it is now taken for granted, but such an operation necessitates a great deal of skillful planning and hard work and dedicated service by senior officers and

ranks.

This year, the Operation has been improved in many ways. up to last year the City spread was confined to five areas. This year, a sixth area has been added including Sheriff Street and Sophia. The Police Intelligence has been greatly improved and this has re-

sulted in the arrest of more criminals and the prevention of crime. They have been employing more modern technology including ICT. For example, criminals or pranksters who had once telephoned 911 so as to divert or dissipate Police effort could now be immediately traced. Further, 911 availability has been extended countrywide.

During the season, there would be substantial increases in beat duty men and

motorised patrols. The foot patrols would be in operation for 24 hours per day, in two shifts. Around the banks, there would be special C.I.D. surveillance which will be extended to the Georgetown prison, hotels, night spots and general businesses.

The Christmas Security Plan not only includes the physical presence of the Police and their ready availability, it also includes a useful educational component which was presented by Crime Chief Paul Williams.

Assistant Commissioner Williams mentioned a number of simple but important things of which citizens should be aware. He mentioned, for example, that suspicious or unusual behaviour could indicate that a crime is about to occur and that persons should be vigilant and prepared. It is useful to vary bank deposit routines so that depositors’ activities are not predictable or traceable. Or in coming out of one’s car, one should look around to ascertain that there are no strange persons or unusual activity in the vicinity. If such were to occur, drive away and if one is being followed, drive into the nearest police station or to the nearest police outpost. Similarly, in making a night deposit, one should carefully ascertain that the coast is clear before getting out of one’s vehicle and going towards the deposit machine. Or one should buy from reputable places and not from anyone who may offer a cheaper price. Motorcar parts, for example, sold by a non-dealer, could be stolen parts and open the buyers to serious criminal charges of receiving stolen property.

Assistant Commissioner Paul Williams gave many other suggestions and tips. For example, in withdrawing large sums of money from banks, it is much safer to use a manager’s cheque since the cashier’s money counter would visibly and audibly indicate a possible victim to any criminals surveying.

The holiday traffic arrangements would come into force immediately enabling the free flow of traffic and so avoiding congestion at any point and cars carelessly parked impeding traffic will be removed. Since Traffic Chief Dion Moore has a detailed knowledge of the roads

of Georgetown and its urban spread, as well as the times and points when and where congestion may occur, he would, therefore, be able to deploy his men where most needed.

Shoppers and Christmas crowds would feel far safer with the added police presence and shop owners and their staff would also be able to carry on their businesses with full confidence. The public transport would be much safer since there would be less temptation of minibuses to speed recklessly and pick-pockets and snatchers would be inhibited.

There were two criminal activities which seem to intensify during the holiday period which was not dealt with in detail at the adumbration of the Christmas Safety Plan: The first, is the excessive noise which is generated in the minibuses. This can easily be ameliorated if the police were to act with firmness against offenders.

The second, is the recent rise of the motorcycle robbers who usually carry firearms which they are prepared to use on their victims. These gangs suddenly pounce down on people and rob them, even of their cars.

Similar to the motorcycle bandits, there are a number of bandits who use motor cars with dark-tinted windows.

With good Intelligence and determination, the Police should be able to eliminate this form of crime since the motorcycle bandits are few in number and the motor car ones always have very dark-tinted windows.

It is very necessary that the Police suppress and eliminate these motor-cycle robbers since they have taken to operating in the residential areas and attacking prominent citizens and women in particular.

Fear of this kind of crime reverberates throughout the society and is eclipsing much of the good work the Police would have achieved.

One such motorcycle crime was recently perpetrated on a very prominent businesswoman and newspaper columnist and this particular crime is being discussed at all levels of Society. Capture of these bandits would certainly bring much relief and enhance the reputation of the Police.

Chronicle Pepperpot November 19, 2017

We owe it to the stage

Stage makeup hacks that work on everyday looks

By Clinton Duncan THIS is clearly the era of the Femme music icon. We all have one we idolise, whether we want to admit it or not.

We have lyrics from some 20th-century musical diva ingrained into our heads that pop out when we least expect it. We relate to their lyrics, we stalk them on Instagram, we aspire to travel where they vacation, and we even steal bits and pieces from their style and makeup routines.

The question, however, is, who or where do they steal from?

The truth is that pop divas usually have the money to afford the best and brightest in the industry, who often transition into their “glam-squads” from a lengthy tenure in the theatre industry. Makeup over the years – especially glamour makeup – has consistently stolen from the stage and underground drag

culture.

This feature is my gift to the prying eye; my gift to the person wanting to know a few of the secrets of the stage and underground cultures that have been conspicuously injected into “the modern face”.

ELMER’S WASHABLE GLUE. For years professional makeup artist to Beyonce, Sir John, has used washable glue to tame her eyebrows before setting with powder and creating a blank canvas to be able to achieve the perfect brow shape.

This is a trick that is used in stage-makeup to create a higher arch for those who don’t have a naturally arched brow. It helps to achieve a more feminine and defined brow shape and provides more space for intricate makeup eye looks.

COCONUT OIL. For centuries, coconut oil has been used as a universal solvent for makeup. It is used as a moisturizer that is safe for all skin types and can be mixed with foundation to achieve a more sheer

We glued the eyebrows and used lift tapes in this look, then let the hair down to conceal the lift tapes

and natural finish to makeup.

It’s a process that allows for coverage but also provides a breathable finish that is not “caked on”. “ L I F T TAPES”.

These are clear short tapes glued to the perimeter of the face, attached to clear elastic and pulled and tightened at the back of the head. This is used to lift eyebrows, lift cheekbones, and eliminate the double chin effect. It is then covered with foundation in the normal manner and there would be no need for

contouring as the face would already have a pulled and “snatched” appearance.

Hairspray. High strength hairspray has been substituted for makeup fixative in theatre makeup for years. This is an affordable, waterproof, and sweat-proof way to ensure your makeup lasts for a full 24 hours, because, in theory, if it could withstand the heat from stage lights with multiple thousand watts then it is almost a guarantee that it will stand up against the severe tropical sunshine.

As any great diva would know, the trick to keeping your fans is to always leave them wanting for more, so I will take my bow on this list of revelations.

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Chronicle Pepperpot November 19, 2017

Another glance at the Jonestown Massacre

By Francis Quamina Farrier “SURE I know ‘bout Jonestown. Everybody knows ‘bout Jonestown,” the elderly African-American gentleman responded to me in a deep Southern accent, when I asked him what he knew about the tragedy which had occurred in Guyana some years previously.

That exchange took place between the gentleman and myself 20 years ago, while I was on a visit to Washington, D.C. on the pavement in front of the White House. But I’ve always remembered it, if only because of the way in which that stranger to me, was as warm as ever discussing that sordid topic, as though we had known each other for a very long time, and as though it was destiny for the people of a cult to meet their end in such a dramatic way.

Jonestown was one of the worst instances of mass murder/suicide in modern world history, and it had occurred in what some Guyanese have referred to as “A Republic within a Republic”, in Guyana on November 18, 1978, when 913 men, women and children, were murdered after being given a poisonous drink by their leader. It is something which has been a great embarrassment to Guyana, even though we were not in any way directly involved.

The Jonestown tragedy still sends chills down one’s spine almost four decades later.

Just a few days before it occurred, I was on holiday in New York during November,1978 when this mass murder/suicide unfolded in Guyana. A few days prior, I was at the JFK International Airport seeing a relative off on a Pan Am Airways flight to Guyana via Trinidad, when I observed a group of about 15 persons making their way to the boarding gate of the flight.

One of them stood out from the rest in the group. He was obviously someone of importance, because from my perspective, I realised that he was a VIP, with members of the media going along with him. On inquiry, I found out that he was a United States Congressman, Leo Ryan, and I took it for granted that he was on his way to Trinidad and Tobago. But that was not so.

The Congressman was actually on his way to Guyana to investigate rumours about questionable activities at the American People’s Temple Commune at Jonestown in the North-West Region of Guyana, just outside Port Kaituma. There were also rumours that some of the members wanted to leave, but were being kept there against their will.

The presence of Congressman Leo Ryan, and his visit to Jonestown, via Port Kaituma, brought an end to The People’s Temple religious cult. Leader of the group, Rev. Jim Jones, who was the main individual under the radar of the Congressman, ordered that his followers commit suicide by drinking a cyanide-laced punch, while the poison was injected into the mouths of the children via syringes.

Armed guards were posted to ensure that no one escaped. However a few did, by

vibrant and so talented as we discussed their contributions to the show.

Some of the victims of the Jonestown massacre - November 1978

sneaking off into the nearby jungle, while the horror and confusion of the tragedy were unfolding. Meanwhile, some of the armed guards went after the Congressman and his team who had already left the commune for the Port Kaituma airstrip, where a Guyana Airways Twin Otter airplane was already there waiting to fly the congressman and his team back to Georgetown. Leo Ryan was bleeding from a wound which was inflicted on him by a woman of the People’s Temple cult, as he was leaving the commune to get to the Port Kaituma Airstrip.

That was an indication of worse to come.

Before Congressman Leo Ryan and his entourage could have boarded the GAC aircraft, the People’s Temple guards arrived at the airstrip and opened fire, killing the Congressman and a number of others, including members of the NBC Television News team; those who I had seen at the JFK Airport just a few days previously.

INTERNATIONAL ATTENTION It was the biggest news story of the century, resulting in journalists and reporters from all around the world, descending on Guyana for a story full of intrigue and politics, as well as lots of blood and gore.

The news coverage put Guyana under the international spotlight, since it was published in countries all around the world, but for the wrong reason.

The permission by the Guyana Gvernment at the time to grant that large plot of land to Jim Jones and The People’s Temple, has always been a controversial issue. At that time of the country’s history, Agriculture was of premier importance on the national agenda. In applying to the Guyana Government for land to settle almost one thousand Americans, Jim Jones was readily accepted, saying that he planned to establish an agricultural utopia in South America, since according to him, his ‘church’ was

being persecuted in the United States of America.

However, agriculture was not the only pursuit at Jonestown, according to some of the locals with whom I spoke some years later. Ships arrived at the tiny Port Kaituma from abroad. “They would always dock in the dark of night and off-load,” an elderly lady told me. “Strange-looking cargo, which the Customs never checked” she added. That lady was certainly no respecter of Jim Jones who headed the People’s Temple and admitted that she was suspicious of him all along. She even accused him of being a racist, “He never speak to we black people here,” she said with indignation.

But that elderly Guyanese lady was not alone in the way many at Port Kaituma at the time felt about Jim Jones and The people’s Temple. I was told that not only did ships arrive at Port Kaituma under the cover of darkness, but there were the arrivals and departures of suspicious airplanes at the Port Kaituma airstrip. The flights were connected to the People’s Temple at Jonestown, I was informed.

It was a fact that the Jonestown Commune was very private to outsiders, and when there were any visitors, especially government officials, everything positive was put in place to make a good impression.

The cultural activities, in particular, were stunning. The commune abounded with talent. Music, dancing, singing, acting - the works.

On one occasion, as the Director of Drama at the Department of Culture, I was involved with the production of a show at the National Cultural Centre , at which a few of the items were performed by very talented young members of the People’s Temple Culture Group. There was absolutely no indication for me to have suspected that those beautiful youngsters would have died in such a terrible way. They were all so

TIED DOWN What no one in Georgetown knew at the time, was that every member of the People’s Temple was tied down to return; for example, their passports were impounded by Jim Jones.

There were always close family members who were kept back at Jonestown - a wife and husband were never permitted to leave together, and if they were, their child or children would be kept at Jonestown, to ensure that the parents would return.

But while all of this was going on, there were many Guyanese based away from Port Kaituma, who knew absolutely nothing about The People’s Temple Commune at Jonestown.

Celebrated Guyanese Jurist, Sir Lionel Luckhoo, once the Mayor of Georgetown, admitted that he first heard of Jonestown and the massacre of the century, when he received a phone call all the way from Australia, by someone seeking information from him. In other words, the news of that horrific event was already known halfway around the world, even as most Guyanese knew nothing about it.

I first heard of that suicide/massacre while still in New York. What I first heard was that Guyana Defence Force soldiers had attacked Venezuela. Then a few hours later, that it was a United States Congressman who was killed in the Guyana jungle.

Finally, when images and names unfolded on the American television news broadcasts, I recalled the group which I had seen at the JFK International Airport making their way to the Pan Am Airlines flight, less than a week earlier. I was stunned.

On my flight back to Guyana three days later, I would venture to say that the packed flight had well over 60 per cent of media personnel on board. That developing story in Guyana was about to get FULL COVERAGE internationally. It was BREAKING NEWS by the hour.

