Oluatoyin Alleyne

Growing up she had the same dreams as many young girls: get an education, get a career, meet her knight in shining armour and start an ideal family.

Lesbian teen Michelle (not her real name) says all she wants is to be allowed to live her life free of hate and discrimination and not be constantly labelled as “mentally unstable.”

Human rights activism might be the more politically correct term to describe Joel Simpson’s fight against injustices across society and in his heart that is what he does, but to be called a gay rights activist helps him to shine a light on one of the most marginalized and at times even self-loathed group in our country.

For years, Wintress White was a victim of domestic violence. But even though her husband beat her at his every whim and fancy and she would leave him on her own or when he chased her she kept returning as she puts it “for love.”

Four days after the horrific deaths of her two young sons 37-year-old Sonia George is still in a state of shock and while she agrees that her living conditions were not ideal to raise her five children, she questions how her young sons could die under the care of an agency that was supposed to protect them.

Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago Dr Keith Rowley yesterday warned against overplaying small immigration issues and added that Caricom heads had agreed that in the area of free movement of nationals, the issue of security should remain with the receiving country.

Ron (not his real name) was just 14 when he was sent to the New Opportunity Corps (NOC) for committing the ‘offence’ of wandering and while he still has some residual anger, he believes that the institution saved him.

Alarmed at the large number of applications it was receiving for licences to operate liquor restaurants, the Board of Central Housing and Planning Authority (CHPA) reached out to the Ministry of Social Protection in a bid to tackle the issue of alcohol consumption and alcoholism because of the adverse effect these have on the country’s social fabric, but received what some have described as a shocking response from Minister Volda Lawrence.

At 17 years old, Michael (not his real name) is very optimistic about his future and he has vowed to make himself an honest man and to be a real father to any children he might ever have, even though all of the odds seem to be stacked against him.

Kean Chase has dedicated all of her adult life to fighting for the rights of children, especially those who are abused in horrific ways.

A single mother is accusing officers of the Child Care and Protection Agency (CCPA) of being involved in a scheme to take away her 10-year-old daughter and put her in the care of her paternal grandmother by alleging the child was pregnant; she is calling for action to be taken against the officers.

They all did it for various reasons but the women in the Guyana Fire Service over the years came together in their agendas: to serve people and to provide support where needed.

An 18-year-old mother of one is desperately trying to have her young son returned to her care, almost a year after he was taken to the United States following an adoption process which she now claims was flawed and skewed in the favour of the adopted parents.

Amidst controversy, the Ogle International Airport was last evening renamed the Eugene F Correia International Airport and Public Infrastructure Minister David Patterson revealed that the concerns raised by those opposed to the renaming are among issues to be addressed by a review of the airport’s operations being undertaken by an independent legal firm.

As the acting principal of the Government Technical Institute (GTI) Renita Crandon-Duncan faces two major challenges: she is young and she is a woman.

The conduct of some members of the National Assembly was on Wednesday called into question by Speaker Barton Scotland even as opposition MP Juan Edghill was sent to the Privileges Committee for a statement he made last year and Minister of Natural Resources Raphael Trotman and Opposition Chief Whip Gail Teixeira called for each other to be sent to the said committee.

Kishaunna King was a high-school dropout with no sense of direction.

– mom was shot dead years ago in DV incident Diagnosed with bone cancer several months ago which later resulted in her left arm being amputated, 13-year-old Shakiva Clements has faced more hardship than many adults yet she has learned to be grateful for each day and says she would not give up on life.

Photos by Keno George   President David Granger yesterday vowed that Guyana’s National Awards would once again be conferred every year as part of the country’s obligation to deserving citizens.

Regional Executive Offi-cer (REO) of Region Six Dr Veerasammy Ramayya continues to defend his appointment, saying he is no “party hack” and will work for the betterment of the people of Berbice.