Guyana Chronicle Pepperpot E-Paper 26-11-2023

Age is just a number

CHRONICLE PEPPERPOT ― Sunday, November 26, 2023

72-year-old defies odds as oldest student to graduate UG this year

(Courtesy of Pamela Maison)

Sunday, November 26, 2023

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CHRONICLE PEPPERPOT ― Sunday, November 26, 2023

Guyana-born Canadian entrepreneur conferred with Honorary Doctorate

PRESIDENT and owner of Atlas Cargo, Canadi-

an Customs Brokers Inc., and Central Global Cargo

North America, Kanhai Ken Singh, who rose from

humble beginnings to a position of prominence in

Kanhai Singh (left) with University of Guyana Vice-Chancellor, Dr Paloma Mohamed and Chancellor, Professor John Edward Greene.

sidered to be “of the highest calibre of human and an exemplar in the field of international business and innovation” according to an invitation from the Office of Vice-Chancellor.

In delivering the citation on Singh, Al Creighton of the Faculty of Education and Humanities noted that, “We are in the presence of a gentleman of talent, honour and nobility, who is frightfully successful in international business but retains a gentle humility tutored by the circumscribed conditions of his growing up in rural British Guiana. A well-trained learned professional who places a very high value on education,

experience.

“Don’t follow the path necessarily, for if you have to plough the fields of the forest to make it to where you want, this is your first grand step. This is not about me; it is about my experience to share it with you so that you don’t have to go and create the wheel all over again. Use the wheel. Take this as your first towards success,” he said.

Singh told the more than 3,500 graduates, “Don’t worry about people telling you that money is a bad thing. Work and make money everywhere you go.

Be the best at what you’re doing. Do not take on the whole world. Look at the area that you want to specialise in; for me, it’s transportation and I can assure you I can answer most of the questions and solve most of

Kanhai Singh (fourth from left) poses with family members. From left are Singh’s spouse, Jessie, daughter-in-law, Dr Sherry Carlton Singh, son Dr Carlton Singh, relative Lloyd Singh and sister Savi Maraj of Seepersaud Maraj Jewellers.

Canadian society, was last week conferred with the Honorary Doctorate by the University of Guyana.

The honour was bestowed on Singh, who the University of Guyana con-

and who is universalist with the experience of working around the globe.”

In his address, Singh reminded the graduates that the occasion is not about him but rather another learning

them in that area.”

To share his outstanding scholastic prowess, Singh is a guest speaker across Canada and internationally on SEE PAGE III

Standing out

CHRONICLE PEPPERPOT ― Sunday, November 26, 2023

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Local designer talks about the importance of being unique in his craft and in his life

By Shaniya Harding AT the age of 13, Avinash Narine began sewing dresses for his sister’s dolls. Today, he is a well-known fashion designer and fashion influencer in Guyana. Avinash has always wanted to be in the spotlight for as long as he can remember. He has always wanted to stand out and be unique. And so far, he has. Under his brand, Burning Desires Designs, Avinash has made countless pieces for people everywhere and has earned his place on the local fashion scene.

Avinash, or “Nash” as he more commonly known, came from humble beginnings. The fashion expert he is today is in stark contrast to the young man growing up under difficult situations in Berbice. His family was not in the best financial position in his youth. Although challenging, it has taught Avinash much about hard work, dedication and dealing with disappointments. Sewing was also among the lessons Avinash learned from his family. Both his mother and grandmother were seamstresses, and they taught him the skills he takes to the runway today.

Over the years, Avinash’s passion for fashion has continued to burn brightly, regardless of the challenges in the field.

The driving force behind his dedication to fashion was the impact it could have on someone’s confidence. “You don’t have to be a millionaire to look like a million bucks. Fashion changes your whole personality. We have a long way to go. In the fashion industry in Guyana, in order for you to get somewhere, you have to know somebody. We are getting there slowly but surely. I have seen some of our designers move to the international stage, and I am really proud, because up until a couple of years ago, we were not being recognised. It is something that brings joy to me because I know that once some of us are moving the rest of us will follow,” he explained.

Avinash values individuality in both his personal life as well as in his work. This is perhaps why most of his pieces are one of a kind, but that requires a special skillset. Cutting each piece of fabric to measurement is Avinash’s most time-consuming aspect of fashion. He stated that, “Cutting takes up my time, but sewing is done very quickly. Take a simple cocktail dress, for instance, once I cut it, I can sew 15 in a day. I know what I am about. I do not do bulk things. Each and every customer has a different size. So, I have to measure this and measure that; I am doing small, medium and large. Every piece is individual and that means a lot to me.”

Avinash admitted that in the early stages of his career, he struggled with a few things. But with some bravery, hard work and wise words from his ill mother, he kept pushing forward.

“I have been in fashion for about one, six or 17 years now and certain things that I did not know how to do, I have now mastered it [sic]. Cutting was one thing that when I started, I did not know how to do. Every weekend, I would go to my

mother, and she would show me how to cut. My mother was undergoing surgery and she said to me, ‘I will not always be here and you need to learn to cut.’ And I went home that very night. I went home and learned to cut on newspaper.

And today, I mastered it,” Avinash attested.

It is not just his work that stands out, but Avinash himself. Several years ago, Avinash came out to his family and friends as gay. Although he faced a backlash, it has not stopped him in his career.

And he has even become a pioneer for other persons in the LGBTQIA+ community by joining the Guyana Together campaign. The campaign is geared towards exercising tolerance for members of the LGBTQIA+ community.

“I feel proud to be part of any movement that not only champions rights and support for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people, but ultimately humanises what acceptance and support means,” Avinash stated. Guyana Together is done by the collaboration of many different associations, such as SASOD Guyana. The campaign showcases allies of the community and tells their stories. As a designer and a gay man, a movement such as this means the world to Avinash.

He stated that, “The Guyana Together campaign Designer, founder of Burning Desire Designs and a part of the Guyana will have life-changing im- Together Campaign, Avinash “Nash” Narine pacts for gay and trans people in this country. We have never seen real-life stories of allies accepting their gay and and accept the gay and trans people in their communities. trans family, friends, colleagues and neighbours like this in As respect and acceptance increase, hatred, violence, and the mainstream media before. This campaign will change discrimination against gay and trans people will become hearts and minds and inspire others to be more respectful a thing of the past.”

Guyana-born Canadian entrepreneur conferred ...

FROM PAGE II

transportation, security, customs and trade issues. For over 40 years, he has been actively involved in providing humanitarian and charitable relief worldwide. He was Chairman of the Advisory Council at York University and was on the Humber College Advisory Council Degree Programme in International help to implement the Trade and Logistics.

For several years, Singh served on the Advisory Board of the Indo-Canadian Chambers of Commerce and over the years, he has conducted lectures worldwide on transportation, security, customs and trade issues.

In 2005, Singh received the 2005 Businessman of the Year Award in Ottawa, Canada and also received numerous awards and recognitions for his significant contribution to industry, trade and charitable organisations.

Among the other awards are a Service Award from Singapore for chairman 1996-2000, a Service Award from CICA and a Service Award from CPPS Mission Projects, Tanzania.

He also received a Seal to the State of Florida.

Singh was born in Strangroen, East Coast Demerara in Guyana. He attended De Hoop Canadian Mission School and was keen to pursue higher education at an early age.

When he migrated to Canada in 1977, Singh realised that he wanted to make a better life; he knew that education matters. As a new immigrant, Singh felt a Canadian degree would give him an advantage. With this zeal, he started studying at York University, Toronto.

In 1979, he earned a BA in Sociology and in 1981, he earned a BA in Business Administration.

With this deep pursuit of higher achievement, Singh did not stop at having achieved these two degrees at York University. He continued to embark on further professional studies.

In 1982, he graduated from the Canadian Institute of Traffic and Transportation (CITT). He studied cargo insurance in Scotland, claims and legal liability in New York, project management, negotiation techniques, sales and marketing management and many more training courses in Canada and overseas.

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CHRONICLE PEPPERPOT ― Sunday, November 26, 2023

Men are essential in today’s society

SUNDAY, November 19, was International Men’s Day nomic backgrounds and it was observed under the theme “Zero Male Suiand cultures. cide”.

The document According to a post, this theme seeks to bring out the further added that positive values of men to the world, and their communities. the idea of International Men’s Day was discussed since As the positive values of men are highlighted, the centhe 1960s but was conceptualised and observed in 1999. tral focus is to raise positive role models and raise awareness of men’s being so that the suicide rate among men can be stopped altogether.

