Oluatoyin Alleyne

“It is very hard because it is my daughter and I just want her with me.

Having a conversation with Eric Huntley, who is just a month shy of his 90th birth anniversary, is like talking to a virtual history book.

“We lef home since 5.30 this morning and we reach just after 6 and you know what time we get through?

“If you hear how these dentists talk to the mother and the child, it was just lef for me to cry and I could imagine how that woman feel.

There is no doubt that sexual harassment is prevalent in workplaces but because it is not taken seriously by many organisations, the victims are often re-victimised and they suffer in silence.

Growing up, Petra Richmond dealt with her challenges and pain silently and in her attempt to keep it all in, she self-harmed and wanted to end her life.

“Let me tell you something, it is 14 years now I living with HIV and right now I don’t allow it to bother me because I have to live my life.

To some, Weusi and Vilma Tafawa, who hail from Buxton and Bachelor’s Adventure, respectively, might appear to be thrill seekers, but the couple, both aged 70, did not decide overnight to climb Africa’s tallest mountain.

“At one time, he didn’t want to go back to school and it was hard to get him to go.

Retired in the United States, Gem Fraser has returned to her homeland after 38 years and she wants to offer Guyanese something different when it comes to designer clothing, jewellry, fabric bags, and scarves.

“It changed my life forever, because of what he did to me.

“When I get back the results and I tell me mother, right away she give me a bowl, a cup and a spoon and tell me to keep it and I must use that all de time and nobody else must use it.

The sudden death of her husband pushed new mother Yonelle Drakes to cope with the grief by immersing herself in the art of baking.

“People look at you and they believe that life is just perfect that you don’t have no worries.

At 29, Renee Reynolds is not where she wants to be, but she is satisfied that she has accomplished part of her goal and is an architect.

“I just need answers, I need closure. My son is dead, and we don’t know what happened,” 72-year-old Martha Persaud said.

A true stalwart of human rights died on May 31. Her name was simply Andaiye.

More needs to be done to ensure that young people fully understand sexual and reproductive health, according to Executive Director of the Guyana Responsible Parenthood Association (GRPA) Renata Chuck-A-Sang who also said that the country’s young need to be challenged more, educated more and provided with more options as there is more to life than what they are exposed to.

At 34 years old Michelle (not her real name) is a broken woman and she believes that the ‘system’ which should have helped her has failed her miserably.

For four years, First Lady Sandra Granger has been quietly working with Guyana’s youth, especially those who are vulnerable.