Oluatoyin Alleyne

“If I could turn back the hands of time, I would not be married to the same man.

At 28 Esther Samuels is a self-made hair stylist and fashion designer and she is not shy of revealing that she has no formal training in these two areas, as, according to her, they are in her DNA and her hair salon, her only source of income, has been flourishing over the years.

For Verna Walcott-White being part of the inaugural Carifesta in 1972 and two subsequent Carifestas in Cuba and Barbados has helped to shape the journey her life has taken, which involved her opening a dance school in the US and being a dance instructor at several schools.

“For me that is the worst job ever. I had to do it because I need money but if I had another choice that would never be for me.

At 91, Doris Harper-Wills is still basking in the afterglow of Carifesta 72, the first ever such festival to be held in the Caribbean.

“It really break my heart to see how he cry and if it was not for pride I would have break down tuh and cry.

Social media can be both helpful and dangerous and its dangers are well known.

If unconventional was a person it would have to be Sadie Amin, a woman who wears the hats of human rights advocate, sexual and reproductive health advocate, environmental advocate, cancer survivor and politician.

“But mommy, I don’t like this bag. You say you would buy the other  one,” an obviously distressed primary school girl said to her mother on the jampacked Regent Street pavement.

Having gone through what she has described as “a number of heartbreaks”, including acting in the best interests of her daughters and separating from them while they were young, and being in an abusive relationship, life coach Annalisa Bahadur believes she is in a position to help people heal from the many heartbreaks they may have had to face and in doing so she strategically focuses on men.

Almost a year ago Davindra Sukhu moved from being a healthy working father of two when he was diagnosed with COVID-19 as well as Guillain-Barre Syndrome (GBS) which resulted in him becoming paralysed and only able to move his fingers.

“I love my mother. But then I could say I dislike my mother.

Whether it was a ‘sweetie’ stand in front of their home or selling leather belts to tourists, Tiffany Johnson’s parents were always into some form of business so much so that when their young teenage daughter moved to the US she followed in their footsteps and made money from shoveling snow.

Today I digress again from the usual format of this column to write about a beauty queen in the Cayman Islands.

Rosemary Kilkenny believes that the work she has been doing at her alma mater – Georgetown University in Washington DC, USA, where she is the first Black woman to have been elevated to a leadership role – on ensuring that there is inclusivity the university’s faculty and staff is impactful and that success is due to the “significant grounding” she had in Guyana as a child.

In this week’s column I am going to digress from the usual format of chronicling the life experiences of women to address a swirling issue that has exploded in the virtual world, but does not seem to have taken root in the physical realm where actual damage has been done.

Having spent all of her working life in the public service, the ever resilient Ann Greene recently stepped away from  a profession that she said chose her.

“I really did think that when I get this new job things would get so much better.

Holly-Anne Maksyhung, always one for adventures, had just moved to a new country and a new job when her mobility suddenly became difficult.

“It is like something was wrong with he in he head.