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Ampofo Mensah Jr (right) with some of the staff and students of Lower Buxton Primary School, St Ann. One is often told – “You don’t look Indian,” to which the 1.2-billion dollar question is: “How do Indians look?”…What, one might ask, is the context of this statement? It stems from the fact that some notions are just that, notions and pre-conceived – for the celebration of a country’s unity lies in her diversity across the board. Trick question number two… “How do Americans look?”… Ampofo Mensah Jr was left to ponder this when his family moved from Ghana to the United States and settled in the Big Apple. “It was a revelation for me,” Mensah said. “I faced struggles with the paradigm of my immigrant family seeking to adjust to living in the US from Ghana, West Africa.” Mensah was getting a brush of the ‘big, bad world’ out there, but then again, his parents decided that they were going to go all out to encourage him and his siblings to focus on their goals, of acquiring ed...

Tashanya Traile - self taught artist “Art found me, it was in me and all I had to do was to let it flow,” said Tashanya Traile, a young, self-taught artist. Traile says she is an artist inspired by personal experiences and struggles. “I love to transfer these experiences to canvas,” declared the 27-year-old, who chose to hang up her crisp business attire and embrace art and its myriad of shades. Traile was living in New Jersey, and one day the world of possibilities opened in front of her when when she walked into Michaels (an art supply store). The transformation had seeded, she said, as Traile was as delighted as a kid in a candy store. “There was so much in the store. I was so excited!” Artist Undressed - Traile embraces art in its many hues But this journey began not on a colourful path, but was mired in shades of grey, with detractions, naysayers and dissuasion. Her decision to tread a path of self expression was met with more resistance than encouragement; gloom...

When I was a girl... Published December 20, 2011 The Gleaner Positive Parenting   “Christmas was very peaceful, as an extended family we would meet for dinner and church,” recollects Leslie Ann-Brown, of the time spent back home in St Ann in the Yuletide season.  “We’ll go all night shopping on Christmas Eve, everything was simple, yet exciting,” says the 29-year-old website developer, who is now living in Kingston and has a 2-year-old son. Growing up, she said, the spirit of the season was different in the countryside.  “In St Ann there was a difference kind of warmth, which is missing in Kingston,” Brown recalls.  “When I came back this place was not sociable.” Brown still misses the simplicity and the festivities back home. “I loved the grand market feel in St Ann; it was so much more personal.” Photo: stock.xchng   “I didn’t feel threatened there,” she reveals, adding with a chuckle, “There was not much of anything was there to ...