Oluatoyin Alleyne

“The worst thing about this job is not the little bit of money we work for or even the long hours, it is how people treat us.

“I was almost ready to get baby and we had not marry for a very long time when I found out he was cheating, and this thing got me so sick that I end up in hospital.

Guyana yesterday opened its first Drug Treatment Court (DTC), which acting Chancellor Yonette Cummings-Edwards said could serve as a vehicle to lead persons who are grappling with substance abuse disorders away from the prisons to a place of recovery, rehabilitation and reintegration into society.

It was a normal Sunday for Michael Edghillo 12 years ago and he went to work just as he had done for some 31 years as a maintenance engineer for the power company.

“One day I just get so tired and so frustrated I just throw all me things away, because like I didn’t able no more with this life.

Donna Lam always loved animals, so it was not strange for her to take strays home and when her family said no more, she badgered other people to foster them.

“Good morning, Sir. How can I help you this morning?” asked the chirpy young woman behind the counter.

When Andrea Tucker was diagnosed with breast cancer, she was scared.

“How you could go to a Pandit? We are not Hindus, we are Christians,” she said with a hint of anger.

She sat by herself at the Lusignan Health Centre, her heavily pregnant stomach at odds with her frail-looking body.

“I never wanted to be a grandmother at this age. I still see my child as a baby and now for her to go and have a baby?

In 2013, as a young entrepreneur, Abigail Loncke started her business which unfortunately flopped.

As the chief counsellor of the Salvation Army Drug Rehabilitation Centre John Greaves saw firsthand the havoc drug addiction wrought on people’s lives and even as he fought to save them, he was inspired to do more to prevent men and women becoming addicts.

“The first time I thought of it I was scared. I could not believe that something like that would enter my mind.

“Excuse me, I am crossing over because by the time I walk around I may lose the seat and I really need the seat,” she said as she lightly held onto my shoulders before quickly grabbing the seat next to me.

Like many before her, Nicola Shultz felt she had received a death sentence when she was diagnosed with cancer of the thyroid but with great family support over the years this survivor is now part of a strong support group for those who are struggling with their diagnosis.

Since she was a child, Shari Rodrigues was always drawn to animals, especially dogs and cats, and so today it is no surprise that she has not only opened her home to some and’responded to those in distress on the streets, but with the help of others, also opened a foster home.

Kerese Collins was young and still unmarried when older women in her church sought her advice on marital issues, which she freely gave based mostly on her observations.

“I don’t know if I am being too hard on her but even though I know she may not be around much longer like I just wish she would just say I am sorry.

In June 2010, 25-year-old Mary Sandy was leaving the Providence Primary, where she had taken her young son to school, when she was struck and killed by a car while attempting to cross the road.