During a recent visit to the United States a few weeks ago, and with plans to write this feature article, I did a survey to ascertain what percentage of Americans (at least those living in New York, New Jersey, Maryland and Washington, DC) still remember or know about Jonestown and the People’s Temple massacre which occurred almost four decades ago.

As would be expected, a very small percentage of those under 30 years of age knew anything about Jonestown. Almost 95 per cent of those 50 and over, with whom I spoke, remembered the tragedy. “What do you remember about Jonestown?” was the question I posed. With an expression which reflected some disgust, “poison”, was the only word I got in response from an elderly African-American lady. A white gentleman who told me that he is a pastor spoke at length; “I can’t fathom how so many intelli Turn to page XVI ►►►

Chronicle Pepperpot November 19, 2017

XI

Diabetes LAST Tuesday, November 14 was World Diabetes Day. Diabetes is a worldwide issue and Guyana is no exception.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) 2016 statistics reported that over 422 million people have diabetes worldwide. This is an increase from 382 million in 2013. I would like to spread awareness on not only diabetes itself, but also the way in how disorders such as this affect one’s general mental health and well-being Basically, diabetes is a metabolic disorder that occurs when your blood glucose (also called blood sugar) is too high. Our blood sugar is one of the main sources of energy and mainly comes from the food we eat. Insulin (which is produced by our pancreas) is what extracts the glucose from food to be used for energy. Sometimes, our body doesn’t produce enough insulin or the insulin that is produced is not strong enough to do the job which means the glucose cannot be properly used. When this happens, the individual would be diagnosed with diabetes.

There are three major types of diabetes.

Type One (1), occurs when the pancreas fails to produce enough insulin and therefore a diagnosis means the individual would have to take insulin daily. This has a sudden onset and is more common among children and young adults.

Type Two (2), occurs when the insulin being produced is not sufficient enough to do the job. This is more of a gradual onset, is more prevalent than Type One and occurs mostly in adults.

Gestational diabetes only occurs during pregnancy and is a development of high blood sugar levels. More often than not, this goes away after the baby is born but in some cases can develop into type 2 diabetes.

Overall, it seems that men and women are equally affected by the disorder.

All types of diabetes have similar symptoms which range from mild to severe. Mild cases include sweating, fatigue and increased appetite while more serious cases can include aggression, confusion, seizures, unconsciousness and even death.

While there is no cure for diabetes, prevention and maintenance of diabetes include prescription medication (in some cases), counselling as well as a special, individualistic diet created by your healthcare professional. Maintaining a healthy diet, as well as daily exercise, can reduce the likelihood of developing the disorder as well as lower symptoms, if there has already been a diagnosis.

People with diabetes may also suffer from a variety of other physical issues such as heart and kidney disease, stroke, nerve damage as well as issues with eyes, teeth and feet. Unfortunately, those with diabetes also subsequently

suffer from a variety of mental health issues. Diabetes especially has been known to cause high levels of stress, anger, fear, disappointment and even denial all of which can lead to depression, anxiety and substance abuse. Research shows that someone with diabetes is twice as likely to develop any of the aforementioned.

Developing healthy coping skills is the best way to move forward in dealing with your diagnosis. Try things that help you relax such as deep breathing, yoga, music or simply going for a walk. Talk to people you are comfortable with about your diagnosis. It is okay to seek help.

Most importantly, remember to practice the basics – eat, sleep and exercise well!

Diabetes is a life-changing diagnosis, one which many people have a hard time accepting let alone managing.

The management is mostly self-care due to the daily management. A diabetic is supported by many physical health care professionals but it is mostly up to the individual to ensure proper management and self-care. This makes it overwhelming for most people.

Are you not sure if you are likely to develop or may already have diabetes?

One is more likely to develop diabetes if they have a family history of the disease, are overweight, not physically active, over 45 years of age (referring to type 2), have high blood pressure or have a history of heart disease or strokes.

The classic symptoms of diabetes include dry mouth, increased hunger and thirst, frequent urination, unexplained weight loss, blurred vision, skin rashes, fatigue or a numbness in hands or feet. When one has diabetes, their body also takes a long time to recover from any injury or illness.

If you are troubled by any of the above, please go to your nearest health centre to share these concerns.

If you are having a hard time dealing with your diagnosis, you are not alone – reach out to your nearest health care professional for additional options.

Thank you for reading and please send in any questions, comments or topics to caitlinvieira@gmail.com. Also please remember when you can come see me.

Georgetown Public Hospital: Monday- Friday – 8:00hrs- 12:00hrs Woodlands Hospital: Outpatient Department Drug and Alcohol group meetings - Mondays 16:00hrs Good mental health group meetings- Wednesdays 16:00hrs Suicide Prevention Helpline Numbers: 223-0001, 2230009, 623-4444, 600-7896 Say Yes to Life and No to Drugs! Always!

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Chronicle Pepperpot November 19, 2017

#SupportCreativity

The true cost of creativity

IN last week’s article I wrote about the importance of network building for creative practitioners and touched on one aspect that I felt makes it perhaps the most beneficial component of any artist’s practice. This week I’d like to tease out that point and elaborate on something I think most persons feel uncomfortable speaking openly about, that is, the true cost of creativity. At this point, you might be tempted to think I’m referring to the financial cost but the cost I want to focus on now is far less tangible. It’s the kind that could never really be paid off in a lifetime as a practicing artist.

The idea of the tortured artist is inescapable. For centuries we’ve been conditioned to believe that artists must suffer for their art. We’re told, “That’s why it’s called pain-ting.” We believe that creativity is fuelled by the demons wrestled in our darkest hours. And because that pain has been romanticised for so many years we believe that it is absolutely necessary in order to make “great art.” But how much of that pain is a naturally occurring part of the human experience and how much of it is the result of man-made conditions designed to prevent creative practitioners from realising their full potential?

Throughout art history, artists have always been associ-

ated with depression or some sort of compromised mental health. In fact, endless studies have been conducted in an attempt to determine whether or not creative individuals are more inclined to be affected by these. One such study was done in 2015 when Kari Stefansson, founder and CEO of deCODE, along with a group of scientists in Iceland reported that persons in creative disciplines are 25% more likely to have genetic variants that raise the risk of bipolar disorder and schizophrenia as opposed to persons in less creative fields. An earlier study led by Simon Kyaga at Sweden’s Karolinska Institute where they tracked nearly

that there’s any particular inherent gene that puts artists more at risk, I do believe that wildly fluctuating living and working conditions create the perfect breeding ground for symptoms of depression to manifest. And for others, those fluctuations can worsen existing mental illnesses. Therefore, on the surface level, one might be tempted to make the assumption that the vast majority of creative individuals are distressed simply because that is their nature. However, a closer look at the overlapping root causes would prove otherwise. But before I get to the root causes I’d like to take a closer look at how this link between creativity and depression came about.

Most mental health professionals would agree that depression is amplified in those persons who spend a lot of time ruminating on their thoughts. And since creative “The sun began to set - suddenly the sky turned blood practitioners spend a signifired. I stood there trembling with anxiety - and I sensed an endless scream passing through nature,” Norwegian cant portion of their practice painter and printmaker Edvard Munch wrote about his doing just that, it makes sense famous 1893 masterpiece The Scream. Munch was also that they would be most at risk quoted on another occasion saying, “My fear of life is nec- for depression and other relatessary to me, as is my illness. They are indistinguishable ed illnesses. But why do artists from me, and their destruction would destroy my art.” spend so much time replaying painful experiences? Aside from the fact that society has 1.2 million Swedes working convinced them that the process of creation is a painful one in creative fields revealed that must be endured for the sake of “great art,” artists are even more troubling statis- essentially problem solvers. They spend a lot of time thinking tics: writers were 121% more about what happened, what could have been done differently likely to suffer from bipolar and how the choices made could affect the rest of their lives, disorder, and nearly 50% all in an attempt to figure things out. Most times this results more likely to commit suicide in a wide range of feelings including doubt, inadequacy, frusthan the general population. tration and in worst-case scenarios, self-hatred.

So what does all of that mean? While I don’t necesTurn to page XXI ►►► sarily subscribe to the idea

Chronicle Pepperpot November 19, 2017

XIII

Women in Agriculture Part Seven

Using agricultural materials to produce energy Meet Bibi Nariefa Abrahim IT’S no secret that women are under-represented in STEM fields. International studies have found that women comprise just over 40 percent of graduate students in science and technology.

However, women with a Master’s Degree or higher who are actually employed in science or engineering occupations currently comprise only 30 percent of workers in those fields. For this reason alone, the National Agriculture Research and Extension Institute (NAREI) is thrilled to introduce Bibi Nariefa Abrahim, a Research Scientist.

The 26-year-old woman is being recognised as NAREI continues to highlight how the roles of women have changed in the local agriculture sector. Many years ago, this field was mostly pursued by men. Today, it’s dominated by both genders.

Abrahim gained employment with NAREI almost three years ago after completing her degree in Environmental Studies at the University of Guyana. She worked as a Research Assistance before pursuing a Master’s Degree in Energy and Environment at the University of Leeds in the United Kingdom.

Now, the 26-year-old heads the Energy and Environment Department at NAREI. She said it was her passion for environmental protection that led to her career in agriculture.

“I believe agriculture chose me. Even though I grew up in an agriculturally-based region, much of my interest was focused on the exploration and utilisation of the indigenous resources and its impact on the environment’s quality.”

According to the 26-year-old, her career began in 2014 when she met Dr.Clairmont Clementson, who was heading NAREI’s Department of Bioenergy, to secure a project for the completion of her undergraduate studies.

“With his guidance, I pursued a research relating to energy production from agricultural waste and its impact on air quality and when I completed my studies, Dr. Clementson offered me an opportunity to work with him in the Department of Bioenergy,” Abrahim said.

In the Energy and Environment Department, she explained that much of the

research lies in the application of agricultural materials to produce energy and the conversion of naturally-available resources for energy production in the sector.

“My academic training allowed me to gain relevant knowledge and to further enhance, my technical, experimental and analytical skills in energy production with emphasis on indigenous resources and small developing countries,” she commented.

While at NAREI, Abrahim said that she worked on, “a study relating to the water quality effects due to the disposal of the effluent in the surrounding waterway and a connected study, aimed at the spatial variation of the effluent discharge scheme.”

She added, “Recognising the environmental concerns attached to the bioethanol effluent disposal, I also conducted research relating to the use of the said effluent, as a soil amendment in cash crop production. In completing these projects, I developed various agronomic and farming skills and became even more intrigued by sustainable livelihoods.”

Natural Black set to release album in May

By Michel Outridge THOUGH many of his fans may have been wondering what he has been up to, local artiste Natural Black assures that he has been hard at work behind the scenes working on his new album which is set to be released in May 2018.

His last singles were “Touch meh touch meh” with Poonam Singh and “Big Aunty” and Natural Black wants Guyanese to know he is here in Guyana although he continues to work with overseas artistes.

He told The Buzz that he has been working with Vizion Sounds Recording Studio and that all the songs for his new album“Eyes a look” have already been recorded.

Born Mortimer Softley, Natural Black is a member of the Heatwave Band and is noted for the positive vibes he promotes in his music and every aspect of his life.

He related that the album has a number of songs that will appeal to women, adding that much of his inspiration comes from women and that he needs to “bless them up” with good music as a result.

Natural Black grew up in Plaisance, East Coast Demerara with his mother and after she passed away he lived with his aunt in the city and has since lived in many places in the country as well as Suriname.

For Natural Black, his aim for his family is to be a role model for his children and instil good values in them which he expects will take them through their lives.

Apart from music, this singer’s dream is to go into large-scale farming and also rear cattle in a wide open land preferably, in the countryside of Guyana, be it on the West Coast or in Berbice where there is a lot of space.

He noted, though, that he cannot part ways with music as it is in his blood and said that he will continue to make strides in that regard to push forward with his singing dreams.

The 42-year-old said that for the past three years he only released singles and this time around he is aiming high with the upcoming release of his album. Following the launch of his album, he hopes to take his music on the road by touring internationally, particularly in London, where there is a large fan base for his genre of music.

Natural Black believes that simplicity is the key to a normal life, and he seeks to preserve that way of living by keeping a vegetarian diet and sticking to “clean” habits. “I prefer not to eat meat but if I have to for survival- meaning if I find myself in the jungle and I have to eat meat then so be it,” he said.

The singer stated that every man is different and people live however they choose but it is always wise to maintain a healthy lifestyle.