The Pepperpot Magazine spoke with Dr. Fitzroy Marcus, who has been a father for 11 years and a husband for 15 years. This is a total of 26 cumulative years he has spent navigating these privileged roles. He talked about the importance of men and their continuity to impact society from a biological view, stating that we would have no society without men.

According to Marcus, there are many successful stories of men establishing and raising families in society. They can raise law-abiding, productive children even though some have struggled through poverty and single-parent households.

He believes that manhood is necessary in today’s society, adding that, in our country, some men have resorted to being absent from families and are just having children, which can lead to children growing up without a male role model in the home. He also touched on the professional field, stating that in some careers, such as teaching, there are still not many men. This further reduces the interaction of children with male role models.

“Manhood is absolutely necessary in family, workplaces, and churches; always value women and treat older ones like a mother and younger ones like a sister. The best legacy is integrity, morals, and not just material assets,” Marcus noted during our interview.

We often see nowadays that women, who are in Hon. Prime Minister Brigadier Mark Phillips non-traditional jobs dominated by men, bring a different the most important for the success in any home,” the Prime perspective and add to the productive workforce. Despite this Minister said to the men gathered. growing addition to male-dominated professions, however, The Prime Minister added that shared responsibility does Marcus insists that men cannot become extinct. not diminish your role as a man, but in fact, is better for men Meanwhile, the Guyana Government believes that there as a whole. must be shared responsibilities when it comes to men fulfillInternational Men’s Day is observed on November 19 ing their roles in society. every year. The day is set aside to highlight the contributions These remarks were made by Guyana’s Prime Minister, and successes that men have made in the areas of economic, Brigadier (Ret’d) Mark Phillips during a forum held on social, cultural and political spheres and their contributions November 19. to family life and the larger society as a whole.

“The whole concept of shared responsibility is very imThe day also brings into perspective the issues that men portant in the modern home. Shared responsibility is perhaps face daily, but it also encompasses men of various socio-eco- Dr. Fitzroy Marcus

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CHRONICLE PEPPERPOT ― Sunday, November 26, 2023

Committed to theatre and tourism A theatre connoisseur’s journey in the local arts industry and promoting Guyana

By Dillon Goring Gem Madhoo Nascimento is a true patriot and a theatre extraordinaire.Having joined Guyana’s theatre society in 1974, she has played a significant role in producing, directing, and doing various aspects of theatre over the many years.

The Pepperpot Magazine spoke with her as she related the many aspects of theatre life that she has been involved in over these years.

“I started theatre in 1974 when I was working at the bank, and I joined the PSU drama group under the directorship of Francis Quamina Farrier. At the time, I was just looking to do something other than my regular work,“ Gem said during her interview.

Also at that time, the production team toured all across Guyana, including Essequibo and Linden.

In 1978, Francis Quamina Farrierproduced a play for Independence called “The

came back home because of what was happening in Guyana. She and others made a career out of their theatrical experiences and this opportunity allowed her to launch Gem’s Theatre Company in 2001.

“We were the only company, I think, to date that has made many international tours. We have done nearly a dozen international tours to the Caribbean Islands with plays, to the States and Canada with Link Show.I don’t know of any other company that has done that to date,” Gem told the PepperpotMagazine.

Since 2001, Gem hasdone many shows, including teaming up with Paul Keens Douglasand his brother, classical and piano concerts, and much more.Gem also launched a tourism booklet from an idea she got while travelling to and from Barbados in 2007.The booklet entitled “GuyanaWhere &What” primarily focuses on everything you need to know and

Journey to Freedom” and Gem was integrally a part of that production.

The play was first staged at the Multilateral School,and later on, it was staged at the Theatre Guild.

“It was during my tenure at the Theatre Guild, when I joined in 1978, that I learned a lot of things, including stage management, props, bottom housing, and business management,” Gem explained.

She recalled that 1981 was the time when people were leaving Guyana, butshe

everywhere you need to go.

According to Gem, the booklet examines prominent places such as the National Assembly, hotels and guest houses, eco wonders, recreational spots, shopping, and sports, among other places.

The small booklet, which can fit into a small bag,is basically a guide tosome of the main tourist sites in the country, as well astopical issues that are discussed regularly,such as climate change, the economy, natural resources, Guyanese proverbs, fishing

isations,only one year was missed.

The 140-pageguidebook continues to provide an exceptionally useful guide

and so much more.

Gem says that the publication has found its way into many schools for teachers interested in expandingtheir knowledge of Guyana and sharing it with their students.

The guidebook isfull of information for both Guyanese and visitors to our shores.

The book is free and is paid for by various client advertising.She explained that during the COVID years, it was very difficult to upkeep publishing, but thanks to thecontinuous support of many Government Agencies and some private sector organ-

for the many visitors to our shores, whether on holiday or business. The detailed map of Georgetownand Guyana in the book pro-

vides very useful information to assist the visitor to windtheir way around the city and country.

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CHRONICLE PEPPERPOT ― Sunday, November 26, 2023

The Gift of Stamp Collecting - A Christmas Collection of Memories

THIS Christmas you can make gift-giving simple by gifting yourself or family and friends a Christmas collection of memories through Christmas-themed stamps.

It is a unique and timeless gift of stamp collecting that can quickly evolve into a hobby aimed at bringing timeless hours of enjoyment. It also allows you to create a collection of Christmas-themed postage stamps that will become cherished memories.

The Guyana Philatelic Library, located at the Georgetown Post Office in Booth Six, has a library of stamps. That library is a treasure trove for philatelists, offering many resources to fuel your passion for stamp

collecting.

The Guyana Philatelic Library provides all the tools and knowledge you need to kickstart and maintain a collection. Their kits typically include a selection of Christmas-themed postage stamps, stamp album pages, magnifying glasses, and informative guides on the world of philately. This makes it easy for beginners to dive into the fascinating world of stamp collecting.

Collecting Christmas stamps is a fantastic way to immerse yourself in the history and artistry of these miniature masterpieces and a great way to bond with family and friends.

“You can spend quality time together, searching

for unique stamps, learning about their origins, and sharing stories behind each piece. It’s a hobby that bridges generations and fosters a sense of wonder and curiosity,” said Ann Wood, President of the Guyana Philatelic Society and Library.

She related that as people gather Christmas-themed postage stamps, they will discover a world of creativity, culture, and holiday traditions from around the globe.

Wood added that each stamp tells a unique story, whether it’s a depiction of Santa Claus from the North Pole or a beautiful nativity scene from a distant country.

“Collecting these stamps allows you to explore the different ways people celebrate

A sample of some of the Christmas themed stamps available for collectionat the Guyana Philatelic Library at GPO

Christmas and appreciate the artistry that goes into creating them,” she said.

According to Wood, stamp collecting can be a rewarding and educational hobby. It enhances your knowledge of geography, history, and design, making it an ideal pastime for individuals of all ages. Over time, your Christmas stamp collection can become a valuable and meaningful gift that can be passed down through generations, creating a beautiful family tradition, she explained. Wood stated that it is an exceptional and thoughtful present that will

continue to bring joy and wonder for years. She also expressed gratitude to the Guyana Philatelic Library for establishing the library of stamps.

Wood added that the memories you create will be priceless via stamp collection and make this holiday season special by embarking on a philatelic adventure that celebrates the spirit of Christmas.

Prime Minister Mark Phillips officially opened the Guyana Philatelic Library on May 20, 2021, at the Guyana Post Office Corporation building at Booth Six after

which a silent auction took place.

The purpose of the Guyana Philatelic Society is to create greater interest and activity in the study of British Guiana and Guyana stamps and postal history and to provide up-todate information on Guyana Stamps.

The staff is there to assist collectors in building bigger and better collections by providing greater opportunities to obtain philatelic material and educate Guyana’s youth on stamp collecting.

CHRONICLE PEPPERPOT ― Sunday, November 26, 2023

Age is just a number

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72-year-old defies odds as oldest student to graduate UG this year

By Michel Outridge

It was indeed a bittersweet, joyful occasion for Pamela Maison, who was the oldest to graduate from the University of Guyana (UG) at its recent 57th Convocation with a Master of Education in Literacy Studies.

The 72-year-old told the Pepperpot Magazine that she started UG in 1998, but due to issues with qualified tutors for the courses at that time,she spent seven years before she could even graduate. Nevertheless, she pressed on and completed what she started.

In 1998, Maison said she enrolled for the two-year language education programme with the aim of graduating in 2000, but there was a lapse in the course.

