Oluatoyin Alleyne

With some shoppers noticing that their vegetables have been much more perishable than usual, Chief Executive Officer of the National Agricultural Research and Extension Institute (NAREI) Dr Oudho Homenauth says it could be as a result of farmers using too much nitrogen fertiliser.

“I am a businesswoman and I don’t want my business to go down but sometimes it really gets hard because everything comes in one time and even though you explain to people they still asking you to try and me with me good heart I can’t say no.

Guyana’s First Lady Sandra Granger believes that “rights are rights” and in order to build a cohesive society we must respect and value each other regardless of race, creed or sexual orientation, even as she suggested that at the level of Caricom, a model legislation be drafted and adopted by all countries to ensure that member states conform to the many international conventions they have signed.

“When I hear the verdict, not guilty, it sent me in a rage.

Five days a week, 50-year-old Patsy (not her real name) goes to work and toils for six hours, sometimes more, and at the end of the month she takes home $35,000 which is not sufficient to sustain her and her minor son.

Jump into 37-year-old Haun French’s car and immediately you recognise that he is a taxi driver with a difference.

“I am now waking up from the shock. You know, initially, I was in shock but now reality is stepping in and I am feeling emotional.

Ron Pilgrim’s day job starts around 9 am and ends at 3 pm, giving him three hours before he has to get to his night job which commences at 6 pm; in those three hours, he has to ensure that his children are fed and prepared for bed.

Now aged 14, Sasha Bharrat will finally have the opportunity to attend school as she is receiving treatment for a skin condition, which for years barred her from attended classes; the young teenager says she is anxiously awaiting that opportunity as she hungers to learn.

“I was just 15 when me mommy tell me she sending me for a better life.

  It would be safe to say that football means the world to 47-year-old N-Zinga Maxwell; she dedicates her time and energy seven days a week to the game, often free of charge.

  “You think I am happy?” she asks, her panting signalling that her baby is getting more difficult to carry by the minute.

As she stood on the public byway and shared condoms to passersby, Juanita Burrowes was in earshot of a ‘cuss out’ between two neighbours and shockingly heard one accuse the other of allowing her partner to sexually abuse her young son.

“Only the pillow can tell how many tears I shed. It has not been easy you know but I would not give up and even though they pay late and the money is small I bless God for it.

“What you buying girlie? A gat celery, sweet peppa, bora all wah you want, a gat hay today.

It was a chance temporary employment opportunity that led to Anije Lambert taking the bull by the horns and using her small savings to start a company that now provides employment for many young people.

“The pain never goes away,” she said passionately, gesticulating as she spoke.

She has received death threats, tracked gang violence, been in the trenches covering wars, travelled extensively, at times being forced to leave her young sons behind to get the story and she has lived the busy life for over 30 years.

Faced with many challenges because of their disability a newlywed couple believe that their union can be an inspiration to many who forced to operate in a world that is often cruel to persons who are disabled.

She was involuntarily returned to Guyana more than 14 years ago, but the 50-year-old mother of four still cannot find a steady job and finds it “frustrating just to survive.”