Oluatoyin Alleyne

“I just want to see my children. I miss them so much and it is almost two months since I have not seen them.

As a young doctor in internal medicine Kamela Bemaul-Sukhu was troubled by the many patients with blood disorders who at times lay in hospital beds for long periods with no real help given to them; this drove her to become specialised and today she is the only hematologist in the country.

It was a struggle for Michelle Kenyon to leave the only home she knew in the Rupununi to attend secondary school in Georgetown and she recalls how shocked she was at everything she saw.

“I wouldn’t wish this on my worst enemy. Even if I don’t like somebody I wouldn’t want them to go through this pain I feeling.

Twenty-two-year-old Kim Spencer has a love for birds and she wants to ensure that they are protected in their natural habitat.

“For me I don’t think school should reopen because it is not safe with COVID-19.

Dr Terrence Isaacs is currently completing his residency in the United Kingdom to become a consultant in medical psycho-therapy.

“Sometimes I wonder how a mother could do that to her own child.

“I really thought I was going for better, you know. It was like I was stifling here because I was not working and it was like I was going around in circles, nothing happening.

One sexual encounter led to 17-year-old Immaculata Casimero becoming pregnant for someone she had no real relationship with and this experience is one of the driving forces behind her work today in the indigenous community promoting women’s empowerment and women’s rights.

Losing her mom at a tender age and relocating shortly after to a new country have helped Dr Tricia Van Rossum to understand how affected children are by events of their childhood, which may be why she now works with children suffering from mental health issues.

“Growing up my father was my rock. I looked up to him and it was like he could do no wrong.

For months in 2016, mother of three Sharron Ally knew that all was not well with her physically, but even as she sought treatment she persevered with working and providing for her family until a shocking diagnosis literally stopped her in her tracks and today she wishes she had been more alert and concerned about her health.

Tiffeney Ageda is a woman who is living in constant fear as she said an ex-boyfriend has been stalking and harassing her even as he manipulates the system to make it appear that he is the victim.

When a young Carla Cassiano agreed to be part of a refraction technique training, she was unsure what it entailed but looking back years later she believes that it was the best decision she has made as not only is she now a qualified optometrist but she has been able to use her skills to make eye care more accessible in hinterland regions.

“A lot of us don’t like to talk about it but we are at times not happy to become old.

She sits on the pavement in front of a popular downtown Georgetown mall, her hands working feverishly as she crochets.

Jackie ‘Jaxx’ Hanover is well known for her music and more recently her Jaxx Apparel clothing line.

When Minister of Human Services and Social Security Dr Vindhya Persaud recently expressed gratitude to foster parents who have “opened their hearts and homes to children” in need of family-based care, she was referring to women like Melrose George, who has been fostering children for the past eight years.

Two young nurses working at a regional hospital saw abused women turning up to be treated daily and apart from helping to treat them they also wanted to understand the cause and effect of such violence.