However, she re-joined that programme in 2014 but was told that the course was no longer offered at UG. Still, she opted to finish by choosing another course, Literacy Studies.

Maison explained that the course got underway, and during the first year, there were issues finding qualified tutors, and time had again elapsed, after which the course finally concluded in 2021.

She added that she completed her thesis in 2020 and submitted it in 2021but had to wait until 2023 to graduate because of some other issues. In the end, Maison said she feels very good about herself for being able to succeed despite so many challenges, and she is also excited at the same time.

“It is one of my many dreams that came true, and it goes to show that age is not any hindrance to whatever you may want to pursue in life. Go for it. It may not happen in a hurry, but it surely will after some time,” she said.

Altogether, Maison described the experience as good, especially coming down to the end of the course. The last tutor was exceptionally good, and it made learning easy for her.

Because of her enduring spirit, she is now thinking of pursuing her PhD in education studies, and if it is not offered in Guyana, she is willing to go after it even overseas.

Maison told the Pepperpot Magazine that her family is

fully supportive,which is all she needs now.

She, unfortunately, lost her husband, Prince Maison, last September. He was a journalist living in the U.S. She is also the mother of two and the grandmother of three.

Maison has been a resident of Kaikan Street, North Ruimveldt since the 1970s and has been teaching for more than 50 years.

Her teaching journey started when she was just 16 years old, after which she attended the Cyril Potter School of Education (CPCE) between 1976 and 1978 and became a qualified teacher.

She taught at Tucville School for many years, left as the Senior Mistress, and went onto South Ruimveldt Secondary School.

Maison recalled that South Ruimveldt Secondary School was termed “Ed Caesar’s School.” She explained that Caesar had a concept of a complex for that particular school where the nursery, Pamela Maison primary and secondary,were housed in one compound.

This eventually happened in 1977 when he was Chief Education Officer.

She remembered that Ruimveldt Secondary School started with just five students and today it has more than 600 learners

on roll.

Maison retired from teaching in 2006 and is a parttime lecturer at CPCE. She stated that her contract as a lecturer has since been terminated; the reason given is that she is too aged.

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CHRONICLE PEPPERPOT ― Sunday, November 26, 2023

Moblissa Village A sense of community unlike any other

By Shaniya Harding MANY communities are founded by a group of people who share a common past and will eventually share a common future.

The village community of Moblissa, however, has a slightly different history.

Moblissa hosts a diverse mix of people who seem to come from all corners of Guyana. The diverse people make for a unique make-up of villagers and it would seem as though it makes for a strong bond among the people, who, over time, became a community.

The village of Moblissa is located along the Soesdyke-Linden Highway. With an estimated population of 300 or more persons, Moblissa is a community of farmers.

The village is home to a school, a health centre, and countless farms stretching out on either side of the Moblissa road.

The drive in from the highway takes about 20 minutes before the first home in Moblissa is seen and another half an hour before reaching the community’s primary

school. The Pepperpot Magazine caught up with two Moblissa villagers. They said that the village has its struggles and challenges, but it also has its strengths and a captivating character to it; one that turns strangers into friends, who eventually call Moblissa home.

Lennox Stuart came to Moblissa over 15 years ago.

He was initially brought to the community as part of his work at an agricultural firm and more than a decade later, he has remained in Moblissa.

One of the greatest aspects of Moblissa that captivated him was its people.

He stated: “I came to Moblissa because GIT employed me as caretaker for the farm. I came here in 2012. And I met the people here, and I got to know them.” He explained that the interactions he has had with his fellow villagers are what motivated his decision to stay. Some years ago, Lennox cooperated with a few fellow community members to form Moblissa’s first policing group. He said that, “They launched the policing group over 10 years ago, and

M o b l i s s a Health Centre

Lennox Stuart

Villager Coleen Marks (Japheth Savory photos)

since it was launched, we have been the pioneers of it even up until now.” And with his place cemented in the community, Lennox is sure he will continue to call Moblissa home.

Collen Marks is a friend

of Lennox and a long-standing community member of Moblissa. She has called Moblissa home for more than two decades after she and her family moved there. “I followed my father. He first came here, and he gave me a place here in Moblissa. And I have lived here for 23 years,” Coleen stated.

The issues surrounding youths are etched in many villages around Guyana. And it seems as though Moblissa is no different. Lennox, who works at the Moblissa Primary School, explains that the village has a high rate of high school dropouts. “Moblissa has some very nice people.

They have a committee, and it is like time has forgotten it. But the community needs lots of help. We have school dropouts and issues with the youths,” Lennox stated Collen echoed his sentiments. Coleen is also a mother and explained that young people are forced to leave

the community in search of jobs. The community has seen young men, particularly, going into the interior for long periods. “Our concern is that we have youths here but we do not have jobs for them here. So, they have to go out and look for work in places far away like the interior,” the villager said.

The increase in the number of young people leaving the community profoundly affects the village’s population. As Coleen explained, “I do not think that Moblissa has a hundred households, and people are leaving from those households. I have five sons and four of they go out and work far away in the interior and sometimes it takes them three months to come back home,” Coleen stated.

Moblissa is still one of the more popular villages located along the highway.

But for the majority of years SEE PAGE XVIII

The Moblissa Primary School

CHRONICLE PEPPERPOT ― Sunday, November 26, 2023

Life in Moblissa

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A Moblissa man urges unity among the community

By Shaniya Harding THE village of Moblissa exhibits simplistic living at its best. The community is home to a few hundred people whose main source of income comes from all things related to agriculture. The village is home to many close-knit families and relatives spread out among the community. The villagers express, however, that, like in many other places, that is a great call for unity among the community.

Winston Kisson and his family have called Moblissa home for over six years.

Winston, is among seven children who returned to Moblissa after their mother’s death. He admitted that, initially, he was hesitant to come to Moblissa but he has since come to love the community. “I did not want to come here. But I did with the agreement that I was going to work on this land and develop it and not let it go down the drain because this is what my mother left.”

Life in the countryside was not exactly a new experience for Winston. He

had spent much of his life in the Waini River in Region One. “I grew up in a lot of places. I was born at the Georgetown Public Hospital.

I went to school in the Demerara River. Then I came to Moblissa. I then worked at a timber grant, and I worked as a tobacco farmer in Laluni,” he said. Winston eventually found and married his now-wife during his many travels. The couple have eleven children and more than a dozen grandchildren.

Today, like most of his friends, neighbours and family, Winston is a farmer and a security guard at the local primary school. The Kissoon family is in a unique position, as they live close to the well. As the only one available for miles, the well is important to the community, but not everyone can access it. “This community has about 50 houses and the farms are scattered. Only about eight homes benefit from the well if they are nearby. The rest have to use creek water or black tanks,” Winston shared.

“Life in Moblissa is just normal. What else can we do?” Winston stated. He

The Moblissa well located next to the home of the Kisson family.

went on further to express that the community needs representation. He explained that he would like to see certain developmental things

Moblissa villager Winston Kisson (Japheth Savory photos)

done in Moblissa. But cooperation is needed for that to take place. Winston stated that the lack of cooperation and representation for the community has lasting effects. He said, “A lot of people say what the community needs, but we do not see anything happening. And I think it discourages people.”

Moblissa has long been known for and somewhat revered for its large-scale successful agriculture. The village was once home to a dairy factory and one of the country’s largest tobacco farms. In those days, Winston says, although the community was still in the stage of its humble beginnings, it was still an amazing place to live because it had one thing he wishes to see today: unity among its people.

“Moblissa had the same amount of people, but it was nicer. It had more unity. People used to come together,” Winston stated. He painted a captivating image of what

Moblissa once looked like in its former years. He stated that the community had grown and its people had spread themselves out. In the past, however, Moblissa’s people were more centralised and far more united.

“Now, the place has become more developed. And a lot more people have come into the village,” Winston said.

In a community where neighbours are sometimes separated by acres of farmland, communication is sometimes difficult to accomplish. Winston described disunity as self-destructive, likening it to crabs in a barrel. He stated, “It is like crab in a drum. When one tries to leave, the other pulls him down. And apparently, they are embedded in that kind of living and it is hard to change them.” He believes that perhaps if someone made an effort to rally the community, Moblissa would see that cooperation go a long way.

Winston and a few fellow villagers have made numerous attempts at getting the community together. He explained, however, that this is easier said than done. “I have tried to raise the conversation with people about coming together, but nobody wants to do that. They say they do not have the time and things like that. They are big people, and I can make them come together,” he said.

