Needing to return to work to take care of her two children after her marriage failed, Vanda Allicock chose the worlds of fashion and massage therapy to not only earn an income and maintain a sense of independence but also to highlight the cultural traditions and beauty in nature so integral to the Indigenous way of life.
“I wanted to do something. I didn’t want to leave the children alone at home. I didn’t know what I was going to do. How am I going to get money? Where am I supposed to go? How am I going to mind these children? These things were in my head,” Allicock said.
In an interview, Allicock, who was born in the village of Surama in North Rupununi, told Stabroek Weekend she knew she did not want a nine-to-five job because she wanted to be “there” for her children. She had worked as a teacher at Fairview Primary for a year and a half, just after leaving high school, and then as a research assistant at Iwokrama International Centre for Rainforest Conservation and Development in Region Eight- Potaro/Siparuni.