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  • Ganja found at E/bo burial ground 

    Ganja found at E/bo burial ground 

    Several parcels of suspected cannabis were found at the Queenstown Burial Ground, Essequibo Coast, on Saturday.

    According to a Police report, Officers went to the location after receiving key information. While there, a search was conducted and four parcels wrapped in transparent plastic bags, concealed among bushes, containing leaves, seeds, and stems suspected to be cannabis, were unearthed.

    The suspected narcotics were transported to the Anna Regina Police Station, where it was weighed and amounted to 248.6 grams. The cannabis was then lodged as investigations continue.

    The ganja found

    The post Ganja found at E/bo burial ground  appeared first on News Room Guyana.

  • Hydromet forecasts ‘above normal’ rainfall in months ahead

    Hydromet forecasts ‘above normal’ rainfall in months ahead

    The Hydrometeorological Service hosted its 19th National Climate Outlook Forum on Monday at the Herdmanston Lodge in Georgetown, unveiling the country’s weather forecast for the upcoming months.

    With mild La Niña conditions expected through March 2026, officials are urging stakeholders to prepare for wetter-than-usual weather conditions across most regions. However, temperatures may be warmer-than-usual during the daytime with cooler-than-normal nighttime temperatures.

    From December 2025 to February 2026, Guyana is expected to experience near-normal to above-normal rainfall across the country, except for the far southern portions of Regions 6 and 9, where below-normal rainfall is expected.

    At the forum where the information was shared, Deputy Chief Hydromet Officer, Haymattie Danny said the climate outlook engagement is vital for preparing the country at the onset of each rainy season.

    “Climate services are powerful tools, they bridge the gap between traditional and scientific knowledge. By harnessing this information, we can navigate a changing climate with greater confidence and create a more sustainable future,” Danny said.

    She further stated that engaging both public and private stakeholders is essential to fully understand climate impacts, better prepare for extreme events, and make more informed decisions.

    Specialist Meteorologist Komalchand Dhiram noted that although La Niña is expected to remain mild, experts will closely monitor its evolution over the coming weeks and months.

    For agriculture, the outlook projects that rainfall could boost crop growth and productivity, but warmer conditions may also increase heat stress, along with the threat of pests and diseases. Intermittent dry-hot spells could further challenge rice yields despite the general expectation of above-normal rainfall.

    Water levels in reservoirs and conservancies are likely to reach or approach full capacity. However, increased evaporation may reduce the amount of water actually available. Heavy rainfall combined with rising temperatures could also heighten the risk of surface water contamination and algal blooms.

    In public health, prolonged wet weather is predicted to create ideal conditions for mosquito breeding, increasing the risk of malaria and other vector-borne diseases. Higher temperatures may also raise the likelihood of heat-related illnesses in both humans and livestock. Flooding and contaminated water could lead to outbreaks of waterborne diseases.

    The forum also highlighted disaster risk concerns. Flash floods remain likely, posing threats to crops, property, and infrastructure. Flood-prone areas may face transportation disruptions, while persistent rainfall and site flooding could delay construction projects.

     

    The post Hydromet forecasts ‘above normal’ rainfall in months ahead appeared first on News Room Guyana.

  • Compton ‘Squingy’ Persaud– The quiet giant who nurtured talent

    Compton ‘Squingy’ Persaud– The quiet giant who nurtured talent

    The cycling and motorsport communities in Guyana are mourning the passing of Compton Persaud, affectionately known as ‘Squingy,’ who has been widely remembered as a selfless mentor, a true ‘lover of sport,’ and a man with an undeniable eye for talent.

    Persaud passed away recently at the age of 72, reportedly after suffering a heart attack.

    His sudden departure has left a significant void, particularly across the nation’s cycling tracks and motor racing circuits, where he was a dedicated supporter for decades.

    For veteran motor and cycling racer Kevin Jeffrey, who knew Persaud for 50 years, the loss is deeply personal.

    Jeffrey described Persaud as “a genuine friend, a trusted soul, and an honest, hard-working, contented person.”

    Persaud’s passion for sport was unconditional.

    He not only loved the competition but also backed individuals, supporting numerous cyclists and serving on Jeffrey’s own motor-racing and cycling teams, often touring alongside him during races.

