Guyanese-American honorees from left, Shivika Rajkisore, Jessica Balgobin, Mohamed Q. Amin, Candace E. Prince-Modeste, Latchman Budhai, Aminta Keliwan-Narine, Ashook Ramsaran, and Vikash Narine, and Queens Borough President Donovan Richards. The expats had been honored for his or her contributions to the borough on Could 29 at QBH 59th Independence celebration.
Picture by Tangerine Clarke
Queens Borough President Donovan Richards, on Could 29, thanked nationals for serving the borough as first responders, lecturers, healthcare heroes, frontline employees, and neighborhood leaders throughout his administration’s inaugural Guyana Independence commemoration and awards ceremony within the historic Helen Marshall Cultural Middle, positioned within the decrease stage of the municipal constructing.
He went on to commend Rhonda Binda, a Guyanese nationwide who, he mentioned, helped to construct “this home as my first Deputy Borough President because the First Deputy Brough President.”
“I wish to thank her for her unimaginable work. Like Helen Marshall, the primary Black Queens Borough President, we honor the contributions of the Guyanese neighborhood,” mentioned the politician.
“We love and respect the Guyanese tradition, and tonight, we’re placing that tradition on the pedestal it deserves. It is a neighborhood that’s wealthy in delight and patriotism. Simply stroll down Liberty Avenue, and you will note. That’s the fantastic thing about this complete neighborhood that we would like everybody to expertise.”
“We come collectively tonight to say it doesn’t matter what, we won’t permit our immigrant neighborhood to be demonized by anybody. Right here in Queens, variety is our power. Our seismic investments, which embrace the Phil Rizzuto Park and Richmond Excessive Faculty, the place thousands and thousands of {dollars} had been invested, are deeply appreciated.“
As we unfold our capital price range throughout the borough, we wish to make it possible for each neighborhood is seeing and feeling that funding as nicely,” mentioned BP Richards.
“Our Guyanese roots are deep in Queens. That’s how a lot this neighborhood is necessary to our borough, he mentioned, earlier than extending Joyful Independence Day greetings to the packed viewers that celebrated their homeland’s 59th Anniversary of Independence,
“Congratulations to all our honorees who do that work, not as a result of they’re in search of accolades, however who come collectively and assist us construct a stronger basis in Queens County and throughout this metropolis,” he added.
The honorees are Aminta Kilawan-Narine, a neighborhood organizer and social justice activist. She is the co-founder of Sadhana Coalition of Progressive Hindus, a non-profit that merges the values on the coronary heart of Hinduism.
She works as a Senior Legislative Legal professional within the Metropolis Council, drafting and negotiating legal guidelines starting from ladies’s rights to housing to entry to public advantages. In October 2024, Aminta gained her proudest title — mom to Tushaan and Nanda.
Ashook Ramsaran is the president of Ramex, Inc., a family-owned communications manufacturing firm he established in 1988. He’s additionally the President of the Indian Diaspora Council Worldwide and the Government Vice President of the Queens Civic Congress.
Candace Elizabeth Prince-Modeste started her public service profession in 2008 as a Grant Coordinator for the NYC Mayor’s Workplace, overseeing an $800 million Homeland Safety grant portfolio. She is the founding Board Member and Civic Engagement Chair of the South Queens Ladies’s March, Vice Chair of the Social Concern Committee of Springfield Gardens, treasurer of the NextGen Alumni Management Council, and chair of the Queens Empire State of High Girls of Distinction.
Jessica Balgobin is a licensed social employee primarily based in Queens. She is a Group Initiatives Supervisor at Chhaya CDC, the place she led the activation of a neighborhood Richmond Hill Park to widen accessibility to public house and artwork and unfold consciousness of the sources wanted in neglected communities.
Latchman Budhai is a member of the Interfaith Middle of NY and the Federation of Hindu Mandirs. He has collaborated with late Queens Borough President Helen Marshall, Mayor David Dinkins, Council Speaker Gifford Miller, and Deputy Borough President Karen Koslowitz. He’s an alumnus of the Queens Common Meeting below the management of Susie Tanenbaum and the founding father of Maha Lakshmi Mandir Hindu Temple in 1994.
Mohamed Q. Amin is an LGBTQ+ rights activist who reworked private trauma into advocacy by founding the Caribbean Equality Mission in 2015. The group amplifies the voices of Afro and Indo-Caribbean LGBTQ+ immigrants, specializing in racial justice, psychological well being, immigration reform, employees’ rights, and civic engagement.
Amin leads the Phagwah Social Justice Collective and is the manager producer of Caribbean Queer. This brief movie explores the intersectionality of queer pleasure, Caribbean tradition, and belonging throughout the diaspora.
Shivika Rajkisore is a devoted educator and neighborhood chief. She has been a distinguished advocate for the Indo-Caribbean neighborhood.
Since 2008, she has been a public faculty trainer throughout the Division of Training, focusing her efforts on a switch highschool that helps college students who’re overage and under-credited.
Vikash Narine is the chief of Workers and Operations for District 28, overseeing 36 faculties and greater than 24,000 college students. He leads the district’s implementation of the Division of Training’s AI curriculum, driving innovation and enhancing instructional outcomes.
He co-founded the charitable group World Coronary heart Caregivers, which offers free cardiac providers, together with coronary heart transplantations, to underserved populations.
The thrilling presentation, celebrated with dance and music cultural shows, was nicely obtained, as famous by thunderous applause.
Decked out in colourful, intricately designed costumes and completed with fairly face make-up, the younger dancers from the Saraswati Dance Academy delivered stirring choreography that thrilled the viewers.
A dance medley of Soca, Bollywood, and Chutney that includes conventional and trendy dance kinds, carried out by the Queens Faculty Guyanese Pupil Affiliation, additionally introduced pleasure and celebration to the stage to showcase Guyana’s wealthy multicultural heritage.
Rhonda Binda, who skillfully guided the occasion throughout her illustrious duties as emcee, thanked compatriots for becoming a member of her to have fun Guyana’s legacy and future.
“On behalf of BP Richards, “thanks on your love, your power, and your neighborhood spirit. Joyful 59th Independence Day, Guyana,” expressed Benda.
