“LISTENING to you last evening has triggered something inside of me and I now have some hope that I can be somebody.” I have been receiving messages of this nature for days from very young and not so young women.

I decided to take part of the celebration for Women’s History Month to my hometown, Bartica . It was one of the best weekends I have experienced for this year and it was in my hometown Bartica. When I examined my schedule, it seemed impossible to fit in a weekend out of town, but my level of intentionality grew when I enquired what was done for Women’s History Month and could not get info of any event. I am ecstatic I made the right call.

My Foundation distributed food items to mothers and personal-care items to girls. A few weeks ago, we distributed bread to certain areas, but this time we had other food items with the bread, and the recipients were happy because facing the hike in prices, especially with kids, is difficult. Sunday morning, I visited one of the senior citizens I had not seen for years. I was surprised that she recognised me immediately without my signature braids.

Seeing her made me miss my favourite 100-year-old friend, Aunt Lou, who died in a fire. We had many great conversations on her back steps while taking a drink. The good old days, as they say. I think the river pulls me in, because it is hard not to go there. One of the pictures in the article was taken on the stage where I was first runner-up for the Bartica Regatta over three decades ago. I was working on my confidence and self, and it took a lot out of me to go on stage with a swimsuit. Memories certainly don’t leave like people do, even the ones you sometimes wish they leave, lol. The water always calms me and clarifies my thought; hence, I had one hour of productive expo work done.

We hosted an Evening of Inspiration in collaboration with Hope Foundation at the beautifully constructed Nizam’s Building in Third Avenue.
I had the opportunity to interact with many young ladies from Three Miles and Bartica Secondary.

The feedback has been tremendous from all the activities, and that is a big blessing. The dorm students were excited to receive their personal-care items, compliments of DeSinco Trading. DeSinco Trading was the biggest contributor to our hamper distribution in Bartica. Thank you also Sara Khalil from New York, Le’ Treat Bakery, Shanta Imquie Youngkam for their contributions. Thanks to Mr Kassim for the venue, Teacher Carmel Smith, Mr Kenneth Williams, Regional Chairman Region Seven, Pastor Ivor, Estiva Lake, Cianna Persaud, Jo Anna Mc Kenzie and Shenella Gibson for assisting. Big thank you also Dr Sabeeta Bidasie Singh and Eldorado Offshore will be donating IPods for the students with the most impactful short story on “breaking the bias.” Some of the students will also be given scholarships to the Virtual Writer’s Retreat.

I love it when the young people ask many questions and they sure did. One of the questions often asked is how did you become so confident? This question allows me to talk about my confidence journey and expand on a topic dear to my heart. I am on a mission to encourage as many people as possible to embark on this journey, and I have created a programme called Confidence Becomes you. Ladies who register during this month will receive a special price. We are coming to a close for this wonderful month celebrating women, and what better way to do that than the Women in Business Expo on the March 30 and 31!

Join us to celebrate with these amazing young entrepreneurs as we continue to break the bias on this beautiful journey called Life BEYOND THE RUNWAY.