    Jeffrey noted that Persaud always seemed to possess a rare gift: “He always saw talent.”

    Compton Persaud (far right) was part of Kevin Jeffrey’s (centre) racing team

    This insight was never more evident than at the start of the career of the now-deceased Alonzo Greaves, one of the country’s most promising cycling talents, whom Persaud coached and guided in his early years.

    Persaud’s influence was felt primarily at the grassroots level, away from the formal structures of the sport.

    National cyclist Marlon ‘Fishy’ Williams recounted how riders and businessmen would regularly meet at Persaud’s shop, a gathering they affectionately termed the ‘Parliament,’ where they discussed everything from cycling strategy to broader societal issues.

    Although never holding a formal position on the Cycling Federation, Williams affirmed that Persaud was always willing to assist, bringing a hands-on approach to the sport, having been a veteran cyclist himself for a couple of years.

    Outside of sport, Persaud was a familiar face in Georgetown, having managed BATA shoe store in the 1970s until the company closed its doors in Guyana.

    He attended St. Ambrose Primary School and then Christ Church Secondary School.

    On social media, the cycling fraternity has extended its deepest condolences, honouring the memory of a man whose humble spirit, warmth, and quiet dignity touched many lives with sincerity and goodwill.

    The post Compton ‘Squingy’ Persaud– The quiet giant who nurtured talent appeared first on News Room Guyana.

  • Guyana and Belize forge a new model of climate partnership at COP30

    Guyana and Belize forge a new model of climate partnership at COP30

    By Danielle Swain in Belém, Brazil

    danielle@newsroom.gy

    In a brightly lit conference room on the edge of the Amazon, two CARICOM siblings made the case that some of the most effective climate solutions are not emerging from wealthy nations, but from small developing states learning from one another.

    At a joint COP30 side event on Saturday titled “Building Climate Resilience in Belize & Guyana: Uniting NDCs & REDD+ for Transparent Partnerships,” ministers and technical teams from both countries framed their collaboration as a blueprint for how South-South partnerships can accelerate climate ambition, even as international finance remains slow, uneven and insufficient.

    And at the centre of Guyana’s delegation was Vanessa Benn, Minister within the Ministry of Housing, whose rise in national politics has been marked by a determined push to link development with environmental stewardship. Her presence in Belém underscored President Dr Irfaan Ali’s wider World Leader’s Climate Summit call, that Guyana’s forest-based climate leadership should serve both national prosperity and regional solidarity, especially among countries confronting similar vulnerabilities.

    Guyana’s Minister within the Ministry of Housing Vanessa Benn speaks during a joint Belize–Guyana climate side event at COP30 in Belém, Brazil, November 15, 2025. (Photo: Yusuf Ali/News Room)

    Partnership in shared vulnerability and vision

    Belize and Guyana may lie in different bodies of water, but their climate profiles read almost the same. Low-lying coastlines threatened by flooding and sea level rise, forest communities dependent on natural resources, and economies strained by increasingly extreme weather events.

    Both nations, like most Small Island Developing States (SIDs), also face a financing gap that hampers their ability to meet their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) under the Paris Agreement.

    According to Belize’s Minister of Sustainable Development, Orlando Habet, “ambition equals resources,” and those resources remain painfully inadequate for countries that did little to cause the climate crisis.

    Belize’s Minister of Sustainable Development Orlando Habet speaks during a joint Belize–Guyana climate side event at COP30 in Belém, Brazil, November 15, 2025. (Photo: Yusuf Ali/News Room)

    Yet the joint event suggested that small states do not have to wait on the world.

    Guyana’s long-running Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS), first launched in 2009, and its landmark partnership with Norway have earned the country global recognition for transparent forest governance and high-integrity carbon markets. Belize, meanwhile, is advancing an increasingly inclusive model of NDC development, built on community engagement, improved climate finance systems and a new Carbon Markets Initiative Bill.

    The countries’ 2022 Memorandum of Understanding signalled the beginning of what speakers described as a “new era” of Caribbean climate cooperation, one grounded not only in political goodwill, but in technical exchanges between ministries, data teams, MRV specialists and forest officers.

