SHE had her eyes set on two professions as a child and today she has managed to overcome a range of challenges in order to qualify herself in one of those fields.
Dr. Gillian Joseph is a product of the North Rupununi village of Surama and a descendant of a family that is rich in upkeeping its indigenous way of life.

Dr. Joseph is currently undergoing an 18-month rotation exercise through the main subspecialties of the medical field. The rotation includes practice in internal medicine, pediatrics, general surgery and obstetrics and gynecology, as well as, six months of community service.

The mother of two is currently attached to the Kitty Health Centre having spent three months prior at the Campbellville Health Centre.
Her stay in Kitty will be followed by a one-year hinterland stint or she can remain in Georgetown and specialise in general surgery. She said that she prefers the latter since it would ensure she is better equipped on her return to the Rupununi.

Dr. Joseph explained that it would give her an upper hand in practicing medicine in the specific area and would see a decrease in patients being transferred to the city since she would be able to perform minor surgeries on patients.
She said hypertension and diabetes are two of the predominant ailments at Surama. “There hasn’t been a study to determine why this is so,” she noted, adding that there are also sicknesses which are related to the change in weather conditions.

“As a doctor, primary health care is necessary, first of all, you have to consider the primary risk factors in the area and what are the modes of prevention and the consequences if those preventative measures are not followed,” Dr. Joseph added. She returned to Guyana in 2015 from Cuba and spent a year as an intern doctor.
With a smile, she said that she keeps an eye out for persons who tend to exaggerate a simple condition.

The young doctor noted that at Surama, the elders are well versed in the use of herbal medicines and one of her aims is to undertake a comparison of the medicine used by the villagers- which were handed down from several generations- to those of today.
Looking ahead, she said she plans to specialise in the treatment of heart patients. “My dream is to become a Cardiothoracic {heart} surgeon,” she said, noting she would have to do such training overseas.

RETURNING TO THE RUPUNUNI
As regards returning to Rupununi, Dr. Joseph noted that she would most likely be placed at the Annai Hospital since it is located within the sub-district of her home.
She told the Guyana Chronicle that her upbringing was one which was fun-filled and memorable. In 2003 she was crowned Miss Region Nine at the Indigenous Heritage Pageant and managed to secure the first runner-up position at the National Pageant.
Dr. Joseph attended primary school in Surama and later went on to study at the St Ignatius Secondary School, near Lethem.

She would later return to her hometown where she spent two years working as a tourism official in the village. In 2008, she left Guyana for Cuba on a government scholarship, and according to her, the experience was challenging from the inception.
As her emotions ran high, Dr. Joseph noted that she faced several firewalls, some of which almost broke her spirit, before and during her period of study in Cuba. She credits her efforts to the Almighty for seeing her through her struggles.

She said adapting to the lifestyle, language and culture, as well as food, came as “a whole life-changing experience; one that at first I thought I would have never overcome.” However, she said she did a lot of thinking and that process provided her with motivation to complete the programme.

“When I finished secondary school and seeing that there are the difficulties in the health sector, seeing family members and children suffer and some dying of ailments, I decided that I can make a change,” she said.

NOT YOUR AVERAGE DOCTOR
Dr. Joseph is not your average doctor. When the annual Indigenous Heritage Games were held last weekend at the Everest Ground in the city, she pulled on her football uniform and represented the Georgetown Kanaimas Female Football Team at the games. The Barcelona Football fan also participates in other sport activities but football lies close to her heart.

In addition, she noted that she was recruited during her teenage years to represent Guyana in a National Under-18 Football squad which was vying for a place at a Female World Cup Tournament. She said she played in match-ups on the island of Antigua at the time. “That was in 2002,” she said, adding that besides medicine, she allocates her time to sporting activities and the outdoors.

Dr. Joseph comes from a family which is known nationally, and even overseas, in the performing arts. She is the daughter of Glendon and Jean Allicock of the famous Surama Cultural Group. She is also a niece of the Minister of Indigenous Peoples’ Affairs, Sydney Allicock, who is her father’s eldest brother. She expressed appreciation to her relatives who assisted her thus far.

Being granddaughter of the founders of the village of Surama, Dr. Joseph said that she is well versed in the family traditions. She even speaks the Makushi language well.
“I can also grate cassava, I can make farine and bake cassava bread,” she said, noting that she has a passion for maintaining her family’s rich traditions. She said that she also knows how to prepare the indigenous beverage “parakari” as well as “tuma”. She can spin cotton and weave crafts. “It’s what makes me who I am; my true identity,” she added.

According to Dr. Joseph, while growing up in Surama, one has to be involved in communal activities. “It entails teaching and passing on the cultural knowledge from the elders to the youth,” she added. In addition, leadership skills are taught to children.

To this end, she said that she also took on a leadership role in the community since her childhood days. Dr. Joseph plans to hold on to such skills as well as hone those which she will encounter by way of her career, in order to play a vital role in the medical field in the Rupununi and the rest of the country.