“Moblissa needs a lot of help. Maybe if somebody could come and give the people encouragement to come together somehow, this could work out,” Winston said. Winston believes that unity in a community where change is needed is not only possible, but is a necessity. “Unity is power,” Winston stated. He believes that cooperation would be in the best interest of not just Moblissa but also villages everywhere and Guyana as a whole.

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CHRONICLE PEPPERPOT ― Sunday, November 26, 2023

Moblissa Village blossoming in the face of challenges

By Shaniaya Harding THE Moblissa Road is almost seven miles long. The village is simple, with modest beginnings and humble people. Over the years, Moblissa has undergone many different stages of agricultural development.

But most recently, the community has seen changes in other areas. With the early development of roads and the introduction of new wells in the community, the village of Moblissa is well on its way to a blossoming future.

Like many of the villagers of Moblissa, Denise Cornelius came to the community many years ago. She was led there by her tobacco farmer husband who had always liked life in the rural

a centre for agriculture and the target for development.

Denise explained that it is only now that she is seeing some changes happening in the community of Moblissa.

“The major changes are the changes we are seeing now,” Denise said.

Still in its early stages, the Moblissa road is yet to be completed and the rocky condition of the road is causing some villagers frustration.

Denise stated that, “We are not satisfied with the road that we have. The road is destroying the tires and boring the fuel tanks.” Villagers have mixed feelings, as some are happy while others would like to see some other things done.

The community of Moblissa is very interesting, with this many farms and

As the community develops, its challenges become increasingly pressing. Water, Denise said, is a big problem in Moblissa. “The main thing in here is water. Even if we pump water. Water is the main problem,” he stated.

Because Moblissa is one long continuous road at the far end of the highway, transportation is also a pressing matter in the community. “The transportation cost is high in here. Further, in the taxis cost more. We have a school bus that helps the partners and takes the children to school.”

Moblissa is at a unique junction, being closer to Linden than the capital city. But still a far way from the mining town. And unlike Georgetown or Linden, where everything is centralised, most of

places named by villagers.

Denise lives past the Moblissa Creek. She stated that the further one travels down the Moblissa trail, the more people will be found. “The whole road is Moblissa. There are people living at the first well.

And three are more people living further up. Most of them doing farming,” she explained.

the people of Moblissa make the trip out of the village every day. Some of them coming the full seven miles out to go to work in Linden.

Denise explained the village’s location is why many villagers turn to agriculture to make a living from home.

But that, too, has its challenges. “Every day, people go out.

Not everyone is going out

Denise Cornelius

parts of Guyana. “I have lived in Moblissa for around 30 years. I came here with my husband. He came here from Northwest.”

In recent years, Moblissa has seen more development than it has in the last three decades. The community went unnoticed for some time after the end of tobacco farming. But it is now becoming

Moblissa youth, Leon Wattson (Japheth Savory photos)

every day. But actually, every day people are going out of the village. All for me, I have some chickens. But again, water is the problem because our water pump is not working right now,” Denise stated.

Many of the villagers of Moblissa have called it home for a long time. Most of them have come to the village and start families. However, the younger generation of the community has their own opinion on the situation and Moblissa’s development needs. Leon Wattson is one of the very few young men who have not left the village

in search of work is Leon Wattson. The 17-year-old grew up around the capital city but has called Moblissa home for the last six years.

Leon hopes there will be an increase in the availability of diverse jobs in the village. “If they had more jobs, it would really help, and it would be really nice.”

He stated. Leon has strong family values, which are the biggest reason he has stayed in Moblissa thus far but he says if his family ever decide to leave, he will too.

Leon is the youngest of his eleven siblings, all of

whom have left Moblissa, and although he has stayed, he still has very high hopes and big intentions for his future. He says that farming is not in the cards for him. “I would like to do something else. I want to go to Guyana Technical Institute. I want to learn to operate heavy-duty machines. But I do not have the support, the money to go back,” he stated. Despite this, Leon says he will continue to try his best to develop himself regardless of the challenges he is presented with.

The Moblissa C reek that runs through the village

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‘Moblissa is my home and farming is my career’ Moblissa farmer talks about his love for home and village

By Shaniya Harding ROLSTON Reece lives at the far end of the village of Moblissa among the sparsely placed home and numerous farms. Rolston, or Rolo as his neighbours call him, is a farmer who says that turning seedlings into plants is his God-given gift.

Rolston, now 58, came to the village with his father as a young man after he dropped out of high school at 15. He explained that school was not what he was interested in, and after his father opened his farm in Moblissa’s backlands, he decided to leave school and become a farmer.

“My grandfather told me that farming was my gift and that I should make use of it.

Farming is my gift, agriculture on the whole,” Rolston said. And it would seem as though his grandfather was right. In his many decades of farming, Rolston has been a part of almost every aspect of

farming and agriculture. But his favourite period of farming was the age of tobacco in Guyana.

Tobacco farming is a big part of Moblissa’s past.

Moblissa was home to one of the country’s largest tobacco farms at one point and Rolston was among the farmers. Farming tobacco, he said, is unique and different from the cultivation of other crops.

Rolston explained that “I was a tobacco farmer. I farmed tobacco from the time it started to the time it ended. Tobacco farming is more high-tech than normal farming. Because if you do not have a nursery, you can not have a crop.

So, for all farmers to get a crop, they need to be able to bring a crop.”

Tobacco in Guyana was interesting because, unlike other crops that are sent to factories elsewhere, there was a tobacco factory in Guyana. When tobacco farming

ended in Guyana, the cultivated lands were given away to the farmers. “The company would buy back the tobacco from us. The tobacco was not exported. The factory was here in Guyan,” Rolston said, and with the end of tobacco, he and his fellow farmers had to find alternatives. Rolston himself continued farming.

He has never left the village of Moblissa and has continued to farm everything from cash crops, to ground provisions and fruit trees.

Rolston’s love for farming is distinct and ingrained in him so much so that Rolston talks to his plants.

With his acres of land, which continue to grow each year, Rolston still finds time to talk to his crops. “I have been on my own all the time. I do not know about other farmers, but farming is my career, and I love that.

Sometimes, people would see me talking to my plants, but when a man loves his

Farmer Rolston Reece (Japheth Savory photos)

plants, he talks to them,” he said.

Being able to bring a plant to life, Rolston says, is a special gift. He stated, “I think the gift of agriculture, you are born with it. If I throw a seed anywhere, it will grow. Sorrel, for example, I do not plant sorrel, but they grow in my yard. And sorrel plants itself back.”

His favourite aspect of farming he says is seeing the very first stages of plant life.

This is where they are most vulnerable. “My favourite

thing about farming is setting up a nursery. Because if you plant a seed and it does not grow, then it does not make sense,” he said.

With soil as rich as Moblissa’s, Rolston plants as many different types of crops as possible. He sometimes even combines plants not normally grown together.

He stated that, “I farm a set of different crops. Right now, there are cassavas, but between them there are fruit trees. And with this kind of weather, the cassava can take

sun off of the fruit trees.”

Rolston’s plants are more than simply plants to him. He said, “I tell people not to touch my plants. The same way we may talk, I talk to my plants. If I am setting a seed, mixing, or adding fertiliser, I talk to them. I ask them if the soil is too strong or too weak.

I trust plants more than I trust human beings. And people want to know how I make it alone, but I have my plants.”

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WHEN LOVE WALKED INTO HER LIFE

RACHEL opened the door to her little antique shop in her small but thriving hometown. She stepped in, turning the sign on the door to ‘open’ and inhaled that sweet feeling of satisfaction slowly.

It has been four years since she succeeded in opening this business, and today, that accomplishment still gives her a thrill. Since she was a young woman, she had a deep fascination with antique and vintage collectables and their historical significance. The special pieces were filled of memories, each with its own astounding story, and as such the idea of the shop was born.

Now, an older woman, she still had that excited feeling and the love for beautiful and special things like when

she was young, as though, within, she hadn’t aged at all. It was like if she was that twenty-six-year-old travelling to different countries, being part of medieval fairs, visiting museums and old palaces.

“Memorable, those days were,” she said to herself, as she attended to her customers, “in more than one way.”

For it was during her travels that she met her husband, a businessman, handsome and charming. He loved her simple personality and adventurous spirit, and after a year of dating he had proposed to her on an island in Greece. For her, that was quite romantic; after sixteen years, she still remembered that special moment with a little smile.

