By Harry Hergash

On behalf of the now dormant University of Guyana Guild of Graduates, Ontario, please allow me to express deepest sympathy to the wife, children and relatives of Dr. Martin Boodhoo, one of the most outstanding graduates of the University of Guyana (UG), who passed away on Christmas Day (December 25, 2017) in Manchester, England. Like many of us in the Ontario Guild, Dr. Budhoo was a member of the first batch of students of the UG when it was established in 1963.
Dr. Boodhoo was a self-made person. He was born on June 20, 1930 of humble working class parentage at Uitvlugt Estate, West Coast Demerara. His mother was a Guyanese who died when he was six years old and his father was an indentured Indian immigrant who passed away when he was eighteen. After completing Primary School in 1945 and with no opportunity to attend secondary school, he entered into a seven-year apprenticeship programme to become a Sicknurse & Dispenser, the current equivalent of a paramedic. During this period, he also attended evening classes at the Uitvlugt Under-Privileged School run by Mr. Gangaram Dwarka, passing the Junior Cambridge in 1947 and the London Matriculation in 1950. In 1952, he qualified as a Certified Sicknurse & Dispenser, placing second on the Pass List and continued working as a Sicknurse and Dispenser at the Leonora Sugar Estate Hospital and Dispensary.
As a result of his volunteer work, in October 1952, he was awarded a one-year fellowship to study Industrial Welfare and Community Development in England. Upon his return to Guyana, he was employed by Bookers Sugar Estates as an Industrial and Social Welfare Officer, a position he held until March 1960 when he joined the Public Service as a Community Development Officer. In the meantime, he continued his education and, through correspondence courses, passed the examinations to qualify as an Associate of the Chartered Institute of Secretaries (ACIS) of the United Kingdom.
In January 1962, he accepted an appointment as Housing Officer, Administration, with the Sugar Industry Labour Welfare Fund and was involved in the latter phase of the re-housing of sugar workers from the communal “ logies” to self-contained, detached houses on individual lots in the “Extra-Nuclear Housing Schemes”. From October 1963 to June 1967, while working full-time as Housing Officer, he studied as an evening student at the then newly established UG and was elected President of the UG Students' Society for two consecutive terms, 1965-66 and 1966-67. He completed his studies in four years and was a member of the first graduating class of the University. In October 1967, he left Guyana for the United Kingdom to pursue postgraduate studies. He completed a Master's degree at the University of Essex in 1968 and a Ph.D at the University of Leeds in 1971, becoming one of the first UG graduate to obtain a Ph.D. In 1969, his Ph.D thesis supervisor wrote “Mr Boodhoo is one of the most able candidates for a doctorate I have ever supervised”.
In 2006, in reflecting on his career during the period 1957-67, Dr. Boodhoo wrote “The major lesson I would draw from this period is that poverty did not discourage me in making determined and consistent efforts to improve my station in life; and in the process, I believe I was able to assist others to enhance their personal and community welfare”.
After obtaining his doctorate, Dr. Boodhoo served as Lecturer at the University of Leeds and then at the University of Manchester where he was Director of the Public Enterprise Management Programme in 1979 when he left to pursue a career with the United Nations. For the next twelve years, he provided advice and coordinated projects in Malaysia, Eastern and Southern Africa, and the Caribbean.
In 1992, Dr. Boodhoo returned to his native Guyana and commenced working as a consultant in the private and the public sectors, also serving as a facilitator to the international team of observers who monitored the 1997 General elections. In 1993, he was tasked with setting up the Privatization Unit for the Government of Guyana with Technical Assistance from the Inter-American Development Bank and the World Bank and served as Head of the Unit until 1996. There, with collaboration from the World Bank, he formulated policies and guidelines for privatization of a number of Government-held business entities. Adding to his span of responsibilities, in 1995 he was appointed Pro-Chancellor of the UG, becoming the first UG graduate to hold this position. In addition to his professional responsibilities in Guyana, he continued his association with community organizations such as Rotary, Scouting, the Heritage Society, the United Nations Association of Guyana, and the Olympic Association of Guyana.
In 2006, Dr. Boodhoo resumed residence in the UK where he worked as a “Freelance” Consultant in Economic Development and Management to Public, Private, International and Non-Governmental Organizations. Also, he travelled to India where he researched his Indian heritage and ancestral history in Agra, UP, home of the world-famous Taj Mahal. He leaves to mourn, his wife Chandra Kumari, daughter of his former boss, Mr. Deodat Persaud who was Chief Sicknurse and Dispenser of Leonora Sugar Estate Hospital, his two sons (Hari Devanand and Navindra Parmanand), two daughters (Chitra Nalini and Radha Serojini), and a nephew (Krishnadat Persaud), considered as a son.