He spends his spare time reading and praying which is essential for his self-growth and feels that if the youths of today follow similar patterns they would be able to lead productive and successful lives rather than engage in unsavoury things.

“The young people need to become spiritual because I feel it is lost among this generation... [they should] have some form of religious input in their lives at least once a week and read the books not only bury their heads in gadgets,” he said. He is a man who prefers to stay under the radar and ‘do his thing’ silently because he only likes to be seen on stage to satisfy the fans.

Natural Black is optimistic that his upcoming album will indeed be something that his fans will enjoy.

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Chronicle Pepperpot November 19, 2017

The coconut industry in Guyana

One year after the impressive ‘coconut festival’

By M Margaret Burke

being undertaken in the coconut industry, Dr Homenauth said that coconut continues to be our major non-traditional export; exports which amount to US$5M annually.

JUST over one year ago the first ever Coconut Festival in Guyana was held at the Arthur Chung Convention Centre (October 21 – 23, 2016 and it was a resounding success.

The idea for such a festival was a collaborative effort between the Ministry of Business – Department of Tourism – and the Ministry of Agriculture, with support from the International Trade Centre (ITC) and the Caribbean Agricultural Research and Development Institute (CARDI).

As part of the activities, there was a two-day conference aimed at re-educating Guyanese about the diverse benefits of the coconut fruit focusing on its economic diversification and multipurpose use, while heightening awareness and boosting the local Agro-tourism sector.

ROADMAPS FOR THE COCONUT INDUSTRY DEVELOPMENT One of the significant aspects of the festival was a presentation on the major issues of the industry, which was identified

by Mr Tommaso Ferretti, Representative of the International Trade Centre.

Mr Ferretti explained that the International Trade Centre (ITC) is a joint agency of the United Nations and the World Trade Organisation and that they implement projects and are developing value chains in multiple countries around the world. He said that currently, in the Caribbean, in nine countries, they are implementing a partnership with CARDI in the EU funded projects looking at the Coconut Sector/Industry.

Three countries were chosen from the nine as focus countries for implementation: Guyana, Jamaica and Dominican Republic.

The purpose of this programme, he said, was to analyse and conceive the main issues involved in the Coconut Industry within the countries involved in the programme and to propose a framework for implementation, addressing these issues in a holistic way by looking at the whole value chain.

“The main focus of ITC in developing and implementing this project is sustainability of the value chain, not just from the traditional perspective that is more on the buyer’s side but also at the interest of local producers and processors to bring benefits to all players in the Coconut Industry. Hence, the involvement of the government and all local institutions working in the project countries is crucial,” the ITC representative said.

He had then further underscored the point that the ITC should seek to ensure that the use of the EU funding in the programme is focused on sustainable development of value chains, while together with its partner CARDI, rely on the technical aspect and the most competent ways on the production side of the industry, in which the demand for coconuts is high.

“The potential of the Coconut Industry is huge and benefits are available for parties from all sectors. However, to exploit these opportunities there must be synergy created among private sector, public sector, research, technical actors and alignment of resources, objectives and targets,” Mr Ferretti had remarked in his roadmap presentation.

He said that it is with this philosophy that ITC is implementing work at the Regional and International levels through the facilitation of documents such as the Roadmap in Guyana.

This, he said, has a very powerful role, bringing at the same table all the actors to make the coconut sector better for all.

He had said that opportunities like the Coconut Festival are very important from ITC’s perspective, where knowledge,

COCONUT WATER He said that coconut water is now being exported in larger quantities to the Caribbean by Henvil farms and Afro Alfonso.

The rooster brand, hydrate and others are very popular locally; Rooster being a recent addition to the local market.

Dr Homenauth said that while it was projected that 5,000 acreages of coconuts would have been cultivated by 2020, it is now anticipated that that amount will be surpassed.

“There is an increasing demand for planting materials. As such nurseries have been established at Mon Repos, Wakenaam, Charity and Hope Estate. These have the capacity to produce 50, 000 seedlings annually. This will satisfy about 800 acres annually. Private farmers have also begun their own seedling production,” he said.

The CEO told the Pepperpot Magazine that a new company – Pomeroon Trading Inc. has taken over the abandoned Stoll estate in the Pomeroon. “I believe this is the largest single estate in the country. They are currently rehabilitating and replanting 3000 trees monthly,” he explained.

Dr Oudho Homenauth, CEO – NAREI

INTERCROPPING Intercropping is described by some as the ‘companion’ planting method of growing one crop alongside another – in this case, coconut along with one or more other plants. It is said that the purpose behind intercropping is to increase yields by doubling up on available growing space and at the same time being more economically sound, in that while waiting for the coconuts to grow, other crops can be grown, which would make farming more viable, while placing the livelihood of the farmer on more sound economic stability.

Dr Homenauth said intercropping is being promoted on new, as well as existing plantations. Some of the intercrops identified include cassava, bananas, blackpepper and ginger.

At the same time, “We continue to provide training and support to the management of the red palm mite; Demo farms are being established at Clonbrook, Hague, Wakenaam and Pomeroon,” he said

Coconut water production at Henvil farm passion to make change, and experiences about the Coconut Industry can be shared.

MOVING LEAPS AND BOUNDS In an invited comment, Dr Homenauth, Chief Executive Officer of the National Agricultural Research and extension Institute (NAREI), who had also played a role in the coconut festival and continues to do significant work in this field, told the Guyana Chronicle: “The industry continues to make leaps and bounds as we continue to develop the roadmap which was officialized in 2016. The roadmap for the coconut industry was a joint effort of both the public and private sectors and has been adopted by the Ministry of Agriculture.”

In an effort to summarise some of the ongoing initiatives

FARMER CHARACTERISATION With regards to farmer characterisation, the ITC continues to provide meaningful support, Dr Homenauth said. He explained that they are currently involved in a study on this topic here in Guyana. He then described ‘farmer characterisation’ as a measurement tool developed to understand and monitor smallholder farmer production systems, constraints, decision-making models and priorities.

This survey, he said is focused on coconut farmers’ productive and commercialisation systems with particular attention to crops diversification and intercropping. Both agricultural and social aspects are being surveyed at the farmer and household levels.

A major facility will be operationalised at Marudi in 2018.

This emphasise value added products such as virgin coconut oil, activated carbon, coir, cocopeat and others...an estimated 100 000 nuts could be processed daily.

Dr Homenauth told the Pepperpot Magazine that NAREI is intimately involved in all of the activities mentioned. (mercilinburke2017@gmail.com)

Chronicle Pepperpot November 19, 2017

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folklore

XVI

SHARING THE SPOILS THE darkness descended on the small town covering it in a thick black blanket. There were a few scattered street lights which shone light on areas that needed none of it. This meant that there was enough to cover for mischief, and tonight, mischief was afoot.

Two figures dressed in black moved stealthily through the back

Chronicle Pepperpot November 19, 2017

By Neil Primus

alleys of the town. They arrived at a popular electronic store and immediately went to work. Using tools brought for that purpose, they removed a zinc sheet and entered the store.

Swiftly and systematically they began to accumulate all the equipment they had come for. Tablets, computers, cell phones and cameras. They filled their three bags with booty and exited the store the same way they had entered.

Three tablets were not able to fit in the bag so they were left in hiding near the back gate to be collected later.

The two rogues slipped into the cemetery, hid among the graves and began sharing out their spoils.

Old drunken Kenneth was staggering home after a few happy hours! He stopped in horror and listened.

“One fo you, one fo me.”

In fear of his life, he stumbled off to meet the approaching figures of three good Christians who lived in the small town. Pastor Cindy, Brother Elton and Big Brother Rocky –who was nearly 300lbs heavy- were heading home in the opposite direction.

Kenneth blurted out his experience but only succeeded in having the three laugh at him.

They knew him well and found his story to be quite a pill to swallow.

Dejectedly, he stumbled off home.

The trio moved toward the cemetery. As they walked past the spooky grounds two eerie voices reached their ears.

“One fo you, one fo me.”

They stopped and looked about them in astonishment.

Nothing moved.

“This one is good, I’ll take

it.”

“You always taking the good ones.”

By then Pastor Cindy was trembling in fear. What is all this?

Then she got a brainwave. It had to be that Satan and God were sharing souls. Maybe it was those who died recently. The three, though afraid, were even more curious. They crept closer peeking their eyes to see in the black graveyard. Then something terrible occurred.

“Don’t forget the three near the gate.”

Confusion and panic swept over them. Paster Cindy swooped down to deftly remove her new and expensive high heeled shoes. By the time she had straightened up she was 20 yards away.

Swish!

Lazy brother Elton suddenly got a much- needed power boost.

“Me gone too.” Was how he put it as he climbed into overdrive.

Poor Big Brother Rocky. Even though he was caught off guard he took the dwindling figures of his companions as an incentive and took off, his massive legs going like two giant pistons.

Clack! Clack! Clack! Clack!

Meanwhile, Pastor Cindy was still ahead, her white dress billowing in the strong wind.

Kenneth heard something coming down the road behind him. It sounded like a herd of goats. A noisy herd. Glancing back, he saw a tall figure in white with swiftly charging body bearing down on him.

The face he saw had terror written all over it.

Behind her came a short mean figure huffing and grunting, its hand and legs moving like windmill wheels.

Behind these was a darker blob that seemed to bleat, then hiss, puff then grunt.

Drunk and staggering gave way to high speed and high pitched bawling. The things in the cemetery were after him. No jumbie was going to catch him tonight.

ZOOM! Crash!

Slam!

Slump!

Kenneth passed out on his living room floor after slamming the door shut behind him.

From the dark cemetery, two figures emerged. Looking about suspiciously they sneaked off to retrieve the rest of their loot. They had made a good haul tonight.

Way, way off in the distance, three figures were taking turns at overtaking each other. Speed had been reduced but determination had increased. Unfortunately for them, they had a lot of running left. In their haste to escape, they had rushed off in the wrong direction.

Another glance at... ◄◄◄ From page X

gent people were duped by that Jones guy,” he said, almost still trying to get an answer to his satisfaction after all these years.

So what were the findings of the Guyana portion of my survey which I conducted during the past two weeks? The Jonestown tragedy is still well-known by Guyanese, including those who were born long after it had occurred. The most impressive was the response I received from a group of students of the St. George’s High School in Georgetown; almost all of them knew about the tragedy. There was also a one-word response almost similar to the one, “poison”, which I got in the United States. That Guyanese oneword response was “massacre”.

PIECES OF THE PUZZLE The years have passed, and I am still investigating some puzzling aspects of the People’s Temple Jonestown tragedy. I’m told that there is much more to the story than is generally known so far. There are those who speak of a CIA element regarding the tragedy. There are also those who have expressed the view that Jim Jones was not one of the victims, and that he escaped to Brazil

and later to Russia. There is also the theory that a small number of the children who died, were Guyanese who were adopted by the People’s Temple.

I’ve visited what remains of Jonestown on two occasions. On the first occasion I retrieved a baseball glove; however, those in my visiting party made me do away with it, saying that it may cause our return flight to Ogle to crash. I also discovered that there are a few people at Port Kaituma who hold the strong belief that there are some ‘jumbies’ from Jonestown who visit Port Kaituma from time to time and do some wicked things. The recent fire which destroyed four buildings at Port Kaituma last Monday may be attributed to jumbies from Jonestown.

However, as the elderly African-American gentleman told me in his beautiful Southern accent at Washington, D.C. some two decades ago, “Everybody knows ‘bout Jonestown.” That seems lowly becoming not quite as accurate in the United States, as is the case in Guyana. And so the question returns; “Those who forget their history are doomed to repeat it.” That sign was posted at a strategic location at Jonestown while it functioned as The People’s Temple.

Chronicle Pepperpot November 19, 2017

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Farmer Rosamond Miller

By Wendella Davidson

AT an early age, Rosamond Miller, developed a penchant for farming, maybe because she was born into a family where her grandfather, uncle, mother and father did some amount of farming for a living.

In addition, her home village of Stanleytown, on the West Bank of Demerara, is a known farming community and most of the villagers also rear a variety of livestock Rosamond thus grew up with a love for animals, along with a habit of helping out in the little kitchen garden her mother planted to help supplement the household with vegetables. So, when, in 1982 she made the decision to spend two years as a student at the Guyana School of Agriculture, which then had as its principal, Winslow Davidson, it was of no surprise to her family members or residents of the community.

Rosamond told the Pepperpot Magazine during an interview that she thoroughly enjoyed every moment of what she described as “two invaluable years” spent at the GSA. At the end of her tenure, as a result of the knowledge she gained, she was able to lend much-needed assistance to relatives, friends and others in the community whenever their livestock had minor illnesses.

