Candace Phillips

The freshness of the air suggests that clouds may soon unleash some rain.

In Mon Repos, at the junction where Agriculture Road meets the Railway Embankment, behind a makeshift stall with cherries and a few cashews, sits Kowsilla Takechand.

After difficulties with farming made it unprofitable, Bharrat (only name given) and his friend Desmond Sookram decided to become crab vendors in order to make a living.

A mixture of ethnic groups call Patentia their home, and residents say their community is harmonious, and they participate in each other’s religious observances.

At a stall in Bourda Market, a well-dressed man with head bowed stands at a grinding stone, passing a knife’s blade over it. 

On Friday, the Government of Guyana and the UNDP together with the executing agency, the Board of Industrial Training, launched the East Bank Demerara training programmes which will give 101 youths from the area a chance to learn a skill.

For some people, living away from the capital may present a challenge but for the residents of Kuru Kururu, they are satisfied with life in their community and regard it as “a peaceful place to live where everyone gets along with one another.”

Despite its name, the Night Shelter is a 24-hour refuge for those without any place to go, offering a roof over their heads, meals and other facilities not likely to be had on the harsh streets.

Margaret Williams is no ordinary mother. While some mothers may have found raising five hearing-impaired sons a challenge, she was determined to overcome it and do everything in her power to ensure that they received their education.

Concerned parents have threatened to “close down” the Ann’s Grove Secondary School next week if immediate action is not taken by the relevant authorities to address the state of the school which they say is unfit for their children.

Dorothy Faria dances. She then instructs interested hopefuls to replicate what they would have seen.

Breast cancer survivor Dorothy Faria feels she has been given a second chance and lives each day in pursuit of her passion while being thankful to God for sparing her life.

While being cognisant of the loss of the Arawak culture, Basil Rodrigues believes that if interventions are made, the spiral can be stymied so that this culture can be passed on to youths.

Recognising that there has been a loss of various forms of Amerindian culture in their community, the Suruma Makushi Culture Band aspires to use its cultural performances as a means of reigniting interest and involvement in this dying way of life.

A vision by a United States-based social worker in 2001 to improve literacy in Yupukari, Region Nine, has resulted in the building of four libraries, greater interest in reading and some improvements in examination results.

While art for some may be just a painting, for emerging artist Anil Roberts it is the medium through which deeper meaning and appreciation for his indigenous culture can be transmitted.