Aims to ignite the hearts of underprivileged children in Guyana

By Gabriella Chapman

TWENTY-ONE-YEAR old Anita Baker was recently crowned Miss Earth Guyana Fire and has definitely proven herself to be a young woman of great substance, who overcame many challenges and is focused on making her future and the future of many other less fortunate young people, as bright and vibrant as it ought to be.

Anita is a computer technician, professional model and cosmetologist, born to a nuclear family of which she is the seventh of 25 siblings.

Her passion is to create beauty and to exhibit love and care in every possible way in the lives of children because their smiles bring joy to her life. Realising this at a very young age, Anita fed her passion by being a loving and caring sister to all her siblings, putting smiles on their faces in whatever way she can, and that kept her happy and kept her going.
When asked about her inspiration, the beauty said “Nature inspires me, simply because it has characteristics of a child. It’s simple, but its worth is immeasurable and if you treat it right, its produce is pleasing and beautiful. I seize every opportunity I get to play with babies and children in my neighbourhood,” she said. “I’m even the godmother of three and I contribute to their lives in whatever way I can, because as clichéd as it sounds, I believe the children are the future and I wish to have nothing but a bright and beautiful future.”
She further shared that when she was younger, she had three main goals/aspirations. The first was to become a forensic investigator; the second, to become a model so that she can represent Guyana and share her story and impact lives through pageantry; and the third, to become the owner of a beauty salon.

THE BEGINNING OF HER MODELLING CAREER
In 2014 she started her modelling career. After a few months, she was approached by Traits Model Management to audition with the company but was not accepted as an official model. However, that did not dampen the fire in her soul so she continued modelling until a friend led her to Storm Talent Agency, where she auditioned with a little more knowledge and experience and was accepted on the spot.
Since then, Anita has competed in two pageants; Miss Guyana Independence Culture in 2016, capturing Second Runner-up and Miss Earth Guyana 2018, capturing Miss Earth Guyana – Fire title.

To go after the Forensic Investigator goal she obtained a Diploma in computer studies in 2015 but realised that wasn’t the path she wanted to go.
Between 2016 and 2017, Anita did many courses qualifying her with different cosmetology skills and is now a cosmetologist by profession and is in the process of constructing a salon.

“Growing up there are so many dreams and goals you set for yourself. And, as you grow you get wiser and the list gets longer. But what you must know is, that it is better to try and fail than fail to try. I’m still very young and I have intentions achieving all my goals regardless of whatever setbacks may come my way. I believe a person is limitless and life’s hurdles are inevitable but definitely not unbreakable,” she said.
At the recently concluded Miss Earth Guyana pageant, her Environmental Beautification project won the ‘Beauties for a Cause’ segment. The project is aimed at creating community pride through enhancement programmes in depressed communities, and to ensure that its environs are equipped with a child-friendly recreational facility. In addition, her love for children has caused her to also commit to contributing hampers and motivational talks to the lives of underprivileged children in every reachable community.
The project is in its foundation stage, but Anita has high hopes of changing the lives of children and young people and transforming Guyana as a whole.