    Minister Benn: Be bold in climate action

    Speaking with characteristic directness, Minister Benn framed Guyana’s forest success not as a miracle, but as the product of political will, detailed technical work and the participation of the communities who protect the country’s vast forest estate.

    “We have a multi-stakeholder steering committee… and the participation of our citizens through continual stakeholder engagement,” she said, emphasising that Indigenous peoples are not just beneficiaries but decision-makers in Guyana’s LCDS and carbon market programmes.

    Guyana’s Minister within the Ministry of Housing Vanessa Benn with (from left) Village Councillor Don Antone and Toshao of Aishalton Anthony Williams during a joint Belize–Guyana climate side event at COP30 in Belém, Brazil, November 15, 2025. (Photo: Yusuf Ali/News Room)

    This message aligns with her broader public record.

    Since taking office, Benn has advocated for greener development priorities, particularly in housing, sharing that public policy must be both sustainable and people-centred. Her push to integrate environmental stewardship into Guyana’s housing sector, including the use of lesser-known timber species and higher construction standards, is part of a larger effort to make national development climate-resilient.

    At COP30, she extended that philosophy to international cooperation.

    “Caribbean countries like Belize and Guyana are advancing ambitious mitigation and adaptation agendas, but the scale of available financing remains far below what is needed,” she warned. “Still, we are not waiting to act.”

    Technical Leadership Belize and Guyana bring science into focus

    While ministers set the political tone, the technical exchanges anchored the event in evidence and implementation.

    Belizean climate policy specialist Ide Sosa presents on Belize’s transparency and NDC progress during the joint Belize–Guyana climate side event at COP30 in Belém, Brazil, November 15, 2025. (Photo: Yusuf Ali/News Room)

    For Belize, climate policy specialist Ide Sosa presented the country’s first Biennial Transparency Report and NDC achievements, walking the audience through the institutional challenges, data gaps and capacity needs that shape Belize’s climate reporting. She outlined the country’s plans to strengthen greenhouse gas inventories, improve data management and scale up sector-level technical training. Her presentation underscored the core Belizean message that progress is happening, but structural support is urgently needed.

    For Guyana, environmental policy expert Preeya Rampersaud detailed the country’s 18 million hectares of forest, its world-leading 0.05 per cent deforestation rate, and its jurisdictional approach to ART-TREES credits. She highlighted the benefit-sharing mechanism that channels 15 per cent of carbon revenues directly to Indigenous communities and emphasised Guyana’s position as a global early mover in high-integrity carbon markets.

    Guyana’s climate and biodiversity specialist Preeya Rampersaud presents on Guyana’s forest and carbon market programme during the joint Belize–Guyana climate side event at COP30 in Belém, Brazil, November 15, 2025. (Photo: Yusuf Ali/News Room)

    Together, Sosa and Rampersaud demonstrated the strength of the partnership at the technocratic level with two systems developing in parallel, learning from one another, and pushing each other higher.

    Belize is learning from and contributing to the model

    While Guyana’s carbon market achievements featured prominently, Belizean officials stressed that their country is not a passive learner.

    As Sosa and Minister Habet highlighted, Belize has already submitted its first Biennial Transparency Report (BTR), is executing its NDC 3.0 roadmap and is strengthening its greenhouse gas inventory systems with new institutional arrangements, improved data management and national consultations.

    Its inclusivity in NDC development, they argued, offers lessons for the wider Caribbean, including Guyana.

    Moreover, Belizean officials emphasised the centrality of forests and Indigenous communities to their national climate ambitions, mirroring Guyana’s approach, and underscoring why the partnership works.

    Toshao Derrick John, Chair of Guyana’s National Toshaos’ Council, pressed Minister Habet on the role of Indigenous peoples in Belize’s climate programmes. Habet acknowledged the challenges, legal, administrative and cultural, but affirmed that Indigenous participation must be written into policy to ensure continuity across political cycles.

    Toshao Derrick John, Chair of Guyana’s National Toshaos’ Council, asks Belize’s Minister Orlando Habet about Indigenous involvement in Belize’s climate programmes during the joint Belize–Guyana side event at COP30 in Belém, Brazil, November 15, 2025. (Photo: Yusuf Ali/News Room)

    His response reflected the underlying theme of the event that the resilience of national systems depends on the resilience of local communities.