In addition to `dabbling’ with husbandry, Rosamond said she soon had her own small herd of pigs, sheep and cows and sold milk from the cows which contributed to her income.

GOLDEN OPPORTUNITY But Rosamond recalled that it was when Partners of the Americas, a non-governmental organisation (NGO) paid a visit to the Stanleytown community to educate residents about the usefulness of using shade houses to increase yield and protect the cultivated crops, several individuals bought into and embraced the idea, including Rosamond.

Partners of the Americas subsequently assisted the interested farmers by gifting them with the plastic material, fertiliser and plant seedlings and from thereon she became more engrossed into farming.

“I first started growing the pakchoi, celery and peppers. I used to do it in pots and discarded containers using earth but with the shade house, I was introduced to the use of paddy husk mixed with sand. I was surprised at the result; it was good,” she said.

“When I tried out the shade house, I started with lettuce but then I noticed my yields were much more, to the extent that I started to share among relatives and friends, but then the bright idea came to me: ‘why not sell, so I can recoup back my production costs?’

“Those who bought my lettuce and even the pakchoi, peppers and celery commended me on how good my stuff tasted, and said that they lasted longer. I have now expanded and have added tomatoes, some thyme, basil,

sage and have good market for them all. Right now I am thinking of going bigger, maybe utilising 50 acres or more for farming,” Rosamond said.

And while her mind is telling her to go big, her biggest worry though is the issue of praedial larceny. “It is so heart-breaking when you do the back-breaking work and when it is time for you to harvest, you go to the farm only to realise that some person or persons had been there before you,” she said.

However, Rosamond is heartened by the recent news that the issue is gaining national attention and that the government plans to table a Bill in parliament to address the issue of the loss of farm produce through theft, Agricultural Health and Food Security Specialist of the Ministry of Agriculture, Dr. Mark Pierre ,who spoke on the issue during an interview with the Department of Public Information (DPI) in early October, had said that addressing praedial larceny is of great importance since it is a practice which affects the livelihood of all farmers and can have an especially crippling effect on small farmers.

In addition, Dr. Pierre said, “it (praedial larceny) also has other implications in terms of disease control which ultimately affects trade in the long run for the country.”

He noted that there is legislation but there is a greater need for enforcement if there is to be a positive effect in stemming the larceny of agricultural produce, whether crops or livestock. The specialist pointed out that, “One of the main issues with legal matters is enforcement, and I think we have all the laws in place and we can do a lot of things.

We can have a lot of control, but there is always the issue of enforcement and with enforcement.

I think that’s one of the areas we have to tighten up.”

Further, Dr. Pierre said that incidents of theft can be minimised if citizens act within the laws of the land. “When something is stolen, the people, who steal it would have to sell it to make it worthwhile so we must look at the purchasers, where the stolen materials or goods will be entering the market chain we would now have an issue of compliance of the vendors of whatever agricultural product it is,” he said.

The last known amendment, “praedial larceny (enhancement of punishment act 1983)” sought to increase fines from $500 or imprisonment for six months to, “not less than $500 dollars nor more than $1 500 together with imprisonment of not less than six months nor more than 18 months.”

Meanwhile, Rosamond too has been heaping lots of praises on both Partners for the Americas and PROPEL ( Promotion of Regional Opportunities for Produce through Enterprises and Linkages) for helping her to be where she is today.

She likened PROPEL as to “a daddy who nurtures his children”, the children being the women and youth farmers.

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Chronicle Pepperpot November 19, 2017

Local model embraces African roots on runway IT is commonly known that the fashion industry, the world over, has imposed often unrealistic standards for models. But more and more, following widespread activism, various sections of the industry have opened up to include wider definitions of what “beautiful” should look like.

Moreover, many “unconventional” models are now strutting the runway as a means of providing positive examples of beauty for all groups of persons.

In Guyana, one model is doing the same by embracing his African roots and ensuring that persons are encouraged to embrace their culture even on the runway. Sa-Ra Yaowada has been modelling since 2011 and recently relocated to his home in Guyana to promote his company Morocco & Co. which he runs with his partner. But modelling remains high on his agenda, and the young entrepreneur recently took to the runway at the Traits Model Management Fashion Show, Strut Volume II at the Marriott Hotel earlier this month. But what is most interesting about Sa-Ra’s modelling is his appearance and the fact that regardless of the designer, he insists on wearing traditional African head wraps, which form part of his personal lifestyle.

The Buzz sat down with Sa-Ra and talked with him about why it is important to embrace one’s culture on the big stage in order to be a positive role model.

in modelling for Sean John & Rocawear. I told her I would, but when it came to getting my mother’s approval - because I was only 13 at the time- she said ‘Absolutely Not! Focus on school.’ That created a burning desire to get in front of the camera one day.

Fast forward to 18, my freshman year in College my brethren Conrad B. invited me to one of his castings, so when I arrived at the casting they picked me before I even walked just based on my “swag”.

Three weeks after, that I got a call offering me the chance to be a centrefold in the January 2012 edition of Ambiance Magazine and the rest was history.

What made you start modelling?

Initially, I was introduced to modelling while I was walking in King’s Plaza Mall in Brooklyn, NY and a lady stopped me and asked if I’d be interested

Why was it important that you didn’t lose your identity and conform to the western influences in the fashion industry?

My cousin said to me one day: ‘In order for me to be big like you I have to go to America to become

here in Guyana, so our youths sell out for the flashing lights and become - as they say “foreign minded”.

It’s a major part of my decision today to keep my crown on and keep it high to show the millions of Africans globally that you don’t have to leave home and sell out to make a difference in life; you just have to be unapologetically YOU. Why is it important for persons to see more people of colour on the runway and in print ads?

People need to know that African Vogue is the wave. We started fashion from the Sari to the Tunic Dashiki. It’s ALL made by us but other ethnic groups get the monetary reward from our creative cultural expressions. Those days of Louis Vuitton visiting villages in Africa and stealing the tribal patterns to create collections are over. With awareness, we can control this thing of ours they call High Fashion because it’s obvious they lack the inspiration or creative juice.

What makes the persona that you bring to the runway different?

I’m unapologetically African and I don’t conform to the industry standards. I am the first model to grace the runway wearing a turban as part of my own personal appearance on a local runway and it wasn’t for fashion, it’s simply my cultural identity designers like Peta Odini saw that and loved everything that my aura represents. Not to mention I’m also the only model that did not wear makeup on the runway, that also adds to the different elements of my persona.

I’m willing to go against the norm to create a larger platform of opportunities for our culture.

Sara walking in the Traits Model Management fashion show Strut II. a model or actress.’ That statement is far from the truth but those are her beliefs because people who look like “US” are not seen as superstars, especially

Do you believe the fashion industry is more open to portraying persons of colour in their campaigns than before?

Of course, because they know we are the “jiggy-est”. With our spending power as Africans, we can make anyone a trillionaire, we just have to be more strategic and stop jumping on every opportunity as if nothing better will come our way. Now, the industry being more open doesn’t mean they are being genuine, but for the love of money, anyone would tolerate their worst enemy.

I’m Proud to be leading the way and using my platform to advocate and empower the youths here in Guyana. All that I’m doing is for Africans to be more included in every opportunity they desire to be a part of, whether they wear a turban, tribal face paint, no makeup or simply cultural beads/adornments. We all don’t subscribe to a religion but we ALL belong to a culture and it’s only right that we are allowed to express our culture without being an outcast or cheated out of opportunities. We as Africans deserve the same degree of respect given to a Muslim or Hindu when we are wearing our cultural attire.

IG @YawSARA FB @YawSARA

Chronicle Pepperpot November 19, 2017

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Globetrotting for a love that was in his backyard

By Abdool Aziz BEHOLD THE BEAUTY Nigel Singh was 12 years old when he went on a school tour in the 50s to Lusignan, to see the late Princess Margaret of Great Britain. She stunned him with her beauty. He had never seen a white girl yet, so close up. Was she for real? He heart danced the tango of ecstasy. He vowed to go to England and marry a Caucasian, exhibiting those blue marble eyes.

Only a white girl will do for a life partner.

TO THE ‘MOTHER COUNTRY’ At age 23, he inherited a fortune from his father’s real estate business. He sold out, except for the family mansion, then boarded the ‘Atlantic Pride’, for England- which was then our mother country. He was ‘loaded’ so he booked into luxurious hotels. In search for his ‘Princess’, he frequented the bars, nightclubs, etc. He smoked and had a good time.

The British ladies loved the nightlife. He spent lavishly. The pleasure, however, was artificial. There was no emotional commitment. He was open to love but no one was interested.

England was bitten by a race bug. His kind was considered ‘Garbage’ by the whites, he was disappointed.

LEAP INTO FRANCE Finding no Love from these `aristocratic’ madams, he crossed the England Channel into France. He found the mademoiselles more friendly and open. Yet no love, the flings were great but skin-deep. French women were great lovers but marriage was not on the cards.

OFF TO GERMANY These people loved partying and having flings. But marriage was not in their books, especially to a brown-skin guy called ‘Paki’. The search for his soulmate came up empty.

There was no German wife for him either. So he packed his bag and travelled to Italy, hoping he would have better luck there.

THE GOLDDIGGER IN ROME

Night after night he visited the sleazy joints. He tried his luck in supermarkets and public places. Then he met Lola at the park. She showed great interest in him. He spent a lot of money to gain her ‘Love’. In the end, he got taken because Lola was a golddigger. It was his money, not his Love. Now heartbroken and low on cash, he decided to return home. No blue-eyed Blonde, Redhead or Brunette, but a deflated ego and deranged emotions.

LOVE IN HIS ‘BACKYARD’ Alone in his dilapidated mansion, he felt sick and weak, he needed someone to take care of him. He placed an ad, and Indra answered it.

She was his schoolmate, and he was her secret love. Now she finally got a chance to expose her feelings. Indra said: “When you left for England, you broke my heart.

But I sustained that love in your absence, hoping you will be back.” Nigel replied: “You mean you really love me?”

“Yes, I do, since school days. But I knew I was a peasant, not your type. You always talked of the white chicks and London and you were so aloof, but my heart fell for you.”

She hugged and kissed him.

“All these years,” he said.

For the first time, he felt an electric feeling flash through his tortured heart.

Many arms did circle his

body, many lips caressed him but Indra’s was different. It was an embrace of love, not lust.

She explained: “True love is like nutgrass - sometimes the leaves are destroyed and you think the grass has died. No! No! The nut produces new growth. Those leaves wilted when you ran to England but my true love, the nut didn’t die. Sincere love lasts and matures in time, despite trials and tribulations.

Absence made my heart fonder.”

He held her tightly and felt born again as he stared into her brown eyes.

Love at last in his homeland.

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Chronicle Pepperpot November 19, 2017

‘Not limited by borders’ Rukia Henry destined to make a difference in science and medical research

By Ravena Gildharie FROM a tender age, while growing up in the mining town of Linden, Region 10, Rukia Henry felt a deep passion for science and research, driven to stake a claim in the world of academia and to make a difference in peoples’ lives.

Now at age 21 and a Howard University Honour Student, Rukia was recently bestowed an ‘Outstanding Achievement Award’ at the 2017 Annual Biomedical

Research Conference for Minority Students (ABRCMS), which took place in Phoenix, Arizona. She has dreams of becoming a neurovirologist, specialised in the study of viruses in the brain.

During the 18th Annual Minority Access National Conference in Washington D.C. last month, Rukia delivered an oral presentation on a research she did on the herpes virus and for which she was subsequently awarded First place in the Biological Sciences Category.

Rukia Henry with her Achievement Award in the Neuroscience Category from ABRCMS

“As a young Guyanese, my recent academic achievements have proven that we are not limited by borders or our nationality,” she told the Pepperpot Magazine in an exclusive interview, adding that “it serves as a personal testament and also to others that we are deserving just like anyone else

in this world of success once we have put in the work to achieve it.”

She noted that “sometimes it’s easy to get boxed in your own reality and not focus on the fact that there are endless opportunities available in this world.” However, she is reminded that those opportunities were “not going to come looking for you, you have to go looking for them…You are not limited by your geographic location; the world can be yours once you put in the effort to work for what you want.”

A former student of Macknzie High in Linden, Rukia, after graduating from secondary school, took her SAT examination and was highly successful that she secured a scholarship to Harvard University.

During her sophomore year at Harvard, she knew she wanted to do research, but most of the opportunities were opened only to American citizens. She sought help from the Dean of her college to find research opportunities, and she eventually got contact with the supervisor of an HIV research laboratory in the Howard University Medical School.