She had cherished it in

her heart, never mind the one who had given her that moment was not with her anymore. She sighed and took a deep breath to keep memories of the past in the deep shadows of her mind. The shop became busy due to several groups of tourists in town and it was until mid-afternoon when she took a break for a light lunch.

She went to her favourite corner café and took a table outdoors, for she had always enjoyed

the fragrant atmosphere and the scenes of life as people passed by on the interconnecting streets.

Sometimes, though, it would trigger a light pain when she saw young and old couples holding hands, laughing and kissing.

At 42, that was what was missing from her life since her divorce, six years ago.

She sipped her cool fruit cocktail and smiled wryly, remembering the revelation of her husband’s secret affairs with younger women that caused the breakup. It had hurt her so deeply she could no longer stay with him but she had managed to move on with her two children in one piece. She went back to teaching for a couple of years as she rebuilt her life.

“And,” she inhaled again with satisfaction, “here I am, being my own woman, owning my own home and with the children under my care.”

Her divorce had been amicable, so an agreement was signed for her ex-husband to have the children on weekends. That gave her a chance to relax for at least a day and have dinner or lunch with her small group of friends.

They were wonderful ladies, beautiful in their own ways, trying to get Rachel to

live life a little more.

“You do know, life begins at forty,” was the candid reminder, “and you’re only forty-two.”

Rachel smiled and stated with a little edge of seriousness in her voice, “Not sure if I’ll ever be ready for another relationship.”

“Well, you never know.

Someone special may unexpectedly walk into your life and you could fall in love.”

“I don’t think—” she started to say, but her friends interrupted her, raising their glasses and cheering for that to happen.

That weekend, after their visit with their father, the children gave her a small box of antiques he had sent for her. It was something he had been doing during their marriage on his business trips and after the divorce, he continued to do so.

Rachel really didn’t want anything from him, but because the children thought it was a nice thing he was doing, she accepted the gifts.

She had expressed no bitterness or animosity towards him and kept their relationship mutual, though she had felt betrayed and hurt in her heart.

So, she filled her days with warmth, doing the

things she loved, thus finding her own little joys.

“I cannot cry forever for what I have lost, for life moves on.”

That was the positivity she embraced and in her shop one day, weeks later, she wondered, “Could someone special walk into my life, one day?”

It seemed fate had that answer, for he did walk into her life, but it didn’t actually happen that way.

She was on her way to the café on her mid-afternoon break, and not far from there, a pitbull dog being walked by a middle-aged man got irritated by something and pulled loose. It seemed to Rachel like the big dog was heading directly to her, and she turned abruptly and, without thinking, hid behind a strange guy who had been walking by, putting her arms around his waist and burying her head in his shoulders, closing her eyes.

He stopped and, after a long moment, said, “It’s okay, the dog has been restrained.”

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DON’T BE THE PLASTICINE MAN, THE BIG MAN SAID - YOU, DEFINE WHO YUH IS RIGHT through the drama of human history, we have witnessed ancient humans in books and movies subjected to trials of courage and mental and physical strength tests. We concluded between ourselves that not because a person failed a physical test, means that that person was useless to the tribe or society involved in the drama. In most cases, we used schoolmates to arrive at those judgements, schoolmates who weren’t that tough but were useful in helping to provide a better understanding with a one-on-one discussion of, say, fractions or how to approach a composition.

But just as we thought we had that fixed, another phenomenon emerged: socially there were people who acted one way, based on their circumstances of shadows, with a hype to go with those circumstances. There were others who were not tormented by the circumstances of shadows but were intrigued by the hype. Thus, I began to understand the logic behind the term, ‘De Plasticine man’ and it didn’t happen quickly.

I awoke to this by asking flashback questions over time of things that I couldn’t understand before, like the encounter with a school friend.

I was heading for the one o’clock movie at Strand Cinema, through Charlotte Street, when a school friend called out to me from the old auditorium building that had become a gambling nest by then. I paused and he came across the street. I enquired, “Is wuh you doing through here, boy?” He gestured, “Ah deh with dem banna,” indicating a group by the auditorium.

I knew them all. “How you know round-hand dem?” I enquired. He told me a story about some cousin’s friend that didn’t hold.

Just then, another brief schoolmate came out of the building arguing about the gamble. I called ‘Six Inch’and asked him what our

schoolmate was up to. Andrew looked at me and convincingly told me, “He going in Jail, dem banna gon send he fuh tek somebody thing, and is in Jail he gone.” I replied, “ Ah gon talk to he.”

Six Inch looked at me, “steuped” his teeth, walked off with Alberttown Brian, and continued their gambling argument. That was the late 1970s.

My schoolmate’s life plunged downhill from that period afterwards.

He passed late last year. The situation was that he had no militating social circumstances that could have forced him to the streets.

His mom owned real estate. He had connections none of us had. I learnt later that the hype of proving one’s self tough could be misconstrued by the corner gaff on the street-wise of yesterday and today because it sounds heroic and full of exciting life to the plasticine entity that lives in all of us.

There, however, is nothing but the ‘hype,’ the whispers of heroics about young men, hungry and angry, urged by family members to “go and see wha yuh get”. Others were lured towards being at the top of the local food chain, or the alternative of being at the ordinary level with scant family support and becoming prey.

I do recall ‘Penitence’ telling me a story that I had heard before, about his elder brother, who had moved in with a ‘Tiger Bay’ woman back then, who woke him up past 12 am and gave him a crowbar and told him to “guh to work now”. However, these are characters and real urban

legends that my schoolmate did not know about.

Then, I learnt of an incident from a coastal colleague.

This particular schoolmate had allowed himself to be hocked by a character that I can only be described as ‘original Evil’ and had entered the premises of someone we all knew. In the act, a murder was committed. This was something that should never had occurred…NEVER! I then understood the gradual decline, in shame, family had distanced themselves. He was alone in a haunted, tormented world; he had succumbed to the world of the ‘Plasticene man’, and this latter shape could not be undone, he sank into drug abuse and passed on.

Any time you find someone close who defines himself purely on the praises or criticisms of

friends, help that person to define himself instead by the pursuit of a personal dream, researched and explored in mostly solitude,

that others will learn of as it takes shape. When opinions, positive and negative, can be taken as deserved, the plasticine worlds can

then be reshaped by self as they fit the backdrop, but never to be the influence of random personalities.

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Managing stress For the past two weeks, the word mentorship was mentioned a few times. I saw one of my favourite mentors, Stanley Ming, twice in a short period, and that was a blessing because he is always super busy. I waited a couple of hours on the flight from Miami to Guyana, then another few hours in the air. He teaches valuable life lessons without realising that he is teaching because it comes naturally to him.

He is a great human being who continues to contribute to making the world a better place. I am not the most patient person, but I admire his patience, which is one of the attributes I try to emulate. When you live a purpose-driven life like this Guyanese icon and continue to add value to others, you will inevitably build a great legacy.

I am sure Mr Ming has his fair share of challenges, but he has created a formula to prevent stress from having a negative impact on him. I believe one of the stress reliefs is visiting Isika, which is near Parika. I LOVE THAT PLACE. I was very happy to join Stan, a few of his staff and friends and colleagues last Sunday. I must thank his nephew Samuel for engaging in stimulating conversation on the way. I actually had plans to do some work on my phone for the 50-minute trip, but the convo was too good to divert, and when we got there, it was not an option.

That place makes me forget the world and be in the present. No matter how demanding our professions are, we need to relax, recharge

to identify the things that are causing you stress. Once you know your stressors, you can start to develop strategies for dealing with them.

Make lifestyle changes: There are several lifestyle changes that can help to reduce stress, such as regular exercise, a healthy diet, and getting enough sleep.

Practice relaxation techniques: Relaxation techniques such as yoga, meditation, and deep breathing can help to reduce stress and promote relaxation.

Seek professional help: If you are struggling to manage stress on your own, seek professional help from a therapist or counsellor.

It is important to remember that everyone experiences stress differently. What works for one person may not work for another. The key is to find healthy ways to cope with stress that work for you. Stress is a normal part of life. Our bodies are not built to be in constant stress. When it becomes chronic, it can have some adverse effects on our physical and mental health.

Stress can trigger headaches, especially in

and rejuvenate. This place is a stress reliever and great for our mental health. The stimulating conversation, food, drinks, breeze etc. reminded us how fortunate we are to be able to enjoy this. I took my sandals off and started walking on the sand and clay while drinking some wine. This felt amazing! I always watch Mr Ming’s daredevil manoeuvres on the jets.

