One woman on a mission to help others by any means necessary

PHILANTHROPY is often associated with the affluent, conjuring images of grand donations and high-profile charity balls. Onika Gentle is no stranger to tough times. She has had firsthand experience facing adversities. The 35-year-old had an interesting start to her roller coaster of a life. However, she has overcome countless challenges to become a successful professional and blazing entrepreneur. Her story showcases the strength of the human spirit. Recently, she was nominated for Guyana’s Influential Women’s Award. Although appreciative and honoured, Onika aims to continue her humanitarian work. She champions the idea of change and the importance of helping others, even when you may need yourself.

Onika was born in the community of Low Wood. The small riverine community is located on the Bank of the Demerara River. Low Wood is a small, close-knit place, a community where logging was the major trade and everybody lived like family, and most people still do today. Onika describes her family as traditional. Her childhood was marked by days filled with following her father onto the backdams. As she shares “My childhood was mostly spent around my family, to be very honest. With my brothers and my parents, we would go to the farm on weekends. When my father started logging, we would go with him. For us, it was fun. Because obviously, going in is just to play and whatever. You are [also] working. They might say, bring something. You run and go for it and come back and play.”

After finishing high school, Onika ventured out of her community to attend high school in Soesdyke. This aspect of her school was challenging and was cut short after the family member she was housed with migrated. As she explained, “My uncle decided that we could stay by him. And he ended up migrating. He ended up migrating. And my parents decided that I should go home. I used to go home every weekend. Well, when I’m there, it’s just like I’m home because we got to be home at a certain time. But it had all those restrictions. I returned home. I did not complete secondary school. I returned home.” During this time, she went through a period of self-discovery. She left the village of Low Wood with newfound determination. Although she did not finish her secondary education the first time around, she eventually got to complete it. After a few years of being home, married and divorced at the age of 20, she decided to turn her life around. “I got married to somebody from the area that we knew. We pretty much grew up. He was overseas. We used to talk, pretty much like friends.”

Over the last few years, Onika has started major personal endeavours. Among her most recent accomplishments is working towards her Bachelor’s Degree in Business Management. She is also an entrepreneur. She recently launched her business, ‘Safe Movers’ along with a few other perosons. The growing business is one of Guyana’s few professional moving companies. She stated the tremendous progress she has made, saying that, “I’m the marketing coordinator acting at the Guyana Chronicle. I am the marketing and managing director of Safe Movers International. It’s a logistics company that caters to the housing sector. If you want to move from one apartment to another, we provide. It’s been officially registered for over a year.”

Onika shared that there was a point in her life when she knew she had to make some changes. Her choice to return to school was sparked by the fact that there was very little work happening in her community. “I wrote six subjects on two separate papers. I wrote four once, and then I wrote back. I went back because you see that there was not much happening in the area at that time as it relates to getting a job and all that. Well, it’s still now, but more so, CXC was like a degree. Compared to now, where CXC is just like a basic necessity,” she said.

Today, Onika is also the pioneer behind The Together We Transformer Foundation. It is a non-profit aimed at aiding underprivileged people with a focus on people. For Onika, her dedication and drive are attributed to one thing. She shared that, “Because I was in a place where I know what it’s like. Because I came from a place knowing what it’s like needing but not having.” Onika Gentle’s story is a testament to philanthropy transcending monetary contributions. It is about lending a hand, sharing resources, and fostering a spirit of generosity whenever possible.