“I have been working in that lab for almost three years now, and I ended up being paid for my work. I then applied for summer opportunities to shadow doctors in Spain and was accepted,” Rukia related.

As part of her involvement with Atlantis Project Fellowship in 2016, she witnessed the practice of medicine first-hand in a global setting which grants participants a competitive edge in graduate school applications, domestic health-related internships, and a broadened perspective on the medical vocation in general. During the summer of 2016, she travelled to Zaragoza, Spain and spent three weeks at the Hospital Universitario Miguel Servet where she shadowed in the Radiation Oncology Department.

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Chronicle Pepperpot November 19, 2017 ◄◄◄ From page XX

RESEARCH AND OPPORTUNITIES “This following summer I applied to five summer research programmes at different U.S. schools and when I was accepted to Princeton, I accepted their offer the next day. I’m happy I accepted their offer, as many of the research conferences I have attended that I presented their work I was paid for by them and also they are continuously funding me while I’m completing my final year at Howard University,” she explained.

She spent nine weeks at Princeton University’s Summer Undergraduate Research Programme conducting noteworthy research in the Department of Molecular Biology, Lewis-Sigler Institute for Integrative Genomics.

She developed a model to study herpes virus infections in the brain.

“My recent achievements have proven to me that any Guyanese, boy or girl, is capable of excelling anywhere once given the chance,” Rukia stated.

Currently, she is applying to graduate school to obtain her PhD in Molecular Biology with a concentration in Virology and Neuroscience.

“I am particularly interested in studying viruses in the brain and thus in the next five years, I hope that I would’ve garnered enough knowledge to understand the pathogeneses of viruses in neurons, and if potentially we can use the immune responses to viral infections to treat neurodegenerative diseases such as Multiple Sclerosis or certain brain cancers,” she said.

Initially, Rukia planned to pursue medical school in the U.S. after graduating Howard University. However, her participation in the Princeton research programme proved that she could “make more of a difference doing research than being a medical doctor.”

Rukia, an only child, is founder of a non-profit venture, Community Health Access Missionary Programme, that has organised medical outreaches in Kairuni, Linden, where free medical care and medication were provided to residents. She is now moving to have the organisation registered with hopes of expanding the outreaches to other communities across Guyana.

She is also aiming to start a personal blog dedicated to promoting her upcoming academic pursuits and which she says would “give other Guyanese the opportunity to see representation of their kind.”

Rukia intends also to offer advice to anyone who may be interested in applying to schools and certain programmes that Rukia may have knowledge about.

“My motivation honestly comes from my personal belief in the merit ‘to whom much is given, much is required.’ I believe that God has blessed me with these countless opportunities to Rukia Henry presenting her research at the Annual Biomedical be able to do good for others so I feel a personal Research Conference for Minority Students obligation to continue excelling to accomplish my goals of helping others,” she declared.

The true cost... ◄◄◄ From page XII

periences in the hopes of creating something great that could potentially launch their career is a formula still being touted in some parts of the world as “the best way to go.” But is it? Some artists have refused professional help for fear of losing their “genius,” while others have engaged in destructive behaviour in order to induce and prolong feelings of despair. Now, of course, no one can dictate how artists should deal with their pain. Their methods for recovery should be something they determine for themselves, without being swayed by persons looking to capitalise on said pain. Whether they find relief after channeling their experiences into works of art or in another area altogether, it should be recognised that there is no rule that says all artists must continue to suffer until the very end. It should be emphasised that great art can be made without compromising one’s mental health. In the same way, one can receive medical treatment if an illness is present and

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continue to make great art.

Ideally, any period of depression should be used as an opportunity to focus on the areas that need changing in order to improve one’s quality of life. It is common knowledge that the creative industry is a high-stress environment that offers minimal job security, zero guarantees and very little benefits. Knowing this, it is crucial that you build a strong network of peers that will rally around you in your time of need, and for everyone else (friends of artists, relatives, patrons etc). I urge you to examine your own complicity in the idea of the tortured artist. By perpetuating this idea (whether knowingly or unknowingly) you ignore the very real ways societies fail their artists, which more often than not, are the main reasons artists experience depression in the first place.

So how can you tell if what you’re experiencing is just a passing mood or perhaps something more serious? I would say that if you can’t tell the difference then you should probably contact a mental health professional.

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Chronicle Pepperpot November 19, 2017

Ecotourism/Nature-based tourism MANY times when we think of tourism, we tend to visualise blue waters, sandy white beaches with palm trees, and hotels towering over the skyline. What if I tell you there’s scenery even more breathtaking? Imagine nature in its undisturbed and pristine state, an abundance of flora and fauna, nature’s critters crawling on the forest floor and winged exotic creatures navigating through the canopy of giant trees reaching to the skies. This is just a glimpse at the wonders that nature tourism and ecotourism have to offer.

Tourism is not just limited

to fancy architecture, blue waters and white sandy beaches that are so highly advertised in magazines and on television.

These features, in fact, exist in only some parts of the world.

For countries that are not blessed with white sandy beaches, but have virgin forests and abundant wildlife, it is all about smart marketing and promotion of our unique natural treasures to draw tourists to our neck of the woods.

Our many rivers and thick forests provide an ideal setting for nature and ecotourism which appeal not only to those who seek pleasure, relaxation and a change in scenery, but also to tourists who crave a sense for adventure and are nature lovers. Nature and ecotourism are for those who realise and recognise the intrinsic value of the environment.

Tourism is a booming industry in many parts of the world regardless which form it takes. According to the World Tourism Organisation (WTO), in 2014 the industry raised approximately US $1.5 Trillion dollars. Besides the money, ecotourism/nature tourism is not just about lucrative profits and mere pleasure, even though one of the aims is to get ecotourists to spend more on trips. It’s more than that; it’s a form of tourism

with the environment being its main interest. It’s a form of tourism that has a low impact on the physical and socio-economic environment and seeks to give back to locals and the community. Ecotourism is all about utilising the natural environment in its pristine state without harming or having any major negative impacts on the environment i.e. the environment is the product and the environment is its business.

The ecotourism industry itself takes special consideration of building design and construction of resorts, hotels, and inns or whatever the establishment.

Natural materials from the environment are utilised in building design and construction with no major alteration to the built environment. So instead of constructing large swimming pools and installing air conditioners and solar heaters, building design utilises features like natural springs and creeks, benabs and small thatch-roofed huts that are constructed in such a way as to use natural lighting, breeze and heating as much as possible.

Also, special emphasis is placed on education of workers and visitors, management of the operation, and also tour operations to ensure effective function. This is done since eco-tourists are responsible consumers interested in social, economic and environmental sustainability.

Guyana is a country with so much to offer but ecotourism is still to reach its peak. Just like our neighbour Brazil, one of the top five listed eco-tourist destinations according to National Geographic in 2007, Guyana has so much to boast about. Take our virgin forest which covers most of the country and the majestic rivers snaking through our land.

What about powerful falls like the mighty Kaieteur Falls, shining like jewels in nature? For any eco-tourist venturing here, adventure and thrill await. As the eco-tourism sector advances in Guyana it will move closer to realising its potential to generate millions of US dollars to contribute to our developing economy.

It is just a matter of time before ecotourism in our country becomes the one to watch. Let us as individuals give impetus to this sector and take conscious action to plan a trip for ourselves and our contacts overseas to visit one or more of the many eco-tourism destinations within Guyana – it will be an adventure of a lifetime.

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

Chronicle Pepperpot November 19, 2017

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Chronicle Pepperpot November 19, 2017

The genius that is Xavier Strings Classical/Caribbean music at its best!

IF it’s one thing about Caribbean music, it certainly has that unique sound that piques your interest and evokes a “feel good” vibe that just makes you want to dance. But more than that, Caribbean music has that je ne sais quoi that makes it so versatile that it can be mixed and tweaked to seamlessly combine with other genres.

Recognising this trait, two young women have used this to their advantage, and, coupled with their passion for music and their undeniable talent, have created a sound unlike any other, and are now taking the Caribbean by storm.

They are Janine and Janelle Xavier, and together, they form Xavier Strings. This talented duo who hail from Trinidad and Tobago, has over the years captivated audiences with their fusion of Caribbean and world music using the unique sound of the violin and other instruments provided by their band. They have since racked up quite a musical reputation for and have been in high demand, having made multiple appearances including festivals in New York, St. Vincent, Antigua, Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago and other notable events.

In an exclusive interview with the Pepperpot Magazine,

aspects of your life that inspired you to become musicians?

Being exposed from a very young child to the musical life of Trinidad and Tobago, in its natural habitat. Be it spending time in Paramin with the paranderios, moving from house to house making music at Christmas time, and talking with the minstrels as they prepared to go on the streets for Carnival; or listening to Tambrin music played by a Tamarin band in Scarborough, Tobago; or playing in the National Youth Orchestra at Queen’s Royal College; [these things] provided a glance of the musical diet we were fed.

Our mother being a musician had a huge part to play.

She exposed us from the womb, while playing her double bass in orchestras in the United Kingdom, and put us as babes in front of those orchestras while she pursued her studies in music. Our mother kept us going through that “meh” period, when you don’t really want to do this right now, she kept us going, because she knew it was only a phase. As a teacher, I recognised as well a lot of people like the idea of the violin, for instance, but they don’t realise how bad a child will sound for how long. Parents give up before kids because of the annoying sounds while learning. If parents did not give up the children won’t give up either. They will go through their “meh” phase and they will be fine.

Janelle and Janine. Xavier the sisters talked about their influences, their passion and the importance of sharing their Caribbean culture with the world!

Growing up, what would you say were the most influential

What would you say is the importance of art, and by extension, music to your lives?

The Xavier Strings Band

Music is very important to us. It is what creates the balance and ensures the sanity and gives us a chance to have a voice.

Music, and the ability to create and express ourselves in a way that may be slightly more intangible to someone else.

The ability to portray your ideas, feelings and emotions to someone else is very important to everyone. Different people have different ways of going about it. As an artist, this is how we vent and show our moods and portray our life’s story. You are using your art to create discussion about ideas that are important. Every culTurn to page XXV ►►►

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ture has music. When you notice the music, the rhythms, and the harmonies that’s full at you, you really notice it. You feel a connection. That is layer one. When we sit down to listen to music again, the audience appreciates that it is not just a connection of feelings but a means to understand the layers of the music. Whether it is because the audience was educated in that form, whether from society, or from music schools or just some appreciation.

As musicians, our job is just to express ourselves and our life experiences. We hope that our life experiences are similar enough to help the audience to cope with their experiences and to move to another place or to come to a place of acceptance. It is for catharsis. You are able to experience emotions without having to go through a situation yourself, personally, at that time. Music is used to create a mood in our mind.

The violin is a classical instrument and you have successfully mixed that sound with the sound of Caribbean music. Would you say that Xavier Strings has created its own sub-genre of music? And if so, was this intentional?

By adding our own Caribbean flavours, which are a composite of our diverse experiences to our interpretation of world music, may lead you to think we are creating a subgenre. Rather, our music may be considered a Caribbean interpretation of the music around us. From another perspective, we have actually brought back something that had already existed in a different form.

barriers of misunderstanding and allow people to prosper and progress. We want everyone to understand our language. Our language is different. It is Caribbean. We want to add our diversity to world music which will bring about innovation that will advance the group.

Because there are more of us in the diaspora than there are on the islands, this means that there is somebody who always misses that voice out there in foreign places.

Apart from that, we have a completely different voice. A different point of view to offer the world and we don’t realise it until we are out there in the world and realise how little that voice is represented. The music of other countries has

What sparked your interest in the violin specifically?

We only know what we were told by our mother. Who you become has a lot to do with the people around you, and what they did to you and with you before you were aware.

Mummy tells the story of when she was in university she was pregnant with us while playing the Double Bass in orchestras, and as babies we were placed in front of the orchestra where the first sounds we heard were that of violins.

In your music, there is a clear Caribbean vibe; in your fashion and in your dance moves on stage, it is the same. If you were to verbalise a particular message that you are sending to your audience every time you perform, what would that be?

Our message is that we in the Caribbean have something to say musically that is different to what others say. You experience it particularly when you live abroad. You feel a yearning for home. We grew up in the era of Bob Marley and Calypso, but when you hear even the newer subgenres, you know that it is yours. When you listen to the music of different enslaved and indentured groups, they are different from those of the ethnic origin of those peoples. Why did they evolve the way they did? Why did Reggae, Calypso, Jazz, Rhythm and Blues develop the way that they did and why are they distinct from one another, even though the main proponents are basically from the same places of Africa and India.

