Dianne Innis possesses no lofty ambitions that have to do with ‘changing the world’ or even lifting all of the young and underprivileged Guyanese whose lives are blighted by poverty and perhaps worse, by lack of opportunity, out of their present predicament. She understands clearly the limits of what lies within her power and says that she believes that it is the size of her heart rather than the depth of her purse that matters.
Long a resident of the United States, she simply refuses to give up on Guyana. These days, she runs two modest business enterprises locally, one, a small, quaint confectionery shop in King Street – between Robb Street and North Road named Candy Express and the other a Forshaw Street showroom where she displays an array of accoutrements associated with her second (again modest) business, Party Castle, which offers everything from exotic decor and high quality food for events wishing to make a ‘splash.’ Both business establishments appear to have been established for the purpose of putting down roots here for her substantive mission of giving back to Guyana.
When we met Dianne a few weeks ago she was preoccupied with a contract she had won to provide the catering and décor for an event at the Lusignan Golf Club and as she worked to put the event together she ‘lectured’’ us on her preoccupation of contributing to the raising of standards in the entertainment industry in Guyana. She sees no reason why fine dining and first rate entertainment should be the sole prerogative of the expatriates who show up here from time to time on one mission or another and who can afford a ‘do’ at the Marriott.
