St Cuthbert’s Mission resident explores new opportunities

CUTHBERT’S Mission, known as Pakuri Village, is located on the Linden–Soesdyke Highway, miles deep away from the main road. It is a quaint Amerindian community that is moving to secure sustainability through home-grown projects and interventions for single mothers, women, youths, and others.

The village leader, Toshao Alvoro Simon, through his vision and genuine interest in developing the community via innovative methods, is guiding his people towards modern-day techniques that are less time-consuming but yield significant returns.

The locals trust his directions and look up to him for guidance. One such daughter of the soil, Fiona Atkinson, has made the community proud of her selfless academic achievements.

With her determined passion for the education sector — a dream worth pursuing — she invested three years to become a qualified teacher, giving back to her village.

As a granddaughter’s girl, who came from a single-parent upbringing, Atkinson was left with her granny, the matriarch of the family, at eight months old when her mother left the village to pursue studies as a medical professional. She later served as the village medic for more than 20 years.

The mother of four told the Pepperpot Magazine that both her mother’s and grandmother’s maternal instincts led her to the noble teaching profession.

She received her formal primary education in St. Cuthbert’s Mission, and as the only girl who got good grades — alongside what were considered the “five bright boys in the village” — it was something that made them proud.

Atkinson had secured a place at a city secondary school; her mother relocated her with relatives in Georgetown to ease the daily commute, and she attended Campbellville Secondary.

After writing the Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC) exams, she returned to her home village. It was then that she was encouraged by her grandmother and mother to become a schoolteacher.

She taught at St. Cuthbert’s Mission Primary School for four years, during which time she sought to become a qualified teacher, so she enrolled at the Cyril Potter College of Education (CPCE).

Atkinson spent three years there; she was among the last batch of students to complete the certificate programme before it was upgraded to the associate degree.

After graduation, she returned home as a qualified teacher. Whilst teaching there, she met her then-fiancé, who later became her husband, and after their marriage, she moved to the coast to reside.

She continued teaching at both Vryheid’s Lust Primary School on the East Coast Demerara and at J.E. Burnham Primary School in Kitty, Georgetown — until she craved something different.

Her husband is employed in the engineering field, and she wanted to secure a job in the oil and gas sector, as Guyana is experiencing economic growth. She opted to pursue environmental studies at the University of Guyana (UG).

Atkinson told the Pepperpot Magazine that after she successfully completed her studies and secured a Bachelor’s degree in Environmental Studies and a Postgraduate Diploma in Occupational and Environmental Health, she established a consultancy business from her home at Industry Bus Shed Road, East Coast Demerara.

She describes her job as preparing documents for environmental permits for developers along the coast, which is done via contractors.

She has so far handled her job with relative ease, while being a full-time mother to four children, and is loving every bit of it.

Today, she serves as a private Environmental and Safety Consultant in the construction industry, and her story is an example of growth, resilience, and purposeful achievement.

She continues to inspire as a woman who harmoniously blends technical expertise with enduring community values, bringing pride to her people and to St. Cuthbert’s Mission Village.

Atkinson is a true representation of what courage, dedication, hard work, and sacrifice are all about, defying odds to become successful as a mother and as an Indigenous woman whose academic achievements did not come easily.

Her role is to provide Health, Environment, and Safety support, ensuring contractors comply with all safety rules, assisting in the implementation of safety measures on site, and delivering toolbox talks to workers, which includes safety inductions for new workers.