We are basically Trinidadians. Our sound comes from our mix, Calypso, Soca, Tamb’rin, Folk, Parang and Chutney.

Soca and Chutney Soca came from an amalgamation of us.

We have something to say. We enjoy being ourselves. We are not just passionate about music, We are passionate about Caribbean music.

Xavier Strings with Acoustic Violins

What would you say is the most important reason why persons of Caribbean heritage should ensure that this heritage is represented/heard in other parts of the world?

It is important to teach the world who you are. Helping to break down barriers of misunderstanding based on lack of knowledge of our culture. You are misunderstood, shunned in communities. By sharing your culture, you break down

been heavily influenced by Caribbean music. E.g. Electronic Dance Music has actually borrowed from Soca and Reggae, quite heavily without us really realising the extent. They have modified things and taken out parts of the beat. People don’t realise how much Soca drumming has affected popular dance music. Also, when you listen to black music of different foreign countries like the UK, the heavy influence of dance music is so prevalent.

We as Caribbean people have something to say. And we can be confident that what we say is valid.

We have to say it in the language we are familiar with.

And when we do, we realise we have to speak up.

How important is it for persons to have a healthy work/ life balance?

It is very important to have that balance between work and life. We don’t live to work but rather we work to live.

As a person, if you are drained or distracted you don’t create as well. Unfortunately, a lot of us are workaholics. We give everything to something else that does not contribute to our mental, physical, spiritual or emotional health. We do this because we have to make a living, because of greed or for reasons like making other people happy in relationships.

A lot of the time, work is a means to an end. Sometimes we think the end is financial safety and security. The end is actually well-being. We are at our best when we take care of our whole self when our mental, physical, emotional and spiritual health is actually dealt with balance.

If it does not happen in the workplace and you give all your time to the office, you don’t benefit, except you can live and take care of yourself, financially.

But if you have nothing to give except money, then these

XXV same people who matter, family, friends, who want more than money, they will fall away. Your emotional needs are not being met by them, because you are not giving them anything.

Taking care of your whole self is what a work-life balance is about. It’s about being happy. The second you leave that job you will be replaced with someone else. How did it benefit you? What did you gain from it and what important things in life fell away when you were getting money and nothing else.

You have varying academic qualifications, yet, it has been reported that it is music that really brings you to life, what would you say is the importance of following your passion in life?

When you listen to the biggest entrepreneurs, they talk about two things, going after things they were interested and passionate about and then finding a formula that works and works. That rang particularly true of me [Janelle] because I am a naturally creative person. Apart from the music I was doing outside, I was also studying and working in a field that I wasn’t as passionate about, environmental sciences. Even though I know it is important to save the world, make the environment better, use our resources more sustainably and to spread that message that we have the earth for a much longer period. But I wasn’t brilliant at it. And I never quite understood why.

It did not light me up or make me want to do more research and focus. It becomes really important to be passionate about what you do. There are different personality types, different people need different types of things. Maybe because of my academic background, I also need intellectual stimulation, as well as create stimulation. But I have come to realise I can get them both in music. The big thing in music was that I didn’t think there was a way to follow it without doing anything else, and be able to make a living, which is very important for me as a woman. Men can sometimes just do things that they are passionate about for the sake of being passionate.

Women see things differently. We need security, and we know we are biological set up to nurture another generation.

It meant that I had to give up something that I thought was bread and butter, to do something that I loved. I am just that type of personality; that mother-earthy type of person who needs to be attached to nature and feelings. I did not give that up before I was able to set up enough things within music to be able to sustain myself. That is why I teach, which I love. I love teaching music because I am passionate about it. If I was just teaching, what I did before, geography, geology, environmental, GIS, I would be OK. My music students really like me. I am their good friend. They are passionate about music because I am passionate about music. I think it is important to be able to impart that. We are different individuals and God gave us different passions and different things so that if we were to each follow our own passion, we would bring balance to the world Do you play any other instruments? If so, what are they?

When I was a Venture Scouts the Queen’s Royal College Scout Band, I (Janine) played the clarinet. Now I only play the violin. (Janelle) and I have played a wider variety of instruments. Like most Trinidadians, I have played the Pan (Guitar and Double Tenor Pans). This is interesting because it is the same voicing I prefer today, viola which is the alto voice of the string family. Apart from that, I play piano, guitar and vocals. Xavier Strings’ violins are hybrid. They are actually five-stringed violins (the violin normally has four strings) to enable me to play in the viola range, without having to switch instruments.

For more on Xavier Strings, visit their website www. xavierstrings.com

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Chronicle Pepperpot November 19, 2017

Maid Simple Guyana

By Michel Outridge

MORE and more, women are gravitating toward entrepreneurship as a means of earning their own income and one passionate young woman is proving that with innovative ideas, women can, indeed make a difference in the business world.

It was some time ago that Ali Williams, a mother of two, decided to arm herself with a Masters in Business Administration and establish her own business which employs 17 persons.

The business is `Maid Simple Guyana’ which provides janitorial, live-in maid, adult and child care and cooking services at

an affordable cost.

With the realisation that customer services aren’t always what we expect locally, Ali said that she decided to become an entrepreneur and open her own business.

“I want to build my own castle and not someone else’s. As such, I told myself I can do it and never turned back and today I am a thriving businesswoman,” Ali told the Pepperpot Magazine.

She is hoping to change how people view her kind of business and now, the small establishment, which started seven months ago, continues to grow.

So far, Ali reported that the business is doing well. adding that

Industrial blowers.

her clientele consists mostly of private businesses but also has some individual clients as well.

She related that the domestic services aspect of the business is gaining momentum with some clients utilising these services, but added that the commercial aspect is taking some time to catch up.

“For me, it took a lot of guts to start my own business; going out there alone there are no guarantees and you are not sure it is going to be successful, but I took that leap of faith and that was my drive to go on,” she said.

She, however, explained that it feels better working with herself since she gets more time on her hands to spend with her two children- aged 13 and 11 -since at this age, they need the extra guidance in terms of their school work.

She admitted though that her biggest worry was if the business would be successful and she realised that she had to take that risk in order to find out if it will work out for her. Having ventured off on her own, she sees that now it is not so bad.

Ali stated that taking that first step is always the start and she isn’t looking back because it feels good to have her own business and work for herself instead of [for] other people.

The bugbear, however, is having to screen employees and clients because of the nature of her business and the fact that her workers are required to visit the homes of customers. Such a business, therefore, requires trustworthy people so that the business can

Pressure washer.

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thrive incident-free.

Ali told the Pepperpot Magazine that retaining ‘good’ people for employment is not a ‘walk in the park’ as it is often times a painstaking effort to weed out the unwanted.

Manning 17 employees can be quite a task, but Ali credits good communication as an asset since everybody knows what they are about and this results in the smooth running of her operations.

Ali said sourcing the industrial and heavy-duty equipment for her business took some time and investment but with time that was sorted and she was on her way to establish her business, `Maid Simple Guyana’.

Steam cleaner for upholstery and carpets

The enterprising Ali Williams of Maid Simple Guyana.

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Chronicle Pepperpot November 19, 2017

A culinary experience

Guyana Restaurant Week 2017

By Gibron Rahim

EXPLORE. EAT. REPEAT. This motto has become familiar to gourmets or even those who simply enjoy food and dining out. Food has a special place in our lives. We as Guyanese can testify to

the richness and diversity of our cuisine and the quality of the ingredients that go into them. It is in this spirit that Guyana Restaurant Week is currently being celebrated.

GRW), collaboratively organised by the Tourism and Hospitality Association of

ferent. New participants are, of course, always welcomed.

At the same time, diners have come to look forward to going to the established restaurants for a special night out. “We are delighted that we have a mix of new restaurants for people to try, as well as returning restaurants that customers look forward to visiting,” THAG said.

Diversity can also be seen in Guyana Restaurant Week’s diners. The reasonable cost of the dining ensures that everyone can partake in the dining experiences at the participating restaurants. Andrea made sure to point out that Guyana Restaurant Week is aimed at anyone who enjoys special culinary experiences. “During Restaurant Week, twice a year, everyone gets to celeThe Guyana Restaurant Week logo (Photo credit: GRW brate at their favourite restauFacebook) rant at truly affordable prices.”

The event not only introduces new customers to restaurants, Guyana (THAG) and the Guyana Tourism Authority (GTA), will run from November but also offers the fine dining experience that 17 – 26 and will feature 14 restaurants. Pa- many save only for special occasions such as trons can look forward to the unique dishes birthdays and anniversaries.

The delectable cuisine and the amprepared from fresh, local ingredients. Most of the restaurants will also have a selection bience of Guyana Restaurant Week’s of wines from Demerara Distillers Limited participating restaurants will truly be a culinary celebration. That idea of a (DDL) on offer.

The concept of a restaurant week orig- culinary celebration recollects one of inated in 1992 as President of THAG, An- GRW’s aims – to showcase Guyana as drea de Caires, explained to the Pepperpot a tourist destination. Andrea noted that Magazine. The Democratic National Con- as tourism continues to grow and devention was held in New York City in July velop in Guyana and as more and more of that year. The original four-day event Guyanese discover the joy of dining out, was created as a goodwill gesture to the 15 it is important that all of us continue 000 journalists and reporters who showed to experience and review the best that up to cover the convention. The goal of Guyana has to offer. that restaurant week was to generate pubUNIQUELY GUYANESE licity for New York City and its restaurant Many of the participating restaurants are industry. The idea then gradually began to also keenly aware of the importance of offerspread tother cities and countries.

Now, over 25 years later, the obser- ing cuisine that is uniquely Guyanese. They vances of restaurant week have become a focus on using ingredients that are local global tradition with city after city having and as farm-to-table as possible and serving embraced the concept. Restaurant Week Guyanese cuisine with a fine dining, fusion appeals to both customers and restaurant twist. It would certainly feel like an injustice owners. The tradition eventually reached to single one restaurant out from the others, Guyana’s shores. Since 2014, Guyanese given the impeccable care in preparation have partaken in Guyana Restaurant Week and the quality of the dining experience they even as we have placed our own stamp all attempt to create for Guyana Restaurant on it. “In Guyana, we are known for our Week. It is enough to say that patrons, both amazing cuisine,” Andrea said. She ex- new and existing, will not be disappointed.

There will also be the ‘Ready. Steady. plained that Restaurant Week seemed to be the perfect vehicle to introduce that Snap’ Competition for diners to also have a extraordinary culinary experience to its bit of fun and win prizes. They will collect tourists while at the same time providing points toward prizes by photographing themlocal Guyanese with the opportunity to selves meeting set challenges and posting indulge in fine dining at a reasonable cost. those photographs to Instagram using the One of the main aims of the Guyana hashtag ‘#officialgrw’.

GRW is upon us again. Clients, both loRestaurant Week is “to get local restaurants cal and visitors, can look forward to unique to up their game and to step outside the box in the way they look at what they offer to the culinary treats. The response to the event general public.” At the same time, GRW was over the years has been so positive that also created to build awareness of Guyana’s THAG has taken to advising guests to make diverse fine dining experience and to drive reservations. It has been observed that most business to local restaurants. Restaurant restaurants during GRW become inundated week also benefits Guyana’s tourism indus- with customers taking advantage of the fine try as a whole. It showcases our country as a dining at special prices. And it is only right tourist destination and strengthens our brand that they do so as Guyana Restaurant Week and culinary reputation. “Attracting tourists is “an opportunity for the restaurants to and locals to our restaurants increases busi- showcase their skilled chefs and their finest cuisine, their excellent service and welcomness for all,” Andrea said.

The participating restaurants in GRW ing atmosphere.”

Updates and information about Guyare always a diverse group. Their flavours ana Restaurant Week and menu offerings appeal to a wide array of palates. Indeed, Andrea noted that, though the restaurants do at participating restaurants can be found not vary too much this time around, the spe- on GRW’s Facebook page at https://www. cial Guyana Restaurant Week menus are dif- facebook.com/guyanarestaurantweek/

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Chronicle Pepperpot November 19, 2017

Chronicle Pepperpot November 19, 2017

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My First Book

Living with Intention-Commit, Contribute, Celebrate Determination, faith, focus, self-discipline and consistency can really make things a reality.

Motivation gets us going but discipline keeps us growing. That is what the law of consistency says and that’s one of my favourite laws of growth.

I was working on `BEYOND THE RUNWAY’ the book but changed directions. At one point, I was totally stuck. I decided to go to tranquil Clermont to clear my head but that still did not work. I woke up early one morning and the message was so clear that `BEYOND THE RUNWAY’ was going to be my second book and I needed to change my direction for the first. I sat there pondering as my creative mind went to work.