When you have been involved with adrenaline sports, a better part of life comes naturally.

Age is certainly not stopping him.

Just like we schedule meetings, we have to schedule rest.

It is important to know what replenishes your emotional tank, mental tank, spiritual tank, and physical tank. When those tanks are empty, we will experience massive activation of our stress hormones.

The first step to managing stress is

people who are already prone to them.

I left Guyana for two and a half weeks and one of my friends was experiencing a SEE PAGE XVIII severe headache for a while.

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GUYANA’S TERRITORY REMAINS AS IT ALWAYS WAS AT the beginning of the 1960s, it became public knowledge that Britain was committed to giving her Caribbean colonies their independence. Venezuela, actuated by Cold War considerations that Guyana would become another Cuba with an alleged communist government and because she had some concerns about the validity of the 1899 Award, opposed the granting of independence. This opposition to Guyana’s independence was a betrayal of the life and philosophy of Simon Bolivar, who had struggled for the independence and self-determination of all South American nations.

However, independence could not be delayed because the self-determination principle had become part of International Law. To resolve Venezuela’s newly found dispute over the validity of the Arbitral Tribunal Award, the Geneva Agreement of 1966 was enacted.

This lifted Venezuela’s opposition, allowed Guyana to be granted independence, and provided a forum under the Geneva Agreement for the parties to resolve the dispute. If they were unable to resolve the dispute between themselves, it would fall to the Secretary General of the United Nations to determine how the dispute would be finally settled.

By 1970, it was clear that the dispute could not be resolved under the Geneva Agreement, but instead of immediately referring it to the UN Secretary General, the parties, Venezuela and Guyana, decided to use the Good Offices methodology, which went on for nearly three decades without results. Eventually, both parties decided to abandon it. It should be observed that during the years of the Good Offices, Venezuela would sporadically erupt into serious threats with sabre-rattling against Guyana.

Guyana, as specified in the Geneva Agreement, referred the dispute to the UN Secretary General who advised the parties to have recourse to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) which Guyana did. On the other hand, Venezuela claimed that the UN Secretary General and the ICJ had no authority to be involved in the dispute, but their opposition and contentions were disallowed. The ICJ is expected to hear the substantive case within a year.

The situation has ballooned into very dangerous proportions where the very existence of Guyana as a state is threatened: (i) The military/political lobby in Venezuela, who have always greedily felt that they should seize Guyana’s territory, are sharpened in their greed now that Guyana has become an oil-rich country. (ii) There are elements in the Venezuelan government who feel that the ICJ’s decision will go in Guyana’s favour and that they should take lawless, pre-emptive action. (iii) The Venezuelan government has failed in its social, economic and political policies, resulting in seven million economic migrants fleeing the country and, as a result, will lose the approaching elections.

It is felt that by militarily attacking Guyana, an oil-producing country and seizing its territory, the government would be able to rouse up nationalism and win electoral support.

These interests have manifested themselves in five motions being brought to the Venezuelan Parliament, which would, in effect, direct Venezuela to seize 70% of Guyana’s territory and immediately absorb it into Venezuela and deploy its army to invade Guyana.

Guyana, as a state, would cease to exist.

To meet these dangerous threats, Guyana has been taking counter-action, most-

ly of a diplomatic nature and is committed to the view that Venezuela should not be allowed to covet one square inch of its territory.

It is apposite to now review Guyana /Venezuela relations from the 19th century to the present with a focus on the Tribunal of Arbitration and its Award of 1899, which is the core of the dispute between Venezuela and Guyana:There is one part of South America the Spanish conquistadors did not visit: the “Wild Coast of Guiana” - the territory between the

boundaries. Venezuela, at this time, had gained its independence from Spain and began to think of possessing the territory beyond the mouth of the Orinoco and as the century progressed, Venezuela secured an ally in the USA since the US government in the last decade of the 19th century had revived the Munroe Doctrine which it was using to become the paramount power of the Americas.

By the Munroe Doctrine, America would resist any European power owning new colonies in the continent.

Venezuela complained that

Treaty of Washington was signed by Senor Jose Andrade on behalf of the President of Venezuela and was ratified by the Venezuelan Congress when its President Joaquin Crespo commended the Treaty as “an effort of intelligence and goodwill worthy of praises and thanks from us.”

Venezuela appointed the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States as its member of the Tribunal, and the other three members were equally distinguished American and British lawyers.

The chairman of the Tribunal was F. de Martens, a world-fa-

Orinoco and the Essequibo Rivers. The Dutch occupied this area in the 17th century, and their ownership was recognised by the Treaty of Munster in 1648. The Dutch kept developing this region, especially Essequibo. At the end of the Napoleonic Wars, by the Peace of Paris in 1814, the Dutch ceded Essequibo -Demerara and Berbice to the British while they kept Suriname.

In 1831, the British unified Essequibo, Demerara and Berbice into British Guiana, and in 1840, they engaged the German geographer Robert Schomburgk to demarcate the colony’s

the British were making a new colony, and the anti-British President of the US, Cleveland, took up Venezuela’s case and forced the British to negotiate. Britain and the US agreed to arbitrate the claim, and Venezuela insisted that the Arbitration be Treaty-based.

As Venezuela desired, the Arbitration of theTreaty of Washington of 1897 was Treaty-based and Article XIII reads, “The High Contracting Parties engage to consider the result of the proceedings of the Tribunal of Arbitration as a full, perfect and final settlement of all the questions referred to the Arbitrators. This

mous Russian International lawyer. The Tribunal consisted of the most renowned lawyers of the time. The Archives of Spain, Holland and Britain were searched for all relevant documentation, and these were later published in several large volumes of the proceedings. The National Archives have copies of these proceedings.

The Award of the Tribunal was unanimous and was presented by the Chairman on 3rd October, 1899. Venezuela received as much as seven times more territory than Britain. There was much rejoicing in Caracas and postage stamps were issued com-

memorating the “victory” and the Venezuelan Ambassador to Britain described the Award as “Greatly indeed, did justice shine forth.’ As late as 1949, the law firm which represented Venezuela wrote in the American Journal of International Law: “The Award secured to Venezuela the mouth of the Orinoco and control of the Orinoco basin, these being the most important questions at issue.”

Venezuela insisted that the boundary be demarcated as early as possible, and a joint Commission of Venezuelan and British surveyors demarcated the boundary in accordance with the Award of the Tribunal (1900- 1905). In 1931, Venezuela, Brazil and British Guiana marked out the trijunction boundary point on the summit of Mount Roraima and reaffirmed the border.

The story of the Arbitral Tribunal and the demarcation of the Guyana/Venezuela boundary dovetails into the first segment.

Four points to note for those further studying the dispute: (i) More on the various aspects of Guyana/Venezuela relations could be found on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs online sites and written material from the ministry (ii) In the Venezuelan narratives, they always try to omit or disguise their role in the Treaty of Washington, involvement in the Tribunal, demarcating the boundaries and their full and unequivocal acceptance of the Award. (iii) In the Venezuelan narratives, they sometimes give misleading or false statements, e.g., that Exxon pays Guyana’s legal fees at the ICJ. (iv) There is a call in some circles that Guyana should abandon the ICJ and engage in talks with President Maduro. The ICJ is now adjudicating the issue because of failure of talks in the Good Offices methodology and Venezuela’s eruptions into threats and hostility during these talks.

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Managing.. Moblissa FROM PAGE XIV

I check on her almost everyday and not much has changed. I saw her a few days ago, and the situation was the same and I expressed how worried I am especially after watching Dr. Joe Dispenzer talk about stress. Stress can also cause muscle tension, leading to pain and discomfort.Sometimes, I feel it in my shoulders, which reminds me that I need a massage.

Stress can upset the digestive system, causing symptoms such as heartburn, diarrhoea, and constipation. I am sleeping so much better now and I am totally loving it. Stress can make it difficult to fall asleep and stay asleep.

Chronic stress can weaken the immune system, making it more difficult to fight off infection.Stress can cause or worsen anxiety, which is characterised by feelings of worry, nervousness, and fear.

Chronic stress can increase the risk of depression, which is a mood disorder that causes feelings of sadness, hopelessness, and loss of interest in ac-

tivities. I have seen people constantly irritable and get angry at the drop of a hat, not realising it was triggered by stress. Stress can make it difficult to focus and concentrate, affecting work, school, and other activities.

Stress can cause people to withdraw from social activities and isolate themselves.

I believe it is more common in recent times.

