As she gets set to exit office, Santa Rosa Toshao Whanita Phillips is closing another chapter in a working life that to date has been mainly voluntary.
“I never worked at a paid full-time job, but I am satisfied that in spite of opposition I have contributed to the welfare of the people and the development of the community where I was born,” Phillips told Stabroek Weekend in a recent telephone interview.
The third female to hold the office of Toshao of the largest Indigenous Peoples village in Guyana, Phillips began her life of voluntary service in the early 80s following a national Mashramani costume pageant she took part in as a representative of Region One (Barima-Waini).