Oluatoyin Alleyne

“It really hurts and sometimes I am drained and overwhelmed because I am tired of the accusations.

As a primary health care giver Dr Ashonda Washington has had first-hand experiences of  women and girls who are unaware of what the menstrual cycle really is about and how they are sometimes shamed because of the myths surrounding it.

“Better to raise your child alone than to go through Guyana’s court system,” said a mother who has been attempting for months to hold the father of her son accountable by having him pay the court mandated sum for child maintenance.

“It has not been easy but I love children and so it makes it easier for me.

Dr Pauline Baird is a professor and author who wants to keep Guyanese creole alive and chief among her attributes is her storytelling skill, which she learned from her deceased mother, who was a consummate storyteller.

Some months ago, I turned a year older. Like with many women, I realised that, well, ‘a getting a lil old’ and with that myriad thoughts, chief among them the fear of what the future holds.

As a child Deondra Wishart walked miles to school because her single mom had no money to give her for transportation; there were days when she went without food and it was during those difficult times that she resolved in her mind that education was the way out.

“For two months I wasn’t seeing my health and I was thinking, ‘Lord, I hope I am not pregnant’, because I cannot deal with that right now.

Nine years ago when Amani Mohamed entered this world she was a bouncing baby girl who was developing as per norm.

Come January, it will be six years since the Women’s Chronicles column became a reality and to be honest I was not sure it would have made it this far.

The events related here took place in a relatively quiet East Coast Demerara village and were told to me by a sister.

When Michelle Cumberbatch was a child, her Regent Street neighbour ‘Aunty Ethel’ discussed her marital issues with her and, she recalled, she was always ready to listen.

Today Christmas is 63 days away. Yes you read right. I promised last year that this year the ‘hustle and bustle’ will not get me this year and I want to help my sisters too.

Francine Leitch was 20 years old and had just entered her second year of study at the University of Guyana when she was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer.

As Guyana and the rest of the world observed World Mental Health Day on October 10, a locally registered clinical psychologist was beginning to see results from two initiatives she had taken in an effort to normalise mental wellness and seeking assistance for one’s mental health.

From time to time we hear the saying ‘women can be our own worst enemy’; meaning that often the most hurtful situation for a woman is created by another woman.

Twenty-three-year-old Jared McPhoy always knew he wanted to become a teacher.

“I had just given up and figure that was my lot in life.

“My name is Mandesa Williams and I am HIV positive.” It took ten years for 30-year-old Mandesa Williams to say those words publicly and now that she has revealed her status to the world, the mother of two is on a mission to make the journey of HIV+ Guyanese one where they do not have to live in perpetual fear of being outed.

As Guyana joins the rest of the world to observe Breast Cancer Awareness Month (observed annually in October) one survivor is calling for more family support for cancer patients because for her the illness has not had as much of an impact as a lack of support did.