In addition to these general adverse effects, stress can also exacerbate existing health conditions, such as: Heart disease: Stress can increase blood pressure and heart rate, which can put a strain on the heart and increase the risk of heart attack or stroke.

High blood pressure: Stress can cause a temporary increase in blood pressure. However, chronic stress can lead to high blood pressure, which is a major risk factor for heart disease, stroke, and kidney disease.

Diabetes: Stress can raise blood sugar levels, which can make it difficult to control diabetes.

Skin conditions: Stress can worsen skin conditions such as eczema and psori-

asis.

I am sure many people can resonate with some of these triggers. As a child, I always knew when mom was stressed,which made me sad. I am sure my daughters also recognised when I was stressed. I am grateful for the day I realised that even if I stress, it will not change the situation, and it interferes with my focus to find a solution.

My spiritual growth and shift in mindset have assisted a great deal. Simple things like experiencing the sunset at Isika or stopping at the West Vibes Restaurant and Sports Bar for duck curry and Roti on the way to Georgetown are relaxing.

When you stop by, please request that Melaniemakes the roti for your curry. She is the best!

In the next few years,I intend to carve out a few days every week to relax,recharge and rejuvenate because life is short. Let’s be deliberating about not activating those stress hormones as we continue to celebrate this beautiful journey called life BEYOND THE RUNWAY.

Village....

FROM PAGE IX it has been in existence, it has remained unchanged.

“Since I have been here for all those years, I have not seen any changes. It has always been the same old Moblissa,” Coleen said. Because the community does not have any electricity, most of the population depends on solar electricity, and due to their lack of water, they depend on creeks or generators and

pumps for water, while very few go to the well.

Regardless, the community continues to strive.

Farming continues to grow in Moblissa. Meanwhile, the people of the community continue to live as automatically as possible. Lennox said that Moblissa is just a great place to live to be in tune with nature and with agriculture among the good people of Moblissa. He said that, “One of the things I like about the

village is that it has a nice farming environment and a nice living environment.

The neighbours are very quiet. That is what I like about the village; it is quiet and it has a lot of space to plant,” He stated. Although not perfect, with its own set of issues, Moblissa is still a beautiful place. And there does not seem to be a villager that would live anywhere else.

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Reality of compassionate fatigue

TO see the words, compassionate and fatigue, in the same line might raise eyebrows, but it’s a term I’ve recently learned, and I’m happy that I did. It explains the feelings of many people who have to show compassion daily, especially helping professionals working in traumatising conditions. Compassion fatigue is also known as vicarious or secondary trauma, secondary traumatic stress, depression or secondhand shock. It defines the psychological, physical and emotional costs or impact of helping others. Compassion fatigue knows no discrimination and can affect anyone anytime if helping professionals aren’t careful.

It is usually mistaken for burnout, but these concepts are entirely different and distinct. Burnout usually stems from an overload of work, but compassion fatigue stems from being overwhelmed by the excessive amount of trauma one is exposed to when trying to help others. Sim-

ilar to burnout, compassion fatigue develops over time.

When professionals neglect themselves in the process of helping others or when someone is experiencing compassion fatigue, they may feel tired, or exhausted, anxious, become emotionally distant, feelings of helplessness, self-isolation, and even physical symptoms like headaches.

Compassion fatigue can affect your daily functioning and social relationships with others.

You shouldn’t allow your exposure to trauma to affect you in such a way. It can be very detrimental to your overall health. If you want to continue working while experiencing compassion fatigue, you may also be doing more harm than good to yourself and your clients. During the COVID-19 pandemic, many helping professionals have been on the forefront of assisting others, whether in the medical field, social services or even law enforcement.

There were an overwhelming number of cases, many of which included death. As such, there was a huge problem with compassion fatigue; unfortunately, it’s still ongoing.

Similar to burnout, you should always learn to take measures to ensure you practise self-care regularly. Do not wait until you’re overwhelmed to practise it. You should learn to take necessary breaks and pace yourselves. I know it can be difficult, but we ought to always

take care of ourselves first—the way they tell us to always put on our oxygen masks first when in aeroplanes.

If, by chance, you notice the symptoms are severe and your personal measures to reduce the symptoms do not

help, you should seek help from a mental health professional for further assistance.

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Reporting at COP28

By the time this column is published, I should be on my way to Dubai for this year’s key global climate conference, COP28. I will be reporting for the News Room with support from Climate Tracker. And I hope to do my best to report on crucial climate change engagements, especially those relevant to Guyana.

Naturally, a huge part of my focus will be on Guyana and our Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS).

Guyana hopes to demonstrate how it has been managing its forests which provide key environmental services to the entire globe and its development needs. I know many have varying views of Guyana’s attempts to balance low-carbon development with oil and gas production and its wider developmental thrust. So, I expect COP28 to be a space to explore the nuances of Guyana’s development.

As a journalist, one of the key considerations I grapple with when reporting on climate change is making my stories appealing. I don’t believe it is a topic that enjoys widespread interest as yet, so often, extra effort is required to make these stories more interesting to readers or viewers. That means demonstrating how climate change will impact people in their daily lives, be it flooding, a sore issue in Guyana for years, or intense heat that plagued us this year. That, I believe, is crucial to help people understand our realities, challenges, and advocacy, all to empower them to participate in the decision-making processes.

Climate change stories about or from international engagements, like COP28, also require an appreciation of various agreements and mechanisms instituted to help move plans along. This year, for example, many of us will be looking at the operationalisation of the loss and

damage fund to help developing countries access funds to help countries from things lost permanently to climate change or those affected by climate change that can be restored. The Global Stocktake is also a huge part of this year’s discussions. Essentially, this tool assesses the entire globe’s progress in limiting global warming and actions to cope with climate change. This year, we will have discussions on the first-ever assessment. However, many already know we SEE PAGE XXV aren’t doing enough to cut harmful greenhouse emis-

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Reporting at...

FROM PAGE XXIV

sions, nor have adequate resources been disbursed to help countries meet their climate goals, like transitioning to the use of more renewable energy sources. I think the task for myself and my colleagues is to guarantee we explain what these talks mean in general, but also what they mean for people who live in small, developing regions like ours.

To try to be more engaging in my reporting, I will once again use this space to explain the topic.

Trees breathe in the carbon dioxide (a gas) that humans breathe out; this carbon dioxide is released into the atmosphere when trees are cut down or when fuels are burnt.

When this gas (called a greenhouse gas) is released into the atmosphere, it makes the earth hotter (through a process called global warming). It contributes to other climatic situations, such as increasingly worse natural disasters like floods. Carbon dioxide is viewed as an environmentally-unfriendly gas, and the goal is to limit how much of this gas we release into the atmosphere. It is not the only gas, however, that efforts are being made to reduce emissions of.

Trapping carbon dioxide specifically is a key part of Guyana’s plans. Guyana’s forests are valuable because intact forests mean that more trees would capture those gases that make the earth hotter. So Guyana has been arguing for years now, that it should be compensated for keeping these trees intact because otherwise, those trees could be cut down and used to earn money, or the area could be cleared to make way for some new development. Norway was the first country to support Guyana in this regard, and more recently- last December to be exact- the Hess Corporation is paying Guyana significant sums of money to keep protecting those trees.

This payment scheme involves “carbon credits”- a tradeable permit or certificate that represents the removal of a certain amount of carbon dioxide from the environment. Already, Hess secured 30 per cent of Guyana’s available carbon credits, which means the country has about 70 per cent of credits left to market to countries or companies. It is worth noting that for any of the credits sold, Guyana’s government said it would directly allocate 15 per cent of the funds secured to Indigenous communities for their developmental priorities; it has done so following the first payment from Hess earlier this year. The remaining 85 per cent will be spent on national development priorities.

In the context of COP28, Guyana hopes to get support for this venture there. The country also hopes to show the world, on arguably the biggest climate discussion stage, that it has indeed been able to promote low-carbon development and will continue to do so despite oil and gas production. The weeks ahead, I think, will certainly be interesting.

If you would like to connect with me to discuss this column or any of my previous works, feel free to email me at vish14ragobeer@gmail.com

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WHEN LOVE WALKED...

FROM PAGE XII-

rassed, “I’m so sorry, it happened so suddenly.”

“It’s okay,” he said with a

reassuring smile.

That smile and the fact that he was young with a rugged, handsome look took her breath away a little. Just that one brief moment as she looked at him, an exhilarating feeling filled her being.

“Well,” she laughed a little nervously, “thanks for standing there.”