What was clear is the message had to be the part of my journey where I accelerated my growth plan, hence `LIVING WITH INTENTION’. `LIVING WITH INTENTION’ offers readers a glimpse into that world that makes every day a masterpiece, even with life’s challenges: the strug-

gle, strength, survival and endurance, but also commemorates the beauty, honour, love, compassion and forgiveness. This book takes you to the core of survival, to the depths of self-acceptance and to the height of celebration. `LIVING WITH INTENTION’ will inspire you to want to do because in the doing you become. This book will motivate those who are still struggling to be the best version of themselves. This book encourages readers to take a moment to peer into my world. `LIVING WITH INTENTION’ holds in its hands, the importance of adding value to others; the benefits of personal growth; the capability to heal, reflect, to embrace, to build and to gently nurture all who hold it in theirs.

My attitude to life and all its manifestations have been adjusted and my expectations on living and all its interactions have been realigned. I have

recognised that the human resource is the most valuable resource there is. I feel poised to share some of my new-found strengths and distribute my unique methods of sustainable cooperation within a world prone to maximising profit and winning material conquests.

After reading `LIVING WITH INTENTION’, readers will ask themselves.

WHO AM I? WHY AM I HERE? WHERE DID I COME? WHAT CAN I DO? WHERE AM I GOING? This Book is a testimony of my faith in a stellar journey; when God made a way when it seemed there was no way.

Writing this book made a lot of stories resurface which stirred up emotions that I thought I had overcome. It

Beyond the Runway with Dr. Sonia Noel

... Inspiring lives through fashion

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Chronicle Pepperpot November 19, 2017

“The best of Nothing to Laugh Abo THE well received and much loved ‘Nothing to Laugh About’ show organized by Lyndon ‘Jumbie’ Jones and Maria Benschop will be on at the Giftland Mall tonight.

Show time is 8 pm.

The show is usually put on at the National Cultural Center (NCC) annually around May/June, but due to numerous public requests, the organisers have decided to do something “to usher in the Christmas,” Jones told the Pepperpot Magazine.

This show is titled, “The best of Nothing to Laugh About,” and will feature the best moments of the show for the past ten years.

Regular tickets are going for $1,500 and VIP for $3000.

Both regular and VIP tickets for children are $500.

Tickets are available at Igloo Providence outlet, Giz-

Chris Gopaul always gets the girls.

The show tonight will feature a n

The organisers of Nothing to Laugh About, Lyndon ‘Jumbie’ Jones and Maria Benschop.

Chronicle Pepperpot November 19, 2017

XXXIII

out” on tonight at Giftland Mall The perfect couple: Credit and Radika in a previous show.

number of top local performers.

Mark ‘Chiney Man’ Kazim performing in a past show.

mos and Gadgets, Payless Variety, Nigel’s Supermarket, Giftland Mall and Sir Mars’ mobile unit. While parking is free at the mall, special parking can be obtained inside the show area for $1000.

The organisers have also arranged to have on sale DVDs of their past shows, and will be informing of the various locations that authentic copies can be picked up from. These will go for $500 at the event, and $1000 afterwards.

The show will feature top performers like Liza ‘Radika’ Singh, Michael ‘Credit’ Ignatius, Jumbie, Mark ‘Chiney Man’ Kazim, Chris Gopaul, Leon Cummings, Mark Luke-Edwards, and a host of others.

“Uncensored,” another hit show organized by Jones and Benschop, is an adult show that will be on at the NCC on December 29 and 30.

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Chronicle Pepperpot November 19, 2017

Gospel Artistes to drop new music in December

GUYANESE gospel artistes Samuel Medas and Enea Benjamin are set to launch their newest albums next month, with Medas’ star-studded launch and concert set for the tarmac of the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall on December 2, and Benjamin’s slated for December 16 at South Ruimveldt Garden’s Restoration and Life Ministries.

Benjamin will be launching her album “Rising Higher” while Medas will be launching his fourth studio album “Royalty”. Both albums have been garnering a lot of positive reviews. Benjamin previously provided background vocals for fellow Guyanese gospel artiste Cherlyn Malony for many years in the Gospel flames and Gospel Ambassadors Bands for several years but has not branched out to singing in the forefront.

This will be the second album for Benjamin, who became well known for her unifying single “We Are One”.

Rising Higher will include seven tracks, including a remake of “We Are One”, and follows Benjamin’s debut album “No Limits”, which was launched in 2015.

The album is one that has been a long time coming for Benjamin, with the track listing including her 2015 singles “Created to Worship”, and “Just Sing”, there is also “Here I Am”, another of Benjamin’s more popular songs, while other songs are other songs are the title single “Rising Higher”, “God”, and “I’m So Glad to Be a Christian”.

Benjamin feels strongly about using her music to get the message of love, unity and her deep love for God and her Christian faith across, and this album has been no different.

She hopes that persons come away inspired after listening to her songs.

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Samuel Medas

Enea Benjamin “It’s been pending a long time and I just feel it’s the right time,” Benjamin told The Buzz.

“Most of the songs are inspired first and foremost by the Holy Spirit, and by experiences as it relates to life as a whole. “We Are One” is mostly for the nation. The Ministry of Culture sponsored the remaking of the song, so I decided to include it on the album. The song talks to the nation that we should come together as one for the better of Guyana, to have a better country,” she said.

ROYALTY Meanwhile, Medas’ “Royalty” album launch and the concert has been gaining quite the hype over the past few months, even more so when it was announced that the lineup would include Jamaica’s DJ Nicholas, who Medas collaborated with on the album tracks, and who is a particular favourite among Guyanese.

There’s also John Yarde out of Barbados, Blessed Messenger from Trinidad, and Lt Stitchie. They’ll all be backed but a powerful line up of local vocalists, including Melissa Vandeyar and Christina Richardson, who is also set to debut her own album “Out of Zion”.

This will be Medas’ fourth album and is shaping up to be his most successful to date.

Though Medas had been working on tracks for the album since early January of this year, it was the release of his hit single “Royalty” in May that really brought it all together. The most surprising thing for Medas was the spontaneity that started “Royalty” and the major response received.

“I always knew I had music that I wanted to record but I just didn’t have a concept, which was disturbing for me because every other project that I did I knew exactly what I wanted to do,” Medas recalled.

“I was at a concert around April of this year and I was just talking to the people. It was just good vibes and I just freestyled the hook ‘My daddy is a king so I am royalty’.

And it was just one of those moments when you sing something and it resonates with you that this could be more than a freestyle. So I went to the studio, recorded what I had, added a few verses and I released it, and people just ran with the thing and it became the title track of the album.”

Though Medas had an inkling that it would definitely be one of those songs that would catch on easily, the subsequent response from fans just blew him away.

“I was surprised. I had no idea that it would be received like this, honestly. But I think I’m only now starting to understand the depths of ‘Royalty’, and what it means to a lot of people,” Medas noted.

“The kind of reaction is not so much pertaining to the song, it’s the fact that my music is now getting out there in certain circles. First of all, people think I’m Jamaican be-

Enea Benjamin

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cause of the quality, and because of how I sit down on the reggae genre- not so much because of the music but because of how I embody the reggae genre,” he said.

And it’s not just his local fans that have been taking notice of the quality of Medas’ music, the 28-year-old was also blown away by the international response and the bookings have just been coming in ever since.

Medas has been in high demand all year, performing several times in the US, as well as around the Caribbean, including in Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, Antigua, Barbados and St Kitts to name a few places.

All the international exposure has been pushing the singer even more to improve the quality and standard of his music. All of this follows Medas having copped the “New Artiste of the Year” award at the prestigious Caribbean Gospel Music Marlin Award back in March of this year.

The album also sprouted a few collaborations with other Caribbean artistes. Outside of DJ Nicholas, the album also includes “Sell Out” featuring Blessed Messenger, an artiste that Medas has always admired and was honoured to work with.

His “Jah Arise” collab with DJ Nicholas was also included on Nicholas’ “The Audiologist” album and is one of the album’s top-selling tracks on iTunes.

Medas is also looking forward to ensuring that he truly delivers a worthy experience come December 2, particularly because several international fans have already booked their tickets and accommodations to travel to Guyana just to share the moment.

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The electronics giant said the device, which was due to be released in December this year, still needed development work.

It said the HomePod would be ready to go on shop shelves in the US, UK and Australia "early in 2018".

The news is a blow to its plans to take on rivals Amazon and Google in the growing market for home devices that use AI to help consumers.

'Not surprising' In a statement sent to news organisations, Apple said the wireless speaker needed "a little more time before it's ready for our customers".

The delay will mean Apple misses the lucrative holiday season during which many consumers buy gadgets as gifts.

Chronicle Pepperpot November 19, 2017

Apple is delaying the release of its HomePod smart speaker until 2018.

The gadget was first unveiled in June this year when Apple said it would go on sale in the US for $349 (£265). In the UK it was expected to cost £350.

It was designed to be a competitor to other smart speakers - such as Amazon's Echo and Google's Assistant. Sonos, Microsoft and others also make similar gadgets.

Like them it was designed to play music and act as a hands-free helper letting owners set timers, maintain shopping lists and get reports about the news, weather and other subjects.

Since Apple unveiled the HomePod both Google and Amazon have added new models to their ranges of smart speakers, intensifying the competition with Apple.

Writing in Engadget, associate editor Jon Fingle said the delay was "not surprising" given that the HomePod was Apple's first try at a smart speaker.

"The HomePod isn't necessarily in trouble," he said. "but it may face a tougher battle than it did beforehand."(BBC NEWS)

Gamers' anger halts Star Wars Battlefront II payments

Games publisher EA has suspended in-game purchases in its latest Star Wars title Battlefront II, following criticism from players.

Gamers had complained that unlocking popular characters such as Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader took too long unless they paid for credits.

EA said in-game purchases would be halted because it did not want the controversy to "overshadow" the game.

But it said the ability to buy game currency would return.

'Insidious' In Battlefront II, players earn credits by completing campaigns. The credits can be spent to unlock new items and characters in the game.

Players and reviewers were disappointed that earning credits through gameplay took several hours, and that there was a cap on the number of credits that could be earned in Arcade Mode each day.

The game was "diseased by an insidious microtransaction model that creates an uneven battlefield," wrote Andrew Reiner in a review for Game Informer..

Others argued that it was unfair to encourage microtransactions in a game that typically cost between £49.99 and £69.99 in the UK, or $60 in the US. EA initially responded by reducing the number of credits required to unlock in-game upgrades by 75% - but it also reduced the amount earned by playing campaigns.

It has now temporarily halted microtransactions. "Sorry we didn't get this right," it said in a statement.

"The ability to purchase crystals in-game will become available at a later date, only after we've made changes to the game. We'll share more details as we work through this."

The announcement was met with scepticism on Reddit, where players had raised complaints about the game.

"According to their statement, EA is disabling in-game purchases only temporarily. In other words, they're waiting for the Reddit hive mind to get mad about something else and three weeks later they'll put it back to how it was," suggested one gamer.(BBC News)

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Amazon revamps Echo smart speaker family

Amazon unveiled three new Echo speakers at its Seattle event Amazon has announced new versions of its Echo smart speakers that promise improved sound and voice recognition.

The basic model also allows its shell to be changed to give it different looks - a feature already offered by Google's rival Home device.

A larger Echo Plus adds a "home hub", letting it control smart light bulbs and other third-party products without a separate data-linking device.

And the Echo Spot has a screen, making video calls and camera feeds possible.

Amazon has never released sales figures for the earlier Echo line-up.

But researchers suggest it and its smaller sibling the Echo Dot have been the best selling devices of their kind.

COLOUR CHOICES The new Echo is smaller than its predecessor and benefits from a dedicated bass tweeter.

It launches with a choice of six swappable shells that come in different materials.

It will cost ÂŁ90/$100/100 euros - making it about 40% cheaper than the previous version, as well as undercutting the ÂŁ129 Google Home.

The Echo Plus - which is compatible with the Zigbee smart home protocol - costs ÂŁ140/$150/150 euros.

And the Echo Spot, with its 2.5-inch screen and built-in camera, has been priced at $130. It will launch in the US in December but has not yet been given a release date elsewhere.

"Amazon was first mover in this market, so it had an advantage over some of the others that entered the same space," commented Blake Kozak from the IHS Technology consultancy.

"But it's incredibly important for them to do this refresh - the original Echo came out in 2014 and the hardware hadn't been updated since, although the software and back-end services have been improved continuously.

"Since then we've seen other more 'premium' systems get announced - with higher quality speakers - so, Amazon needed to be seen to match the competition."