    Norway’s enduring climate partnership

    Norway, long regarded as Guyana’s most trusted forest partner, also addressed the room.

    Hege Ragnhildstveit of Norway’s International Climate and Forest Initiative attends the joint Belize–Guyana climate side event at COP30 in Belém, Brazil, November 15, 2025. (Photo: Yusuf Ali/News Room)

    Hege Ragnhildstveit of the Norwegian Climate and Forest Initiative praised Guyana’s “ambitious forest policies,” its “global service” in storing 19.5 gigatons of carbon and its groundbreaking issuance of ART-TREES carbon credits. But she also reinforced the need for transparent implementation and continued community benefit-sharing, applauding Guyana for designing mechanisms that direct 15 per cent of revenues to Indigenous communities.

    Scaling up a Caribbean Climate Model

    For much of the event, both countries described themselves not simply as vulnerable nations, but as innovators and early movers.

    Guyana’s jurisdictional carbon market programme has already attracted more than US$200 million in revenues under its second phase, while Belize is building the architecture to access similar results-based finance.

    The COP30 side event acted as an example of how Caribbean states can strengthen regional collaboration and international support for climate priorities by speaking with a unified voice.

    In Belém, where President Ali attended the pre-COP30 high level Climate Summit urging global leaders to mainstream forests and biodiversity into climate cooperation, the message was given again, the Caribbean is not waiting for permission to lead.

    Partners and equals

    By the end of the 90-minute session, what emerged was a developing model of climate action that is regional in spirit, strengthened by shared struggle, and powered by mutual respect.

    As Edalmi Pinelo, Belize’s Chief Climate Change Officer, noted in her closing, the partnership shows “we are ready to fight climate change in any region.”

    For Minister Benn, the collaboration is an extension of Guyana’s wider global leadership, and a practical demonstration of President Ali’s insistence that forest countries must shape the future of climate governance, not merely react to it.

    Representatives from Belize and Guyana pose for a group photo after the joint Belize–Guyana climate side event at COP30 in Belém, Brazil, November 15, 2025. (Photo: Yusuf Ali/News Room)

    And for Belize, it is proof that cooperation among developing countries can deliver more than solidarity. It can build systems, strengthen institutions and change the pace of climate ambition.

    In the Amazon, two small states showed what big climate leadership looks like.

    The post Guyana and Belize forge a new model of climate partnership at COP30 appeared first on News Room Guyana.

  • Flurry of goals in rollicking start to MVP Sports Girls Under-11 School Football

    Flurry of goals in rollicking start to MVP Sports Girls Under-11 School Football

    The ninth edition of the MVP Sports Girls Under-11 School Football Tournament began with a flurry of goals on Saturday, as defending champions Santa Rosa Primary, Marian Academy, and St John the Baptist all delivered emphatic opening victories.

    Hosted at the Ministry of Education Ground in Georgetown, the tournament immediately highlighted two potential individual stars who netted blistering hat-tricks.

    St John the Baptist wasted no time in making a statement, crushing Smith Memorial Primary 7-0. The phenomenal midfield mastery of Thalia Alert powered the victory.

    Alert delivered one of the tournament’s most explosive opening displays, scoring a hat-trick in a blistering five-minute spell (19th, 21st, and 24th minutes) to put the Region Seven side firmly in control. Elianna Grant (32nd, 35th) later added a brace to seal the commanding win.

    Matching SJTB’s margin of victory was Santa Rosa Primary, who triumphed 7-0 over Genesis Primary.

    Defending champions Santa Rosa were led by Rivens Johnson, who netted a thrilling four goals (9th, 17th, 28th, and 29th minutes).

    She was ably supported by Bre Atkinson, who notched a quick double early in the match (4th and 7th minutes).

    In other decisive results, Marian Academy opened its campaign in style, defeating Tucville Primary 6-0. Braces came off the boots of Haley Haberkorn (16th, 21st), Ella Fernandes (18th, 24th), and Haley DeNobrega (20th, 22nd) during an eight-minute scoring burst that overwhelmed the opposition.

