Art educator and poet Arielle John exudes an aura of intensity and focus, whether performing Spoken Word on stage, talking about human rights activism or her work with teenagers. It’s little wonder that she’s been accepted by the prestigious Goldsmith University, University of London, to pursue a Masters of Arts (MA) in Performance and Culture. … Continue reading
(I’ve added some pieces here that I had to leave out of the newspaper version. Enjoy!) Rapsoman Wendell Manwarren has had a long and varied career in the arts, beginning with the opera and continuing through theatre, mas-making and rapso. Manwarren spoke about his journey to a standing-room only crowd at the Monday Night Theatre … Continue reading
Teenage mothers have traditionally faced stigma from society, including being forced to drop out of school. The Choices Adolescent Mothers’ Program run by the Child Welfare League of T&T provides support for some of these young mothers, allowing them to return to school and complete their education. Social work Annette Preito said the main objective of … Continue reading
Driven is the first word that comes to mind when meeting Kalifa Damani. The 26-year-old Chaguanas resident gave off an air of determination and focus as she spoke about her plans to improve children’s self-confidence through the use of technology. Damani said currently there is no proper policy for the use of laptops which secondary … Continue reading
Around the world, the 25th of each month is celebrated as ‘Orange Day’, as part of a call by the United Nations Secretary General for organizations to reaffirm their commitment to ending violence against women and girls by wearing orange. As part of the observation of this day in August, the Network of NGOs of … Continue reading
I enjoyed doing this interview with Khadija Sinanan, in August 2015, because it was awesome to be able to show that young persons in T&T were being respected and had a voice. It was also exciting to highlight issues and topics that are important but too often are whispered about but never really spoken … Continue reading
Trinidad-born, US-based Judge G Helen Whitener says the rights of LGBTQI (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and intersex) people are human rights and they are asking for respect and the right to be themselves without being persecuted. Judge Whitener, who is openly gay, sits on the Pierce County Superior Court, the highest trial court in … Continue reading
This open letter to Senator St. Rose Greaves was sent to Verna St. Rose Greaves by the CatchAFyah Caribbean Feminist Movement while she was still Minister of Gender, Youth and Child Development and a Senator in the Government of Trinidad and Tobago. The Network, which is a regional group of feminists, wrote to Verna St. Rose Greaves … Continue reading
“I have sex, just like you. I just have it for money. You don’t do that? Really? So how did you get that Blackberry? That fancy car? Or that fancy dinner I heard you talking about last night?” This is an imaginary conversation that came out of a session that was held during a media … Continue reading
I felt oddly liberated this weekend. I sat in a room of media personnel and advocates for minority communities such as LGBT people, sex workers and persons infected with HIV and AIDS. What struck me, in addition to the fact that these people were willing to put their faces out there on behalf of these … Continue reading
When a horn turns into a tabanca, the Orishas will intercede
"to thine ownself be true" Shakespeare
Activist. Writer. Explorer.