Amazon and Google clash over YouTube Amazon's race to make Alexa smarter A closer look at Apple's Homepod speaker Hands on with Google's voice-activated speaker Many of those newer systems also feature Amazon's Alexa assistant and will not be seen as a threat.

Amazon has previously said it sells its speakers for roughly the price it costs to produce them, since its ultimate goal is to use Alexa as a means to drive sales of other goods and services.

But at Berlin's Ifa tech show earlier this month, several big name manufacturers - including Sony, Panasonic and JBL - launched systems powered by Google's rival Assistant Further competing systems are expected before the end of the year, including:

Apple's Siri-powered HomePod speaker system Harmon/Kardon's Invoke, which will use Microsoft's Cortana technology a new speaker from Sonos that may support multiple smart assistants the possibility of a new version of the Google Home, when the search firm hosts an event on 4 October At its Seattle event, Amazon also announced Echo Buttons - small Bluetooth-based buzzers that can be used to play games on its speakers, including a forthcoming version of Trivial Pursuit.

In addition, it revealed the Echo Connect, a device that connects to a landline and turns its speakers into speakerphones.

And it announced a deal to bring Alexa to some of BMW's cars, including its Mini brand.

"Amazon has the momentum in the smart speaker and voice assistant space," said Geoff Blaber from the tech consultancy CCS Insight.

"These announcements are designed to deepen its role in our daily lives.

"This raises the bar significantly for Apple and Google.".(BBC NEWS)

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English THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

We haven’t the money so we’ve got to think.LORD RUTHERFORD (1871-1937), Attr. in Prof. R.V. Jones, 1962 Brunel Lecture, 14 Feb., 1962 STUDY SUCCESS Dear Student, You need to try some relaxation techniques at this time. This one allows you to relax your head and neck. Make your head drop forward. Try not to pull it down. You should feel muscles at the back of your neck being stretched by the weight of your head. Repeat this for a short while, allowing your head to drop backward, then to the left and right. Be wise.

Love you.

SENTENCE CONSTRUCTION Looking over making sentences forceful Be in the habit to examine every sentence of every paper that you write for any subject or course. Have you used words economically? Does your structure exactly reflect your thought? Make a conscious effort to improve your work by applying the helps listed below. a) Use strong verbs and nouns in preference to weak verbs or nouns combined with adjectives or adverbs.

Weak: “You should never have let your little sister go,” Mother said angrily.

More Expressive: “You should never have let your little sister go,” Mother stormed b) Use vivid adjectives and adverbs where they add to the total impression that you wish

to give. You do not overuse these modifiers if you remember that verbs and nouns are the real heart of the sentence. Look: During the whole of a dull, dark, and soundless day in the autumn of the year, when the clouds hung oppressively low in the heavens, I had been passing alone, on horseback, through a singularly dreary tract of country, and at length found myself, as the shades of evening drew on, within view of the melancholy House of Usher. c) Begin sentences with picturesque, vigorous words that introduce the reader at once to the thought.

Whenever possible, avoid such weak beginnings as “There are . . .” “It is said . . .” “To tell the truth, . . .” “With regard to . . .” unless the thought particularly demands their use.

Weak: It is said that more than three-quarters of the Caribbean small-island people are living in substandard hurricane-proof houses.

Stronger: More than three-quarters of the Caribbean small-island people, according to reports, are living in substandard hurricane-proof houses. d) Whenever possible, use the active voice. It is in most cases more forceful than passive voice.

Weak: The petition was signed by every member of the small church.

Stronger: Every member of the small church signed the petition.

Use passive voice, however, in these cases: (1) To emphasise the action or its receiver rather than the doer My eyes were blind-sighted by the light.

A fortune has been wasted on sending her son to live in the United States.

(2) To avoid naming the doer of the act Several complaints have been made to the police.

(3) To eliminate the indefinite you as the subject Poor: You don’t see many brawny workmen here.

Better: Not many brawny workmen are seen here. e) Use the principle of suspense in the construction of your sentences; that is, make effective use of periodic sentences. Such sentences do not complete the essential thought until the very end. They are the opposite of the loose sentences, which give a statement and then add details. Periodic sentences should not be overused, but they add force to the writer’s style.

Loose: Langley walked slowly toward the ranch, looking up at the sky, speculating about the weather, and wondering what adventures the day would bring. (Notice that this sentence could end after each of the commas.)

Periodic: Johnson thought that since cornscrub cakes sales had gone down steadily for four years, he would find it necessary to prepare the staff for a fundamental reorganisation. (The main thought is not complete until the very end.) f) Use the principle of climax when you have a series of items in a sentence; that is, go from the least important to the most important.

Weak: We need your five-thousands, one-thousands, and coins.

Stronger: We need your coins, one-thousands, and five-thousands.

For a bit of laughter, you may sometimes use anticlimax: He has just bought a 19th century castle, a chalet bungalow, and a Charleston single.

Something to Do A. Increase the emphasis in the following sentences making them periodic. Read your study partner’s work for comparison.

1. We shall have to brave the storm if the weather condition continues to grow worse.

2. Let us press on to the goal, forgetting that things that lie behind, and looking forward to the prize.

3. Inspector Dixon decided to accept the promotion, after much thought.

B. Improve the arrangement of the series in the following sentences to secure the effect of climax. Exchange papers with your study partners.

1. Misfortunes seemed to come on the family all at once – the death of their son, their own failing health, and financial damage.

2. For the defeated candidate there remained nothing but humiliation, anguish, and lack.

3. The people of that little, devastated island deserve our help, our affection, and our interest.

Read for Relaxation Nebu had heard it early in the morning. The big drum that was his heart, pounding hugely, and the rapid beats of the smaller drums at his wrists and forehead. They enveloped him, deafened him; and he had the rushes of hot piping pain more frequently now.

He turned, and it turned with him. He sat up in the blankets and it rose with him, this close bedfellow. It was difficult to extend his legs, for the poison had drained heavily into them. His shoulders spoke to him, not strongly, but distinctly enough, that they were usefully with him; but the legs worried him.

Chronicle Pepperpot November 19, 2017

Bollywood news

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Bounty placed on Bollywood actress' head after Hindu-Muslim film outrage

A top Bollywood actress has been given a special police security detail amid ongoing protests over a historical drama.

Deepika Padukone has received violent threats over her lead role in the film Padmavati - the fable of a 14th century Hindu queen of Rajasthan, based on an epic medieval poem.

Cinemas have been vandalised in response, and riot police put on alert for its release on December 1.

Rightwing Hindu groups claim the film besmirches the name of Padmavati by insinuating she had a romance with a Muslim emperor while she was married to a Hindu king - a charge denied by the film's director.

Mahipal Singh Akrana, president of fringe group Shree Rajput Karni Sena, said: "Rajputs never raise a hand to women but if need be, we will do to Deepika what Lakshman did to Shurpanakha," referring to a story from the Ramayana Hindu legend in which a demon princess has her nose chopped off as punishment.

The director, Sanjay Leela Bhansali, has written to India's Central Board of Film Certification asking it to speed up the release and hold a pre-screening to clear up any confusion.

He also released a video saying there was no objectionable scene between Padmavati and Alauddin Khilji, the Sultan of Delhi.

The film has been beset with controversy since shooting began. Sets have been destroyed, Mr Bhansali was attacked in Japiur, and a group put a £600,000 bounty on the actress and director's heads.

The threats prompted Mumbai police to increase security for the director and Ms Padukone.

"We are providing her adequate security after the threat.

The police will provide security at her residence as well as her office", Joint Commissioner of Police Deven Bharti told the Press Trust of India.

Ms Padukone responded to the outcry, saying: "Where have we reached as a nation? We have regressed. The only people we are answerable to is the censor board, and I know and I believe that nothing can stop the release of this film."

Historians dispute exactly who Rani Padmavati was and when, if at all, she was alive. Some claim her story was told and retold by balladeers over centuries, amalgamating various tales from across the Indian subcontinent.

The short version is that she was a Sri Lankan princess whose beauty was akin to Helen of Troy, and that the Rajasthani King Ratan Sen set off to find and marry her after hearing about her from a talking parrot gifted to him, after which the Sultan of Delhi also heard of her beguiling looks and came to invade Rajasthan.

Many historians claim the character as known now is based primarily on the poet Malik Muhammad Jayasi’s work ‘Padmavat’, from 1540.(telegraph.co.uk)

Entertainment

Everything You Need to Know About the 2017 American Music Awards IS THERE A PRE-SHOW? You bet.

AJ Gibson, Marc Malkin, Laura Marano and Oliver Trevena will host the official preshow, “AMAs Red Carpet Live presented by Security Benefit.”

The two-hour pre-show will stream LIVE

Anything can happen at the American Music Awards — from the star-studded collaboration of “We Are The World” in 1986 to Garth Brooks literally rejecting the award for artist of the year in 1996 — and this year is no exception.

The 45th edition of the AMAs will broadcast live from the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles on Sunday, Nov. 19, at 8 p.m. ET on ABC. But before the show starts, you need a run-down of what to expect on the big night.

Here’s everything you need to know.

WHO’S HOSTING? The awards show will be a family affair, with Tracee Ellis Ross hosting and mom Diana Ross doing double duty as a performer and the recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award.

“She’s a bit of an international treasure in my opinion,” the black-ish star, 45, tells PEOPLE. “I’m excited that a younger generation gets to witness that, even just through the television screen. Also I think it’s a really extraordinary thing to honor somebody who’s had such an everlasting career, whose music has touched lives in such a poignant and special way. Music reaches into your heart, and my mom’s voice has been a part of people’s lives for a long time.”

Ross also plans to honor her mother, a 12time Grammy nominee, in a personal way.

“I love clothes,” says the actress. “I’m a style girl, so there will be a couple nods to my mother and her extraordinary fashion.”

WHO’S PERFORMING? The short answer: anyone who is anyone

in music right now.

Selena Gomez is set to return to the stage — marking her first performance since undergoing surgery for a kidney transplant.

The 25-year-old singer-songwriter will sing her brand new single “Wolves” at the awards show, where she took home the prize for favorite female artist, pop/rock in 2016. Might she bring along Justin Bieber, a constant fixture by her side as of late?

Pink and Kelly Clarkson are set to open the show together in a performance fans have been clamoring for for years.

Christina Aguilera, too, will perform at the upcoming ceremony to honor Whitney Houston with a commemorative tribute timed to the 25th anniversary of The Bodyguard‘s release on Nov. 25, 1992.

Lady Gaga, Shawn Mendes and Nick Jonas were all recently added to the lineup.

But aside from the stellar solo acts, superstar collaborations for the night include Alessia Cara and Zedd, who will perform their Billboard Hot 100 smash single “Stay,” marking their first performance ever at the AMAs, as well as Hailee Steinfeld and Alesso featuring Florida Georgia Line and watt, who will team up to perform their hit, “Let Me Go.” Previously announced performers include BTS, Niall Horan, Imagine Dragons & Khalid and Demi Lovato.

WHAT ABOUT THE NOMINEES? Bruno Mars leads the pack this year with eight total nominations. Sharing second place, Drake and Ed Sheeran both scored five nods. Rihanna, Lady Gaga, and The Chainsmokers are also among this year’s nominees.

from Microsoft Theater on Sunday, starting at 6 p.m. ET/3 p.m. PT. The pre-show will be available to logged-in and logged-out audiences globally on Twitter and connected devices, and can be found at live.twitter.com/ amas or via @AMAs. E! will also air their traditional E! Live from the Red Carpet show from 6-8 p.m.

ET.

Homemade Macaroni and Cheese INGREDIENTS: 12 oz Macaroni 1 oz Butter/Margarine 1 oz Flour 1/2 pt Milk 2 oz Grated Cheddar Cheese A pinch of salt 1 tsp Mustard 1/4 Cup Bread Crumbs Method of Preparation: Cook macaroni in boiling salted water until soft, then strain. Note – If using long macaroni, break into small pieces before cooking.

Now make Sauce: Melt butter in heated pot, add flour, and whisk until smooth, then add milk and whisk again on medium heat until sauce thickens. After achieving the right texture, turn off heat to avoid sauce getting too thick.

Add the macaroni and two-thirds of the cheese, salt, white pepper or black pepper to taste, and mustard to the sauce.

Mix well and pour into a greased dish of your choice.

Now sprinkle over the bread crumbs and the remainder of the cheese.

Lastly, place into a moderately hot oven at 375 degrees Fahrenheit and leave to brown for about 5 to 10 minutes.

This easy Macaroni and Cheese recipe serves about 4 to 5 depending on serving size.