By Francis Quamina Farrier

THIS article concludes my “June the month of Brides ” 2021 series, in which I threw the spotlight on four Guyanese married couples. In this final article, the spotlight is on the well-known married couple, Gem Madhoo and Kit Nascimento. Both Gem and Kit were approaching their mature years when they met and fell madly in love with each other. To quote Kit from his wedding speech, “…it was because of our mutual love and ability to cook.” One can conclude that the way to both a man’s and a woman’s heart, is through their stomachs.

Gem, like her husband Kit Nascimento, has done much, not only for their own enjoyment and development, but also for their beloved, beautiful Guyana. Kit has worked in high public office in the Guyana Public Service, which included within the country’s Parliament. Gem in her very early working life was a staffer at the (now defunct) Guyana National Cooperative Bank. She has also been very successful as a Theatre producer with the iconic Theatre Company, which has produced many very successful theatre productions over the past quarter of a century. They include the extremely popular Link Shows.

Gem can be described as “a free spirit” and has gone on many adventures; one of great significance is her World Tour many years ago, to the following countries: Belgium, Canada, Caymans, Coru, Costa Rica, Egypt, England,  France, Germany, Greece, Holland, Hong Kong, India, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Mallorca, Mexico, Scotland, Spain, Switzerland, Thailand and Trinidad.

With that experience as a tourist, Gem got involved with the tourism industry when she teamed up with Kit establishing the Bartica area of the Essequibo River as a safe destination for yachts – especially during the hurricane seasons which often slams the Caribbean islands annually without mercy. “The first flotilla of yachts arrived from Trinidad in 2004.” she told me. They moored in the Essequibo river at Hurakabra, located just north of Bartica. “Kit and I built a retirement home on the left bank of the Essequibo river, but decided to open it into a tourist resort,” she explained.

It is appropriate to turn the clock back over three decades when, as a student of the University of Guyana (UG), Gem was one of the students who was given an assignment by the great Guyanese educator, Lloyd Searwar. It was to co-ordinate a group of 13 teachers from Mississippi in the southern United States, who were on a one-month educational visit to Guyana. Gem and a few other of the UG students were assigned, “… to arrange trips to our hinterland locations, expose them to Guyanese culture and arrange talks with some of our political personalities,” she informed me. As such, her groundings as one of Guyana’s most experienced tour operators goes way back and has grown side-by-side with her husband, “Kit’s”.

With a great measure of pride, Gem Madhoo stated, “I started my own tour operating business from 1992 until myself and “Kit” built the Hurakabra River resort.” There is much romance at that location, not only with the proprietors but also with the many tourists and other guests who visit…especially on moon-lit nights as a full moon lingers over the mighty and romantic Essequibo River. Asked about the present COVID-19 pandemic and how it is affecting the tourist arrivals, Gem pointed out that, “COVID-19 has adversely affected the tourism industry. However, we look forward to putting this pandemic behind us and to welcome the many visitors who are waiting to step on our shores.”