    The day, which began with a vibrant March Past ceremony, also saw two tight encounters ending in draws:

    Agatash Primary and Georgetown International Academy battled to a 1–1 draw. Rakeyla Joseph’s opener was cancelled out by Sofia Molina four minutes later.

    North Georgetown Primary and St Alouysius Primary also shared the points in a 1–1 stalemate.

    The competition, which offers a G$100,000 grand prize (in kind) to the winner, continues next Saturday, November 22.

     

    The post Flurry of goals in rollicking start to MVP Sports Girls Under-11 School Football appeared first on News Room Guyana.

  • Two dead after driver loses control of vehicle on Linden-Soesdyke Highway

    Two dead after driver loses control of vehicle on Linden-Soesdyke Highway

    A two-vehicle collision along the Linden-Soesdyke Highway on Sunday evening resulted in the deaths of two passengers.

    Dead are Deron Bobb and 51-year-old Wayne Clarke of Grove, East Bank Demerara (EBD).

    Police Headquarters, in a statement, revealed that the accident occurred along the Silver Hill Public Road on the highway at about 18:30hrs.

    According to the report, motor car PHH 1632, driven by a 28-year-old man of Grove, EBD was proceeding south along the roadway when he reportedly lost control and veered onto the western lane, colliding with motor car PAG 1280, driven by a 22-year-old woman of Moblissa, Linden Highway. The vehicle driven by the woman had two juvenile passengers, ages 6 and 2.

    Following the collision, motor car PHH 1632 overturned, causing its occupants to be pitched from the vehicle.

    Emergency Medical Technicians later pronounced Bobb and Clarke dead at the scene. The driver of PHH 1632 sustained serious injuries and remains hospitalised at the Linden Hospital Complex in critical condition.

    The driver and occupants of motor car PAG 1280 also received injuries and were transported to the hospital for medical attention.

    Investigations continue.

    The post Two dead after driver loses control of vehicle on Linden-Soesdyke Highway appeared first on News Room Guyana.

  • Greater focus on suspending drivers’ licenses as gov’t eyes tougher road laws 

    Greater focus on suspending drivers’ licenses as gov’t eyes tougher road laws 

    The Government of Guyana is eyeing tougher penalties to curb reckless driving on the roadways, according to Home Affairs Minister Oneidge Walrond. 

    Walrond, while speaking at a Road Safety Awareness Walk on Sunday, said her ministry has been engaging the Guyana Police Force on the need to amend traffic regulations and road laws. New draft amendments, she highlighted, have already been crafted. 

    However, Walrond said she is eyeing both penalties for new offences and “stiffer penalties to make it easier to put suspension on licenses.” 

    “Right now it’s an arduous process doing that [suspending licenses],” the Home Affairs Minister lamented. 

    As of last week, 110 persons died on the country’s roadways due to accidents. The deaths were recorded from a total of 99 fatal accidents so far this year. The figure represents a slight increase compared to 107 deaths from 95 fatal accidents during the same period in 2024.

    November has been designated as Road Safety Awareness Month under the theme “Careful Driving Saves Lives.” Local authorities are intensifying efforts to educate the public, improve enforcement, and integrate more technology to monitor and manage road safety.

    ‘Speeding will never be the answer’- Traffic Chief says as 110 died in accidents so far this year

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  • President Ali, other Caribbean leaders to visit hurricane-hit Jamaica 

    President Ali, other Caribbean leaders to visit hurricane-hit Jamaica 

    (Jamaica Gleaner) A team of Caribbean leaders, joined by officials from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), is expected to arrive in the island on Monday morning to tour hurricane-ravaged communities in western Jamaica, alongside Jamaican Prime Minister Dr Andrew Holness, chairman of CARICOM.

    The delegation, which includes Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley, Guyana President Dr Irfaan Ali, Antigua and Barbuda Prime Minister Gaston Browne, Grenada Prime Minister Dickon Mitchell, CARICOM Secretary-General Carla Barnett, and IDB President Ilan Goldfajn, is scheduled to visit heavily impacted areas in St James, Westmoreland and St Elizabeth. Stops are expected in Westgreen and Catherine Hall, two Montego Bay communities still reeling from the devastation unleashed by Hurricane Melissa.

