Thoughts of a minibus traveller

Is a 45 bus which have a big sign dat say de fare fuh adults is $80 , but de conductuh who call me doc when he open de door fuh me give me back two $20 when I pay de far wid a $100. I aint seh nuttin, but dat happen to me now and den. Some bus have sign dat say dat de fare is $80 and den you feel, well, you have to pay $80. Odder bus, you give a hundred or more , and dey tek out $80. But once yuh travel often, yuh build up de $20 and well.. dey have time when I decide how fuh pay $60 or $80. I does pay 4 $20 when I see de sign dat say is $80 fuh adults.. ah must try a ting a day and put on a school uniform and see what happen., because chirren in school uniform pay less. But when dey dont have a sign den I have some decision to mek because nobody sure really whuh is de fare. I does pay my 3 $20 bill when I sitting wid 3 oddah people pun a seat dat mek fuh me and two odder. I does gie 3 $20 bill  when de bus driving too fast, when de music not to me liking or I hear de...

Tell people dat yuh single an' yuh bound to get all kind of question an' comment. If yuh seh yuh single, people gun tink dat yuh waiting pun de 'right one'. So I does seh Happily Single an' all kind of ting does happen. 1. Sumting wrang wid you.. Is true dat we get drum into head dat we not whole or complete unless we have some kind of relationship ting going - wife, husband - some people have outside woman and outside man an' different kind of relationship. But choosing to stay single is as a man tell me , 'heresy'. In a world getting used to ting like ' relationship anarch y' and polyloving. if anybody seh dat dem aint interesting in relationship it would sound wrong. 2. But why...? Everybody want to know why. I have no idea.. I remember when I first decided that I aint getting married and then as I get more evolved and falling in love and picking myself out of love, at some point I realised that I enjoyed being single. There was a fr...

A lot of people like pets. They cannot do without their dogs, cats, mice, rabbits, birds, parrots. Many people who love animals do their best to care for them . They take in unwanted and stray animals. I know, humans have domesticated animals for food, tools, companions a long ago. Dogs are involved in rescue, in sniffing out cocaine and weapons and so on. Something about this pet thing though. It means a kind of power relationship.. and I wonder sometimes if this taming and domestication which animals go through, if at some point they then lose their independence. And hence you hear of animals having to be put down because nobody wants them. I hate to see animals on leashes. I do not like to see birds in cages. I do not like to hear of dogs waiting to be fed or locked up in kennels. I never liked having pets because I do not like the responsibility. It has probably made me less humane and compassionate and so on. But then .. there is something about the lizards in the h...

Some men came up to me .. a group of men, Indian, Amerindian looking.. and asked if Mr Alphonso was here. I asked where dey from and dey say dat dey from Ministry of Human Services. I ask dem if is de PPP protest dey come to, or de women protest . Dey seh de woman protest. I ask if dey sure because I know some of de Government employees and PPP supporters was protesting de cut in de Amerindian Fund De woman dem I supporting was protesting about ting like violence and suh.. CADVA , Guyana Women Miner's Organisation , and others. Dey had placard wid Break de Silence, Let de Women Speak, and so on. Nice ting which doan really bodda no politician. So I wuz dere.. watching de action. Near Brickdam and High Street.  All nice and quiet - police say no drum or music so de musician had to go home. I did hear yesterday dat dere was racial ting going on. Over de odda side, we some people finishing off dey lunch.. plastic boxes and nice juice.. i seh okay okay.. but I aint see no...

The 14 year old asked about the saloo - the usually red cloth which wraps the Ramayana.  We , the older members, explained that we do not tie the cloth, but rather, wrap the cloth around the Ramayana and fold it. We asked an even older man why we should not tie it. He said that is the tradition. So rational minds might want to query 'tradition' and we always should , but there are some small things, which came down, which are harmless but connect us to a past of usually men who walked around with the books wrapped but not tied. Singing in a ramayana gole is one way  we maintain those threads.   I was 'young' when I started singing and when I was shown how to wrap the saloo . Unwrapping the saloo and laying it  flat is the start of the singing time. There is a warm kind of feeling, when you teach the 14 year old, about the saloo.  Some idea of continuity. We have a fourth generation singing in one of the goles. Most of us are first or second ...

