–Veterinarian, Entrepreneur, Dance Instructor

By Jeune Bailey VanKeric

BECOMING a Veterinarian was not too farfetched an accomplishment for her, because as a child, she grew up on a farm at Black Bush Polder, an agricultural community on the Corentyne Coast, where her family planted cash-crops and reared livestock.
“My decision to become a ‘Vet’ was a passion that was ingrained in me,” reminisced Regional Coordinator of the Guyana Livestock Development Authority (GLDA), Dr. Susan Farley-Charles, during an interview with the Guyana Chronicle on Saturday.

With time and the requisite exposure, that passion for caring for sick and stray animals was further developed while a student at the New Amsterdam Multilateral School, where she obtained a double award in Agriculture Science at the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) examination.
An attempt to complete Sixth Form was interrupted, after she was afforded an opportunity to pursue a scholarship at the University of Santa Clara, in Cuba, where she studied from 2002 to 2009.
After graduating, she returned to her homeland, and was able to gain employment with the Ministry of Agriculture, through an arrangement with the Public Service Ministry (PSM), which bonded her to the government for five years.
It was during that period, she recalled, that the GLDA, a semi-autonomous body to which she was seconded, was founded.

Dr. Farley-Charles has been with the agency ever since, serving as a Veterinary Officer in the East Berbice-Corentyne district of Region Six.

Among her responsibilities is to ensure the health of the region’s livestock population, and minimise the transmission of disease from animals to humans and vice versa.

That aside, she is also tasked with the issuance of certification for varying practices, ranging from the hatching of eggs to recording the movement of animals regionally, so as to minimise the spread of diseases.
One of the topics she touched on briefly during our conversation was the predisposition among farmers to use over-the-counter drugs on their animals without knowing the correct diagnosis or dosage. She also spoke of the need for farmers to adapt to simple technology so as to help reduce loss, and thereby boost their profit margin, and to use farrowing crates in the swine industry, in a bid to reduce the risk of the sow lying on or crushing her newborn piglets.

But, it’s not just about livestock for our friendly neighbourhood animal doctor, who somehow manages to find the time to channel some of her inner creativity into entrepreneurship, through the operation of the ‘Glorious Dance Fineries’ store, which caters primarily to those who are into what in the Christian community is known as Dance Ministry.

The store, the only one of its kind in the Ancient County, if not the township of New Amsterdam, is outfitted with every essential apparel for Praise, Worship and Liturgical dance wear, and other associated paraphernalia for persons of all ages.

A devoted Christian, Susan is also very much involved as a dancer in her local church, and the ANBAL Dance Ministries, where many lives have been transformed and delivered.
Currently, the art of dance is being taught by the dance instructor to over 20 young women from within the Berbice County.

For now, Doctor Farley-Charles, a happily married mother of one, is pursuing her Master’s Degree, the focus of which is quality control and safety measures.