By Kamla Sharma
When a humble and disadvantaged woman from the Essequibo Coast of Guyana struggles against bewildering odds and succeeds, when this mother’s vision for her children comes to fruition through her sheer determination and will, when her indomitable spirit breaks through the tyranny of poverty to transform their lot into one of hope and optimism, then she must be remembered, honoured and celebrated.
On December 14, 2017, Khattie Beharry, lovingly known as Ma, departed peacefully on a blissful winter day in Toronto, Canada. She left behind a truly proud legacy.
Khattie Beharry was the mother of four sons, Om, Eric, Vishnu and John Persaud, the latter a respected and philanthropic community leader who is President of Canadian Superbilt Shutters.
John’s moving eulogy on his mother's passing gives a good sense of her essential qualities: “My mother was a great woman with fierce determination and profound vision. All that I am, or ever hope to be, I owe to my mother. My mother raised me up to be more than I ever dreamed I could be. I attribute my success in life to the moral and intellectual teachings I received from her. Like many mothers who experienced hardship and who struggled in Guyana and elsewhere, she never stopped believing that a better life was possible and the key to that door was education”.
Khattie was born on September 30th, 1934 in Colombia on the Essequibo Coast, Guyana. She was the second daughter of Rayman Persaud who was a well-known Tadja builder during his time. Her mother Rookmin, grandmother Mirah, and beloved sister Dolly taught her to be a woman of character, integrity and dignity.
In 1950, she was wedded to Harry Persaud from Anna Regina through an arranged marriage. The marriage did not last and she returned to Columbia as a single mother of young children. In order to provide for her offsprings she would sew clothing with a hand-cranking sewing machine at nights with a candle lamp by her side and during the day she would work in the scorching sun in the unforgiving paddy fields.
Like most devoted mothers, she was very resilient and never gave up. Although she herself could read very little, she struggled hard to get her children an education so as to end the prospect of having them working in the fields and to break the cycle of poverty she faced. She went to great lengths to support her sons' pursuit of an education and even pledged her gold bangles, to which she was sentimentally attached, to obtain school books for them. The hardships and suffering she experienced in life only served to strengthen her love for her family and her resolve to provide a better future for them.
Her second marriage to her soul mate, Ramroop Beharry, brought her profound happiness, security and prosperity.
Khattie Beharry lived the verses of the Desiderata which she accepted as her guiding principles. She nurtured her strength of spirit to shield her in misfortune. And she deeply believed that despite its illusory character, its drudgery, and its far-fetched promises, the world is still a beautiful place.
In her waning days she was at peace with God, with others and most of all, with herself. Khattie passed away surrounded by the warmth and comfort of her loving family, with the knowledge that they would be the inheritors of her labours and that there were strong hopes of bountiful rewards and prosperous days ahead for them all.

Mataaji Lutchmin Savitree Jaglal, lovingly known to many as “Sabi, was born on May 19th, 1936 in No 65 village Corentyne, Guyana. She completed her education, coming in second in the national Sanskrit exams on the same day she got married to Pitaaji Jawahirllal Jaglal (1934-2015). She lived a life of religious values with her children – Sharda, Vimal, Amrita, Virjanand and Nirmala. Mataaji and Pitaaji valued higher education, community involvement, and the Arya Samaaj.
Mataaji immigrated to Canada in 1981 to give her children a better life in the face of economic strife in Guyana. In Canada, everyone in the family worked hard to buy their first home, which they lived in with pride and happiness. After their children were married and secure, they devoted more of their focus to their religious community, becoming very active and involved in the Samaaj in Toronto.
Mataaji enjoyed gardening, singing bhajans, and sewing for her grandchildren. Her grandchildren – Anil, Rajeev, Reshmee, Anoop, Kavita, Ravi, Nadia and Navin – were always welcome in her home and were spoiled, pampered and loved by her. The two parents/grand parents valued time spent with their children and grandchildren and always had family events at their home filled with joy and laughter.
After the passing of Pitaaji in 2015, Mataaji lived with Amrita and Ushar, who took great care of her in her illness with her lung condition. She still could enjoy the things she loved, like trips to Florida, gardening, and Mandir activities.
Mataaji passed away peacefully in her sleep on December 24th, 2017. She will be greatly missed by all her children and grandchildren. Her passing leaves a void in their hearts.

Mrs Vidyatri Budhu celebrated her 80th birthday last month with a prayer service in Toronto. She also had another service in New York where most of her late husband’s family reside. That service was held at the Bronx Arya Samaj Mandir and conducted by Pt Atmanand. It was a grand family get together as most of her family members joined her to observe the big day.
Mrs Budhu was born on December 6, 1937 and grew up in Albion, Corentyne. She got married at the tender age of 18 to Mr Jaikaran Budhu and moved to Bush Lot, Corentyne, Berbice. She has four daughters, one son and 14 grandchildren. Two of her daughters live in New York and the rest of the children live in Toronto.
Her husband died in 1983 and she migrated to Canada in 1985 where she worked for about 10 years before retiring. She enjoys going to the Mandir and is a long standing member of Toronto Arya Samaj. In honour of her birthday she recently made a substantial donation to her Mandir.

At Heart & Stroke, we want to increase our knowledge and understanding of stroke and heart disease recovery and be better informed of our future direction in the creation of recovery-based resources, programs and services for our heart disease and stroke survivors. In order for us to be survivor-centric – we will soon begin first phase of engagement with South Asian survivors and their care givers/partners.
While survivors face many barriers and challenges in coping with the disease and better managing their lives after a heart attack or stroke – we are interested in hearing their stories and wanting to confirm what the literature is telling us: that the psychosocial support an individual receives is co-related to their ability to recover and self-manage their condition.
For this we need your help! We need you to connect us to South Asian survivors and their care-givers/partners in your communities and have them join our South Asian Survivor Network and have them participate in one of our survivor focus groups to be held in the GTA this summer. Results from these focus groups will be shared with all of you and also help inform Heart & Stroke’s Promote Recovery Strategy.
Please help us recruit South Asian heart disease and stroke survivors and their care givers/partners to start engaging them on this important dialogue.
YOU connecting us to them would take us a step forward in understanding and listening to what OUR SURVIVORS truly need and help them RECOVER and self-manage their health!
Info: FIRDAUS ALI, South Asian Cultural Specialist, Ontario, Heart & Stroke C: 416-629-1689 firdaus.ali@heartandstroke.ca

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