    The Category 5 storm, which slammed into Jamaica on October 28, left a trail of destruction across the island, with western parishes absorbing the worst of its fury. Entire communities were submerged as the Barnett, Pye and Montego rivers overflowed, inundating parts of Montego Bay and crippling businesses, homes and public infrastructure.

    In Westmoreland and St Elizabeth, widespread flooding and landslides destroyed roofs, swept away livelihoods and left thousands displaced, with many still without reliable electricity or potable water.

    Monday’s tour is expected to give regional leaders a first-hand look at the scale of the humanitarian crisis, as well as the urgent need for coordinated recovery and climate-resilience support. The visit follows strong statements of solidarity from CARICOM governments, many of whom have already mobilised relief supplies, technical teams and financial assistance in the wake of Melissa’s passage.

    Barbados has dispatched humanitarian aid and has established a field hospital at the Cornwall Regional Hospital in Montego Bay, while other countries have pledged support to Jamaica’s rebuilding efforts.

    The IDB, a critical financing partner in the region, is expected to use the tour to help shape discussions around reconstruction funding and long-term climate adaptation, particularly as small island states confront the accelerating threat of extreme weather events.

    Holness, in his role as chairman of CARICOM, has emphasised the importance of regional unity and international partnerships in the aftermath of the storm.

    Monday’s high-level engagement is likely to inform a broader recovery framework, including housing, infrastructure rehabilitation, and community support for the parishes hardest hit.

    Further details of the itinerary are expected from the Office of the Prime Minister.

    The post President Ali, other Caribbean leaders to visit hurricane-hit Jamaica  appeared first on News Room Guyana.

  • Joshua to fight YouTube star Paul on December 19

    Joshua to fight YouTube star Paul on December 19

    Former world heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua will fight YouTube star Jake Paul in a professional bout on December 19.

    Britain’s Joshua, the 36-year-old former two-time unified heavyweight champion, will take on the YouTuber-turned-boxer at Kaseya Center in Miami.

    The fight, which will be streamed live on Netflix, will consist of eight three-minute rounds.

    The bout is a replacement fight for Paul, who was scheduled to take on Gervonta Davis in an exhibition earlier this month before it was cancelled because of a lawsuit filed against Davis by his ex-girlfriend.

    “This isn’t an AI simulation. This is Judgment Day,” said 28-year-old Paul.

    “When I beat Anthony Joshua, every doubt disappears, and no-one can deny me the opportunity to fight for a world title. To all my haters, this is what you wanted.”

    Speculation that Joshua would fight Paul was initially denied, but he will return to the ring against the American for the first time since being knocked out by then-IBF champion Daniel Dubois in September 2024.

    “I took some time out and I’m coming back with a mega show. It’s a big opportunity for me,” said the 2012 Olympic gold medallist.

    “Whether you like it or not, I’m here to do massive numbers, have big fights and break every record whilst keeping cool, calm and collected.

    “Mark my words, you’ll see a lot more fighters take these opportunities in the future. I’m about to break the internet over Jake Paul’s face.”

    Paul became famous via a YouTube account that now has close to 21m subscribers.

    However, in recent years he has switched his attention to boxing and has primarily fought as a cruiserweight at around 200lbs.

    He weighed in at the heavyweight weight of 227.5lbs when he beat former world champion Mike Tyson in an exhibition fight in 2024 that attracted 108m viewers.

    Paul then beat former world middleweight champion Julio Cesar Chavez Jr, 39, via a unanimous points decision, a victory that earned him the number 14 spot in the WBA cruiserweight rankings.

    But Paul – who has a 12-1 win-loss record, with seven knockouts – has only boxed a total of 70 rounds since turning professional in 2020.

    Joshua (28-4, 25 KOs) by contrast, has 12 years of experience as a professional and has boxed more than 160 rounds.

    “It’s an incredible day,” Nakisa Bidarian, CEO of Most Valuable Promotions, told Sky Sports.

    “Jake thought of this in March of this year and said, ‘I want to fight Anthony Joshua’.

