By Bibi Khatoon
Dawn Skepmire was born and raised in Georgetown by her grandmother, a woman who she remembers was “always using some bush.”
During her teenage years, she began to work with older persons at the Red Cross Society. There, she would be given various herbs to take to the elderly persons and soon developed a passion for the herbal treatments.
The turning point was at the age of 24 when she successfully cured her daughter of asthma.
“She was getting this asthma attack like three times per month and I remember it was one Christmas time and this child took ill at the hospital… and I say I got to fix this,” Dawn told the News Room.
At the time, Dawn said she was in London and had purchased a book titled ‘Herbal Medicine by Reader’s Digest.’ It was the ingredients listed in the book that helped her to make a concoction which cured her young daughter of asthma.
As a result of her success, the mother of two decided it was time for her to get certified.
She migrated to the United States where she worked as a nurse for 19 years and studied at the Institute of Chinese Herbology in California to become a certified Herbal Doctor.
In 2017, she returned to Guyana and opened a business ‘Dawndelion’ –a holistic variety store where she sells products derived from over 150 different types of herbs. Dawndelion is a combination of the proprietor’s name and the Dandelion herb.
The News Room caught up with her at the recent Uncapped Exhibition held at the Guyana National Stadium, Providence, East Bank Demerara.
Dawn is now on a quest to increase the use of herbal treatments for various illnesses.
“I treat illnesses, from the head to the toe with herbs,” she said.
Her business is located at Sussex Street Georgetown.
There, you can find a wide array of tea bags, capsules, lotions and other effective forms of treatment for the skin and body.
One of her favourite creations is a pill called the Male Stamina which aims to maintain the male sexual organ.
“I use the herbs: Horny Goat Weed, Supplimento, Yohimbe, Tribulus, Ashwagandha… and this pill is not what you’re thinking, it nourishes that organ, like how we will use medicine for the heart, we will use Ginkgo Biloba for the brain…that’s a nourishment. I tell people that’s an oil change,” Dawn said.
Most of her herbs are from outside of Guyana but Dawn is now looking to purchase them locally.
“I’m now learning that I can find them here, not all but one one. I’m getting the Dandelion, I’m getting the Rosa del Monte, the Cats-claw, one one I’m getting there. It will take a long time to get everything but I’m getting there,” she noted.
Dawn is not against medical treatments as she said Conventional medicine serves its purpose but herbs solve the root cause of the illness.
