GUYANA
The appointment of Guyanese Marva Joy Hawksworth as a vice president of the Ecclesial Conference of the Amazon (CEAMA) represents “a significant step toward strengthening the role of the laity in the Amazonian Church. Her experience, commitment, and intercultural sensitivity contribute to the building of a Church with an Amazonian face, where education, culture, and community life are privileged paths for proclaiming hope and caring for our Common Home.”
So said CEAMA’s website on the election of Hawksworth at the Sixth General Assembly of CEAMA, held in Bogotá, Colombia, March 16–20. During the assembly, CEAMA elected its new presidency for the period 2026–2030, consolidating a representative structure that integrates bishops, priests, Indigenous peoples, laity and Religious life, in continuity with its synodal identity.
Catholic Standard reported that Cardinal Leonardo Ulrich Steiner OFM, Archbishop of Manaus, Brazil, was elected as the head of the organisation, accompanied by a plural vice presidency: Fr Jesús Huamán Conisilla (Priests), Juan Urañavi (Indigenous Peoples), Marva Joy Hawksworth (Laity) and Sister Sônia Maria Pinho de Matos (Religious Life).
Hawksworth was born in Tipuru, South Pakaraimas, Region 9, Essequibo, Guyana “where she has carried out much of her educational and community work,” said CEAMA’s website.
She holds a Bachelor’s degree in social sciences, with a specialisation in teaching English as an additional language and has training in early childhood education. “Her career has focused on rural and indigenous contexts, where she has promoted intercultural education that strengthens the identity, language, and traditions of Indigenous peoples,” the website said.
It noted that Hawksworth’s pedagogical work has been characterised by integrating ancestral knowledge and contemporary methodologies, creating meaningful educational processes for new generations. In this vein, she participated in the Quality Bilingual Education Programme (QBEP), where she contributed to the production of early childhood education materials adapted to the cultural realities of the communities. “She recently completed a book of stories from the Macushi people, a valuable initiative that captures the memory, spirituality, and narrative richness of their culture, and which will be published on March 28.”