    “People laughed then. In July the question was asked, ‘do you see this happening?’ – and the plan was to do this in March or April of 2026. Plans changed and Jake stood up and said, ‘I want to face Joshua now’.” (BBC)

    The post Joshua to fight YouTube star Paul on December 19 appeared first on News Room Guyana.

  • UG scholar wins int’l award for research on women’s history 

    UG scholar wins int’l award for research on women’s history 

    Dr Estherine Adams, Head of the Department of History and Caribbean Studies in the Faculty of Education and Humanities at the University of Guyana, has been awarded the ASSLH Edna Ryan Prize for Best Article on Women’s History (2023–2024) for her paper, “‘At Work, in Hospital, or in Gaol’: Women in British Guiana’s Jails, 1838–1917,” published in the Journal of Labour History.

    The award, presented by the Australian Society for the Study of Labour History (ASSLH), recognises outstanding scholarship on women’s experiences and contributions within labour history. Dr Adams’s paper offers a powerful and original argument that the prison systems in colonial British Guiana served not only to punish but also to extract and control labour, particularly from African and Indian indentured women.

    The judges commended the article for being “original, clearly positioned in relevant recent literature and beautifully written to imagine and illuminate the lives of female indentured labourers in British Guiana.” They added that it advanced “an important argument about the centrality of prison labour to the colony, illustrating the intersections of coerced labour, capitalism, and colonialism.”

    Dr Adams said she was “genuinely stunned” to learn that her paper had won the prize, especially since she had not known it had been submitted. “I had no idea the journal had entered my article, so the email arrived completely unexpectedly. There was a moment of disbelief followed by deep gratitude. As researchers, we often work in solitude — in archives, writing late at night — wondering if the nuance and humanity we try to convey will reach anyone. To learn that the article resonated that strongly was both affirming and humbling,” she said.

    The judges’ comments held special meaning for her, as they recognised not only the academic strength of her research but also its human depth. “They recognised not just the academic contribution, but the humanity of the women whose stories I reconstructed from archival silences. When they noted that the article was beautifully written to illuminate these lives, I felt seen as a scholar, not simply for producing research, but for recovering lives erased from the historical record,” she reflected.

    Her motivation for exploring this subject was guided by a central question: Where were the women in the carceral histories of slavery and indentureship? According to Dr Adams, “The prison was one of the earliest colonial institutions designed to regulate and exploit labour, yet women — particularly African and later Indian indentured women — were almost invisible in the archive. I wanted to centre them not as footnotes to male histories, but as labouring subjects whose experiences reveal how power operated through gender, race, and the prison system.”

    She shared that one of her main challenges was the lack of detailed records on incarcerated women. To address this, she employed what she calls a “fragmentary methodology.” “In many cases, women appeared only as numbers or anonymous references buried in disciplinary reports. To overcome this, I read against the grain, analysing what the record left out as much as what it included, and pieced together details across inventories, health reports, punishment books, and plantation records. If the archive whispered, I tried to listen as closely as possible,” she explained.

    Dr Adams hopes that this international recognition will inspire more researchers in Guyana and across the Caribbean to interrogate history courageously. “My hope is that this award signals the value of work that confronts historical silences, especially in colonial archives. Guyana and the Caribbean are full of stories that remain unwritten. If this recognition encourages emerging researchers to take risks, ask uncomfortable questions, and challenge dominant narratives, then it has already done more than I could have imagined,” she said.

    She also reflected on what the award means for the University of Guyana. “At UG, we teach, research, advise, and carry heavy administrative responsibilities, often simultaneously. This award is a reminder that world-class scholarship can be produced from Guyana, by Guyanese scholars, for global audiences. It also models for our students that their stories — the stories of this land and this history — are worthy of study and will be heard. The award is not just mine; it belongs to the Department, to the students who sit in our classrooms, and to the women whose lives I tried to honour in the research.”

    The University of Guyana congratulates Dr Estherine Adams on this outstanding achievement. Her work continues to advance the institution’s mission to contribute meaningfully to national and global scholarship, while inspiring future generations of researchers to uncover and honour the untold stories of our region.

    Please click this link to read Dr Adams’ article: https://doi.org/10.3828/labourhistory.2023.21 

    (University of Guyana press release)

    The post UG scholar wins int’l award for research on women’s history  appeared first on News Room Guyana.

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