From a field of Ontario-grown soybeans to a product that will reduce cancer risk – the innovative new Prolong Travel Mug™, proudly discovered, developed and designed at Trent University, is set to revolutionize your morning cup of coffee.
Developed by the Trent Centre for Biomaterials Research (TCBR), the new Prolong Travel Mug delivers the dual benefits of rapidly cooling hot beverages to a safe 65°C in less than a minute, and maintaining that ideal temperature for taste, quality and health for hours.
“Recent studies have shown that drinking very hot beverages can cause cancer. In fact, the World Health Organization has classified beverages in excess of 65°C as probable carcinogens and, with most hot beverages served in excess of 80°C, that’s a risk you don’t want to take,” said Dr. Suresh Narine, director of the TCBR and co-inventor of the mug. “The Prolong Travel Mug is smartly designed with its Phase Change Material to ensure your favourite hot beverage is safe and comfortable to drink and travel with – for hours on end.”
At the heart of the Prolong Travel Mug is a unique, patented Phase Change Material (PCM), produced from Ontario soybeans and using green chemistry. The PCM goes to work as soon as you pour a hot beverage into the Prolong Travel Mug, rapidly absorbing excess heat from your beverage. As it does, it converts from a solid to liquid state, storing the excess heat. Later, as the beverage begins to cool, the process reverses, the PCM solidifies, and the stored heat is released back into the beverage, keeping it within the perfect drinking temperature range.
It all started with science at Trent University.
The Prolong story started when a group of intrepid researchers, faculty and students in the Trent Centre for Biomaterials Research saw an opportunity to change the way we enjoy hot beverages on the go. Always looking for sustainable ways to do things, the team used environmentally friendly soybean oil, then ingeniously invented the patented Phase Change Material technology, using Green Chemistry. Too-hot drinks may be a thing of the past, but this research team won’t rest until it finds new ways to put this discovery to work.
For more information, and to order your Prolong Travel Mug, visit prolongmug.com.

Ramesh D. Kalicharran, popularly known as Kali, is an extraordinary community leader, who leads by example.
In recognition of his tremendous contribution to the Guyana diaspora, he has received several citations (including plaques) from the Asian-Indian, the Indo-Caribbean, and other Ethnic American communities in New York. Kali is a proud ambassador for Guyana in particular, and the Caribbean, in general.
Kali was born on April 7, 1949. He is the eldest of eleven children born to Ramdayal and Mangani Kalicharran who are second generation Indians of Guyana and who trace their roots to the state of Uttar Pradesh in India. Though of Indian origin, Kali sees himself beyond the boundaries and limitations of race. He works assiduously to promote the welfare of his community, as well as, that of others.
Kali has excelled in every field of endeavour since his boyhood days in Guyana when he served as an outstanding role model for our youth. He excelled academically, and in extra-curricular activities since his teenage years. After succeeding at his GCE exams from the University of London he was recruited as a school teacher. Serving briefly in that capacity, Kali emigrated to the United States in 1970, where he had hoped to study medicine, but economic constraints caused him instead to pursue studies in medical Technology. He graduated from the Eastern School for Physician Aides in 1973.
Still, with the economic situation worsening in Guyana, the pursuit of a job was more important than that of a higher education at that time, as he had to remit funds to his relatives in Guyana. Consequently, he joined Bellevue Hospital as a lab technician in the Pathology Department, while simultaneously doing studies in medical illustration at Hunter College in New York City.
In the pursuit of better economic conditions, he left the medical field to serve as manager at F.W. Woolworth Department Store in 1973. Kali met his wife-to-be, Judy there. They got married in 1974. This successful union produced three talented children: Jagdesh, Nadesh, and Romanee (Kathak exponent and teacher).
Two years after their marriage, Kali entered the real estate business, but being a sharp social critic, he was quick to realize that survival and progress in business depended upon diversification. He thus launched an innovative concept, the Kali Bharat Yatra Tours (KBY) to India. Kali knew that many immigrants want to seek a re-connection with their past (discover their roots) so he initiated the (KBY) to give immigrants and others an opportunity to rediscover the land that gave birth to their foreparents.
Never one to cease probing into the needs of new immigrants, he also started a driving school. Private transportation in New York is very important, and it was essential that immigrants be licensed as soon as possible to drive motor vehicles. A school of motoring was established called Arcel. Today, Kali is owner and president of the Kali Group of Companies. It is important to note that the measure of Kali’s business success is not necessarily based on his rate of return on investments, but rather, how he utilizes a substantial portion of his net profits in the furtherance of humanitarian goals. He would dip into his pocket even though his business may be running at a loss. Such was his commitment to humanitarian causes. It’s no wonder that he is regarded as perhaps the leading Caribbean-born philanthropist within our community in New York.
Paying tribute to the passing of this towering personality, President of the Indian Diaspora Council International Ashook Ramsaran referred to Kalicharran as "a prominent and well recognized cornerstone of the community, having pioneered several programs which promoted interests of Indo-Caribbean people in New York and the Caribbean, an icon among Indo-Caribbean people with a long lasting legacy of selfless service. He will be greatly missed."
Perhaps a citation from Queens Borough President best encapsulates Kalicharran's achievements. "As an outstanding business and civic leader of the Guyanese community in Queens, you have generously given time, talent, and resources toward the betterment of your community and the preservation of its cultural heritage. I, President Shulman, wish to express my sincere gratitude for your valuable contribution to the cultural richness and vitality of our borough".

Mississauga resident, Indrani Gayadeen, has ticked off another dream wish from her bucket list. At the age of 85, this Guyanese-Canadian philanthropist has published her first book, a novel, titled Arshana, which was launched last Sunday, Dec 3, 2017 at the In Our Words Inc. book launch.
Mrs. Gayadeen is a philanthropist who is known as 'Mother Indrani' for her good works in poor areas of India, where she has built leper clinics and dug tube wells to bring water to far off villages. She has food programs as well in India where she visits every year, often several times a year.

Born in Guyana, Indrani lived in England, India, Trinidad and currently, in Canada. While in England, she married Donald Gayadeen, a dentist with whom she has four children.
Her novel Arshana is a fictional story, loosely based on elements from her own life. It's the story of a beautiful young, destitute girl meeting a handsome highly eligible doctor with a resulting clash of cultures, the breaking of tradition tearing their worlds apart. Can their love survive?
Arshana is available through the author (Tel: 905-566-1992) or from major online distributors.

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