“You still seem to be shaking a little,” he observed, “Would you like to sit somewhere a little?”

“Ahh, I was actually going to the café,” she said.

“Great, let me walk you there.”

“Thank you.”

He sat with her for a little while and said, “You know, that’s my first experience of a beautiful woman grabbing me from behind as I’m walking down the road.”

She laughed at how funny he made it sound.

“I guess there’s a first for everything.”

“It sure is.”

His smile somehow gave her a sense of comfort that made conversation easy and he asked, “Do you live here?”

“Yes, it’s my hometown.”

“Seems like quite a nice place.”

“So, you’re a tourist?”

“Nope, just passing through.”

He left a short while after, and watching him go, she took a deep breath, surprised at that moment of attraction.

“What just happened?” she questioned quietly, “Would I see him again?”

To be continued…

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THOUGHT FOR

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TODAY

The flesh, alas, is w earied; all the books there and I have read are.

STÉPHANE MAL LARMÉ (1842-18 98) Poem Guinevere, 1.136.

November 26 2023 STUDY SUCCESS Dear student, Welcome dear friend. As you read the short story, use its details to make logical, informed suggestions about

certain outcomes as the story progresses. Often, you may feel the urge to read both forward and backward to confirm or correct predictions. This helps you remain focused on the connections between events as new details inform your original predictions. Also, focused reading helps tighten your grip upon story plot, characters, setting, etc. A structured chart often proves useful here.

Love you.

IMPROVING WRITING All narratives tell a story.

Note: The story follows a narrative structure, form, or pattern. Narrative structure can be chronological, with events taking place in the same order in time as they occur in an unbroken sequence from beginning to end. Anyhow, this straight-forward pattern does not suit all story writers’ ability. In some stories, writers may break story time sequence by two common narrative devices: ● In flashbacks. Here, scenes relate events that happened in the past. Flashbacks often show what motivates a character or reveals something important about a character’s past. Flashback scenes talk about events occurred in the past. ● Through foreshadowing. Here the author provides clues that hint at events to come. Foreshadowing creates suspense by keeping readers guessing about future events.

Foreshadowing clues hint at future events.

Have you tried these narrative patterns yet? If not, try them soon.

But first, choose two short stories and show their narrative structure by creating a timeline of each story. List the events in the order in which they occur in the story. What information does the writer convey through flashback or foreshadowing?

The information will prove very important. Use arrows to represent flashback and foreshadowing.

Right here we should also pay attention to the writer’s style - how he expresses himself. His writing represents his way of writing. What marks a writer’s style? 1) word choice; 2) length and rhythm of sentence, 3) and tone which is his attitude toward his subject and audience.

As the series continue, you will see that a writer’s peculiar expression can be informal, because he uses everyday language and simple, straightforward sentences. Do you remember last week’s informal letter?

But other writers use formal words and longer, more complicated sentences.

As you read more and more stories, make note of their writers’

unique styles.

What can you say about your own style in short story writing? Tell it to your study partners and set samples before them.

IMPROVING READING How much do you understand?

Note: Author’s purpose. An author’s purpose is his reason for writing or intention for writing. It may be to amuse, to persuade, to inform the reader, or to scoff at a condition. He may wish to express his thoughts and emotions in a poem, novel, or a blog – in his most creative way. His purpose will have meaning and passion for himself, and make a way for achieving his goal.

Read the selection. Then, answer the questions.

Before the mid-1800s, most families sewed their own clothes by hand. It took about 14 hours to sew one shirt. Then, in 1845, Elias Howe invented his sewing machine. By 1877, there were half a million sewing machines in the United States. With a sewing machine, a person could make a shirt in only one hour. Clothes could now be mass-produced and sold in stores.

Some people think the telephone, or the gasoline engine is the invention that most changed people’s lives.

I think the sewing machine was more important because it freed people from the endless drudgery of sewing and gave ordinary people choices in what to wear. Free time and pride in their appearance gave average Americans more confidence and more opportunities to achieve their dreams.

1. What kinds of details establish the author’s purpose in the first paragraph of the passage?

(A) facts (B) illustrations (C) reasons (D) characters 2. What is the author’s main purpose in the first paragraph?

(A) to inform (B) to persuade (C) to amuse (D) to complain 3. What kinds of details help the author achieve her purpose in paragraph 2?

(A) facts (B) images (C) illustrations (D) characters 4. What do you determine is the author’s purpose in the second paragraph?

(A) to inform (B) to persuade (C) to amuse (D) to complain 5. Which statement is correct?

(A) Paragraphs 1 and 2 contain facts.

(B) Paragraphs 1 and 2 contain opinions.

(C) Paragraph 1 is opinion; Paragraph 2 is fact.

(D) Paragraph 2 is opinion; Paragraph 1 is fact.

GRAMMAR Using capitalisation and punctuation For punctuating dialogue in a story: Use a comma to introduce a text. Use a comma when a dialogue tag follows a quote. Full stops and commas fall within closing quotations. Question and exclamation marks, and dashes fall inside or outside closing quotations.

Use single quotes when using quotes within dialogue.

[Please look out for finer details next week.]

Copy the following dialogue, inserting the appropriate capitalisation, punctuation, and indentation.

1. rob what kind of salad dressing do you want on your salad asked suzanne 2. rob answered I usually choose italian or creamy italian 3. have you ever tried plain oil and vinegar it has a distinct taste, but very good 4. well, what kind f oil do they mean asked rob 5. olive oil is the best choice for salads it has a distinct flavour and is very smooth suzanne answered 6. wait a second is it really made out of olives

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Sensitive teeth IT is quite common for dental practitioners to hear persons describe dental pain as an ‘edging’ or ‘shocking’ when they eat or drink anything sweet or sour, when the food is hot or cold, or even with simply brushing.

If you experience this, you are among approximately 70,000 Guyanese adults suffering from dentine hypersensitivity.

Dentine is mineralised tissue transected from the pulp chamber (at the tooth’s centre) to enamel or cementum by minute tubules. Within the tubules are protoplasmic projections (“tentacles” of cells), with the cell body itself being located in the pulp chamber. Stimulating these cells emits only one sensation, pain.

There are currently four hypotheses of pain transmission through dentine, of which the hydrodynamic theory is the most widely accepted. According to this theory, the movement of fluids within the dentine and pulp stimulates the nerves, causing pain. All external stimuli translate into hydrodynamic changes that alter the pulp equilibrium and elicit pain. So even contact with air can result in pain.

Pain can be caused by mechanical, chemical, thermal (temperature) or bacterial stimuli. Stimulation sources may include toothbrushing, digital (finger) probing, dessication (a blast of air), sweet, sour, hot, and cold acids, and acid products from plaque bacteria.

There are varied predisposing factors to dentine hypersensitivity but to no single cause. The tooth becomes sensitive after enamel loss or root surface exposure. Enamel loss follows mechanical wear (biting surface wear), neck abrasion or possibly tooth flexure after grinding, which fractures enamel rods, chemical erosion (acid foods or stomach regurgitation), gingival recession (retracting gums) and subsequent tooth root exposure allows more rapid and extensive exposure of dentinal tubules because the cementum layer overlying the root surface is thin and easily removed.

The many causes of gingival retraction include normal ageing, chronic periodontal disease, abnormal tooth position in the dental arch, periodontal surgery, incorrect tooth brushing habits and root preparation for crowns. All of the precipitating factors allow the exposure of dental tubules, which create the condition for dentine hypersensitivity.

Treatment modalities fall into two main categories: chemical and physical. All available treatments work to differing degrees depending on the treatment and severity of the patient’s hypersensitivity. Pain is extremely subjective, so effective treatment often depends on the individual’s pain threshold. Some desensitising agents can be used at home; others require a visit to the dentist.

Chemical desensitising agents can be sub-classified by their action: anti-inflammatory, protein precipitating and tubule blocking.

Corticosteroids, one of the many chemical agents, have been used topically for their anti-inflammatory effects but are not particularly effective.

The second group of chemical agents, the protein precipitants, includes silver nitrate and zinc chloride.

Silver nitrate was widely used in the past. Unfortunately, both substances cause teeth to stain permanently and are harmful to gums and pulp. Strontium chloride and formaldehyde (in Sensodyne toothpaste) belong to the group of agents that precipitate proteins within the tubule. Other drugs used to treat the condition include calcium hydroxide, fluoride, and sodium citrate.

Patients may also be treated with composites (fillings), resins, varnishes, sealants, soft tissue grafts, glass ionomer cements and laser sealing of the tubules.

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