Name: Giselle M. Antoine
Age:27
Occupation: Physiotherapist
Place of birth: Grenada, W.I
Current residence: Grenada,

At the age of four my mother took me to the UK so she could pursue her studies in fashion merchandising and retailing. When I started school I was exposed to children of different cultures and countries from a very early age. I would travel frequently with my aunt to Antigua and other parts of the Caribbean, but my fondest memories are of growing up in Grenada. When we settled back in Grenada, my mum started her business Nefetari Designs and I attended St. Joseph’s Convent in St. George’s and the T.A Marryshow Community College. These institutions played a pivotal role in shaping me into the person I am today.

I recently started my own business Island Physical Therapy, which is Grenada’s most modern Physiotherapy clinic. I have worked hard to ensure that we created the right atmosphere and environment for the full recovery of rehab patients and I achieved this by ensuring that we were equipped with cutting-edge technology, employed knowledgeable staff and always provided good customer service. I am proud to say that since its inception in September 2011 we are now Grenada’s most sought after rehab facility and will continue to set the bar in superior physiotherapy care to the people we serve.

After studying abroad, I made the decision to return home and open my business because I knew there was a need for this type of service and I felt obligated to return and furbish the demand. Setting up the clinic was a smooth and successful one because I received tremendous support from everyone. My family, friends and the public on a whole welcomed my business with open arms and this gave me the ammunition I needed to get the job done. I feel extremely honored by the confidence and trust everyone placed in my venture and it showed my investors it was a worthwhile investment. Through my business I am able to educate people about Physiotherapy and its benefits and encourage people in Grenada to make better decisions in regards to recovery and rehabilitation.

I have also been successful in creating a non-governmental and non-profit group geared towards promoting and creating awareness about the importance of a regular exercise regime. We call ourselves ‘The Grenada Physical Health Promoters’ and along with five members initiate monthly campaigns and activities to get our message across. Our first activity was a senior citizen’s fun day; which is in fact the very first senior citizens fun day held in Grenada. We brought seniors from elderly facilities island-wide to the National Youth Development centre where they were able to partake in traditional games and activities which they thoroughly enjoyed. Since then we have been involved in quite a number of community based activities and I frequently submit entries to our local newspapers informing the public about physiotherapy and therapeutic programs.

I love my Grenadian people and culture! Everyone radiates a brilliance and eagerness for life that is very infectious. I sometimes place myself as a non-national and admire the manner in which people greet each other regardless of whether they know each other or not. Courtesy and being courteous is a must in Grenada and having a solid family upheld by morals is commonplace. For me, there is nothing better than a Friday evening spent at fish Friday in our fishing capital of Gouyave where you can find shrimps, lobster, conch, crayfish and snapper. The wide variety of spices found on our island gives us food with rich flavours and the melodious tunes that emanate from our steel pans, the infectious rhythms of our drums and the harmonizing and invigorating voices of our people all play a pivotal role in producing a culture as rich and intriguing as ours, which is why I love it so much.

My enthusiasm and commitment to see the betterment of an individual gives me great satisfaction. I am a self-motivated individual that sees life as a canvas and if I use the right colorful pencils, unusual geometric shapes and varying brush strokes, I hope to eventually create a masterpiece. Amidst all of this, I accept I am human, I cry, I laugh, I scream, I shout, I eat frosted flakes in bed and don’t always feel like going to work, but I am forever grateful for everything because I am a strong, independent, determined Caribbean woman and I am Complexd!

Throughout the world hundreds of thousands of women are living with the physical and emotional scars inflicted by war. Join Me on the Bridge is a chance for people to stand in solidarity with these women on International Women’s Day (March 8th), and join their fight for peace and equality. The idea and inspiration for the Join me on the Bridge campaign came from the Women for Women International country directors and programme participants in Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). These women decided that they wanted to meet on the bridge that joined their two countries to show the world that they could come together and build bridges of peace and hope for the future. So, on 8th March 2010, women marched from DRC holding one side of a banner, and from Rwanda holding the other. When they met the two halves of the banner were joined to reveal their message: “Women are building bridges of peace”.

Inspired by the strength, courage and determination of these women, a global campaign began. Joining on bridges became a symbolic way to show women bridging the gap between peace and war, equality and inequality, and a way to stand in solidarity with women in war-torn countries. Last year 75,000 people joined us on 464 bridges in 70 countries around the world, and this year we hope there will be even more.

LONDON

IRAQ

DRC

RWANDA

CANADA

AUSTRALIA

BOSNIA

Despite peace being declared, the lives of women in DRC and Rwandaare still plagued by violence and hardship. Their road to peace and equality is a long and hard one, but by showing your support on March 8th this year you can give these women the strength to carry on, by letting them know: “we are with you.” Find out how by visiting the Join me on the Bridge website.

Words by Sarah O’Malley

Name: Safiya Freya Sawney

Age: 29

Occupation: Environmental and Climate Change Consultant

Place of birth: Grenada (or as we say ‘Greenz’)

Current residence: Brooklyn

When I was growing up, I loved writing about outside more than being outside. I would get lost in the childish fantastical mysteries of British author Enid Blyton and the deep-rooted, flamboyant writings of Caribbean authors Sam Selvon, Derek Walcott and V.S. Naipaul. I would indulge in the stories of my imagination prompted by the uniqueness of my Grenadian environment. My mother nurtured my dedication to writing by assigning me writing projects about new places we would visit in Grenada, like the ancient rum factory in River Antoine that turns sugarcane into spirited liquor to the waterfalls in Mt. Camel – nature’s shower within Grenada’s rainforest. She has read every single story and still does to this day.

I work at the United Nations (UN) as a technical officer within the Secretariat of the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS). AOSIS is a negotiating group consisting of 43 members within the UN. We represent the countries vulnerable to climate change such as small and low-lying islands of the world. As a technical officer I am responsible for securing important partnerships and projects that would assist AOSIS members in achieving their environmental and climate change objectives and providing  technical support during critical conferences such as the recent climate conference in Durban, South Africa. AOSIS has been under Grenada’s chairmanship for the last 4 years and most recently the South Pacific island of Nauru has taken over the reigns. My contract has now ended with AOSIS and I’m currently pursuing opportunities within the Caribbean. However, AOSIS will continue to work with larger developed countries in 2012 to secure funding to achieve their sustainable development and climate change objectives. AOSIS is also working diligently on placing Oceans on the agenda for the RIO+20 conferences in Brazil this June.

The one thing I love about Grenada is the ocean. Grenada has a vast underworld just off the coastline and offers the best diving spots. I love being surrounded by the calm waters of the Caribbean Sea (Grand Anse Beach, St. Georges) and the deep blue waters of the Atlantic Ocean (Bathway and Levera Beaches, St. Patrick’s).

I am Complexd because I am a child of the Caribbean calling Brooklyn, New York my home. I find comfort in art, music and fashion, just as much as I do in nature. I am not one-dimensional. I am neither a creative nor a scientist – I am an amalgam.

My purpose in life is simply to accomplish everything I said I would as a child. I believe a Complexd woman is a woman that listens to the stirrings in her soul and never limits herself to just one thing. I am Complexd because I embrace all of who I am – I am not conformed to any stereotype.