STALWART women’s activist and honoree of the fourth CARICOM Triennial Award for Women, Magda Lois Muriel Pollard C.C.H; A.A has died.
Confirmation of her passing was given on May 9, 2019, by her first cousin, former Judge of the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ), Professor Duke Pollard.
Magda Pollard was born in 1931in Buxton, East Coast Demerara (EDC), to parents Fitzgerald and Muriel Pollard, both of whom were teachers.
In her teenage years, she attended The Bishops’ High School where she excelled academically actively participating in music, drama and community service.
Before leaving school she was awarded the Fidele Collier Medal for her significant contribution to the school’s ethos.
Pollard later moved on to write the Oxford and Cambridge Examinations in 5th form and the London Higher School Certificate, deciding to enter the field of teaching.
Four years later, she left for London to attend the Glasgow and West of Scotland College of Domestic Science where she received training as a Grade One teacher.
She eventually went on to gain a distinction in her Postgraduate Certificate Course at the Queen Elizabeth College, London University, in Home Economics in relation to Community Development.
Pollard later returned to Guyana and worked in the public education system and eventually became the principal of Carnegie School of Home Economics in 1962 where she promoted an increased emphasis on specialized training in food preparation.
This led her, some 16 years later, to be invited by CARICOM to help formulate a regional food and nutrition project.
Her eventual appointment as the first Women’s Affairs Officer (WAO) at the CARICOM Secretariat led her to play a greater role in the representation of women’s rights in Guyana and the Region. She lobbied for the governments in the Caribbean to sign on to and ratify the International Bill Of Rights for Women.
Her invaluable contributions over the years led to her receiving two national awards in Guyana: The Cacique Crown of Honour and the Arrow of Achievement.
She also received the 1992 CARIFESTA Award for Women and the special award of the Caribbean Association of Home Economists of which she was a founding member.
Pollard served as the Chairperson of the Guyana National Commission on Women and, during her tenure, organised for the creation of Women’s Bureaus in the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OCES).
Her active engagement towards the well-being and representation of women’s rights have garnered her much respect and gratitude even as several public figures have since expressed sadness due to her passing.
