Monthly Archives: February 2012

Guyana Cycling Association North American – Reunion and Fund Raiser

Guyana Cycling Association North American - Reunion and Fund Raiser

— Post #1152

 

Still going at 100 years – Johanna Alexandra Duncan

Still going at 100 years

Centurian. Johanna Alexandra Duncan celebrated her 100th birthday with friends and family at St. Thomas A Becket Anglican Church on Sunday. She is seen here with her four surviving children, from left, Hector, Gloria (Dolly), Pauline (Wendy) and Lynette. Staff photo by Rob Beintema

Not many people can live to be 100 years old. On January 26, Johanna Duncan of Mississauga became one of those fortunate few.
Duncan was joined by her four children, countless grand children, great-grandchildren and even a great-great-grandchild among several others at St. Thomas A Becket Anglican Church in Erin Mills, a church the family normally attends, to celebrate the occasion.
Duncan, a teacher for nearly 30 years in her native Guyana, was best described as loving, kind and helpful by her daughter, Pauline Williams.
“She’s always had a positive outlook on life,” Williams said when asked what has led to her mother’s longevity.
“She’s had a very good life and it’s always been her nature (to be loving, kind and helpful).” Continue reading

First black female fighter pilot follows childhood dream

First black female fighter pilot follows childhood dream

Both of her parents are Guyanese

by Tech. Sgt. Benjamin Rojek – Defense Media Activity

2/23/2012 – FORT GEORGE G. MEADE, Md. (AFNS) — By the time she was in fourth grade, young Shawna Rochelle Kimbrell knew she wanted to be a fighter pilot.

What the now-Air Force major didn’t know, however, was that she would knock down a racial barrier by becoming the first black female in the career field.

Kimbrell was born in Lafayette, Ind., on April 20, 1976, to Guyanese parents. Her mother and father, who were naturalized U.S. citizens by the time she was born, moved to the U.S. for education and opportunities. Their hard work and dedication paid off in her father earning a degree from Howard University and a doctorate from Perdue University, which in turn earned him a job offer in Parker, Colo.

That focus on education was a big part of life for Kimbrell and her three older siblings as they spent their school years in Parker.

“(Education) was the thing that opened doors,” Kimbrell said. “If you got your education, you could do whatever you wanted to do. That was how our house was run.”

On top of that family modus operandi, Kimbrell had a goal-driven personality from an early age. While in kindergarten, for example, she decided she wanted to be an astronaut, so she wrote a letter to NASA asking how she could join the program. But as she got older and did more research into joining the astronaut corps, she realized the career wasn’t as exciting as she wanted it to be. Continue reading

Barbadian Migration to British Guiana,1840-1960 – by Frederick Alleyne

UWI Cave Hill, Barbados – HISTORY FORUM

 on Friday, March 2nd at 4:30 pm

in the New Bruce St. John Room  [located in the Humanities Quadrangle]

 Mr. Frederick Alleyne  will present a paper entitled:

“Barbadian Migration to British Guiana,1840-1960: The Search for ‘El Dorado'”

Introduction

Guyanese migration to Barbados and other Caribbean territories in the 20th century is now the subject of much debate but the reverse was the case in colonial times when British Guiana was the destination of thousands of Barbadian and West Indian workers. The debate on migration during the 19th century on the issues of national economic development of the countries that sent the migrant and those that received them are not that different from the present discussion. In a recent speech to the local Chamber of Commerce Hon Mia Amor Mottley, M.P former Leader of the Opposition, Barbados Labour Party, stressed the potential of Central And South America to the economic development of Barbados and the Caribbean.  [More -Please see the paper attached]

Full text of the paper: Frederick Alleyne’s Paper

— Post #1049

Oxymoronically speaking – Commentary by Freddie Kissoon

Oxymoronically speaking – Commentary by Freddie Kissoon

FEBRUARY 28, 2012 | BY KNEWS |FREDDIE KISSOON 

The people that form the leadership of the Government of Guyana do not deserve to hold the high offices that they do. Their level of thinking brings disrespect and ridicule from society. There are times when the main actors in the PPP Government should shut their mouths and just stay quiet whenever the press or the opposition stumbles upon a depraved policy.
It is downright stupid the way the Guyana Government reacted to the description of its pact with Ansa McAl as a secret. Is there such a thing as a public secret? I guess oxymoronically speaking. How can a document be public when no one knows about it and it has not been released for public scrutiny?
But this is what the Guyana Government has told the nation. It boggles the mind to know that Guyana has these people who are in charge of the administration of the nation’s affairs.
The Guyanese people did not know that their government had entered into an agreement with Ansa McAl to release 110,000 hectares of prime, untouched land in Canje, Berbice for ethanol production. We learnt of this from a Trinidad newspaper. Continue reading

The Kaieteur Legend – by Errol Ross Brewster

The Kaieteur Legend – by Errol Ross Brewster

Kaieteur is a 2 min documentary about the legend of sacrifice by the leader of the Patamona, at Kaieteur – the highest single drop waterfall in the world, and the potential threat from the extractive gold and diamond mining industry which has caused environmental damage in the Mazaruni of Guyana, South America.

Please click the YouTube logo on the picture below as it has to be viewed on YouTube:

— Post #1146

Mashramani 2012 Guyana – pictures

Here are lots of pictures of the Mashramani 2012 parade

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                Float from the Digicel band that won first prize in the parade competition

Pictures are from the Amanda Richards collection on Flickr.com at this link:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/arichards-gallery/6778273676/in/photostream/

— Post #1145

Creating glamor in Nigeria’s ghettos

Creating glamor in Nigeria’s ghettos

STORY HIGHLIGHTS
  • Italian designer Caterina Bortolussi has started an ethical fashion label in Nigeria
  • Bortolussi has trained and hired girls from the region to become models and brand ambassadors
  • Next year she hopes to inspire more locals and teach tailoring skills

(CNN) — In the ghettos of the Niger Delta, one woman is on a mission to bring glamor to the region while at the same time educating and inspiring promising young talent from the area.

Caterina Bortolussi has always been interested in fashion. But what started as the dream of a young girl from a small town outside of Venice, Italy, has become a reality years later in the ghettos of Port Harcourt in the south of Nigeria.

In December 2010, Bortolussi started her fashion label Kinabuti. With designs inspired by Nigeria, reflecting the vibrant colors and traditions of Africa, Bortolussi decided on an ethical twist to her organization. She wanted to use fashion as an instrument for change in the region.  [more]

— Post #1144

Ah We Ting – Mashramani – by Errol Ross Brewster

Ah We Ting – Mashramani

Ah We Ting is a short feature looking back over time at the celebrations of Mashramani – a Guyanese festival brought into being by the political directorate at the time of the establishment of Republican status to nurture and develop the fusing of the diverse cultural strains of the people. The name is taken from the Lokono word Mashramehi which means celebration after successful cooperative work, something which continues to elude the nation as a whole but which hardly, if at all, dampens the festivities. (Errol Ross Brewster).

— Post #1143

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