[The Hindu Voice UK used to publish an e-newsletter at http://www.hinduvoice.co.uk. The publication included many interesting articles. There was a series which had some perspectives on the Hanuman Chalisa. I only saved the explanations of Verses 9 and 10 .   The author of this beautiful interpretation is unknown  ] Insight into Verse 9 Vidyavan guni ati chatur Ram kaj karibe ko atur You are possessor of all knowledge, full of virtue and wisdom. You are always prompt and eager to act in the service of Lord Rama. One would initially think that this verse is simply repeating praises of Hanuman that have already been stated. After all, the Hanuman Chalisa has already praised Hanuman’s knowledge and his devotion to Lord Rama. But when analyzed in the wider context of the Ramayana, this verse contains a formula that allows us to overcome the obstacles that we come across in life. The verses of the Hanuman Chalisa often allude to portions of the Ramayana. ...

A Facebook conversation about NGO partnership ended with a question about how can NGOs and other organisations and individuals share knowledge about their work and learn and build on their experiences. It is true that  knowledge is a commodity and the competition for scarce funds or other reasons results in reluctance to share knowledge. There is a lot of discussion on collaboration vs/and/or/ competition around and this discussion should happen in Guyana. This is not a Guyana story alone, as quoted in this paper K nowledge Management Practices and Challenges in International Networked NGOs: The Case of One World International "    "Knowledge sharing particularly at inter organisational level is often said to be hindered by “dynamics of power, opportunism, suspicion, and asymmetric learning strategies which can constitute processual barriers to collective knowledge development” Knowledge sharing  The sharing of knowledge is a part of Knowledge management...

from http://www.wordle.net You never really start out thinking that you would change the world. A lot of my growing up in the Burnham days was about how to accommodate to the world around me , stay silent, be aware of repercussions and also if possible, think of leaving Guyana. But life is never straightforward.  And so what should have been a few voluntary hours of typing letters and doing charitable work with Help & Shelter ended up being an experience which involved unlearning everything I had learned about being a man, and relearning and reinforcing some of the things which we used to be silent about. So after some 19 years or so..and having not learnt my lesson that the world is not so easy to change.. these are however some of the things which have been learned 1. Learning,  Teaching, Sharing  It is important to be curious, and to listen, observe and expose yourself to learning. There is a lot to learn in Guyana and the Caribbean and a lot of amazi...

These learning modules are derived from the ones created for  Youth Empowerment, Inclusion and Reconciliation Project in Guyana in  2013. These were created for Tiara's Academy , New Amsterdam who was responsible for the training. The modules were developed as facilitator guides. Each module has a listing of additional resources. The content is accurate up to the end of 2013 . 1. Understanding Human Rights This module has been designed to increase understanding of human rights among the  youths who are being trained. The module starts with the background to the human rights framework , and then looks at how Guyana has implemented human provisions. The participants will also learn of the gaps in the laws and policies and look at how these gaps affect the groups and individuals in the community. The dynamic of gender is also explored. The participants will also look at the ways in which remedies to human rights gaps are found in Guyana and the Caribbean. The module...

Made at http://www.wordle.net I walk down the road and hear a lady calling.. she been begging as long as I been walking down the road.. and she always want a help .. she been through several pregnancies, and probably knows Georgetown all over.  I glad she looks healthy.. must be all that walking and stress free life.  I pass like I aint hear.. and then think shucks, is Navratra.. I should give my $20 to her and go along my sanctimonious way.  But I already walk far and in the evening I will keep going to the mandir and praying and singing and so on. This helping thing - many people want to help and volunteer and speak up for the voiceless and so on. In the early days of the work against domestic violence and child abuse, some of the women taught me that I should never "speak for the voiceless", but rather use my privilege to give the voice to the 'voiceless'. And really and truly, the work was not about doing two or three hours a week of volunteer...