Oluatoyin Alleyne

“Looking back now, I don’t know if I should have done it because I am now burdened with this thing.

With remote learning being forced upon parents throughout the world because of the novel coronavirus, many are still adjusting to their new roles in the education of their children.

Once a pastor’s wife, Carlotta Boodie is well aware of how rampant domestic violence is in the faith-based community and of the fact that many times victims are not given the support they need.

“I don’t have no more fight in me. Before, I felt like I was going to die.

Anjalena Beshpatty knew something was different about her son when he was just a few months old as little Sameir never smiled or cried.

I recently witnessed a horrifying incident at the Awen (8) Supermarket, which is located on the Railway Embankment in the community of Enmore.

As a teenager, Tinishe Bourne failed almost every class in secondary school and after a while she had enough and decided to quit in form four—she was 19 years old.

“I was on my back step teaching my son when he turn to me and say, ‘Mommy look some children hiding in the bush.’

When Ovid Williams gained a place at Queen’s College, English was his second language and the communication barrier and home isolation saw him turning to the guitar, which resulted in him becoming one of Guyana’s well-known and accomplished musicians.

“All this time I was with an idiot and sometimes I feel that way about myself too because look how long I have been with him and now I have four children, four daughters, and I have to move on.

“With this period, only the fittest will survive. As harsh as it might sound, that is just the way it is.

“I help out because there comes a time when we all need help and I am just doing my part even though I must tell you it is very hard, but I try,” she said almost breathlessly.

Sarah (not her real name), a teenager, was removed from her home by the Childcare and Protection Agency (C&PA) after she was sexually molested.

“I don’t say anything but to tell you the truth sometimes I can’t describe the pain, it hurts me bad.

“I am very worried about what will happen to my child being out of the school setting for so many months.

When schools closed in March owing to the COVID-19 pandemic, nursery-school teacher Razanna Mohamed ensured that she remained connected to her students as she still wanted to cater to their educational needs as much as she could.

“I don’t mind. It just become like a norm for me.

“Is like I just working to feed them,” has been the refrain of many mothers – myself included – as they struggle to upkeep their children’s eating habits over the past few months.

When one drives up to the entrance of the emergency unit of the Georgetown Public Hospital with a patient who cannot walk, it is not the doctor or the nurse they first look to but a group of persons who are in the background and whose roles are vital to the everyday operations of the hospital.

As countries around the world battle with the mental health fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic, Guyana, according to Director of the Ministry of Public Health’s Mental Health Unit Dr Util Richmond-Thomas, has been able to grapple with this issue because there is a large ground force of trained personnel in primary care who know what to do with persons presenting mental health issues.