Mrs. Viola Victorine Burnham née Harper was born on 26th November 1930. She was the second wife of the late President Linden Forbes Sampson Burnham. The two were married in 1967 and from the union had three children, two daughters, Melanie and Ulele and son, Kamana Burnham.
Mrs. Burnham was born in New Amsterdam, Berbice and was the youngest of eight children of schoolmaster James Nathaniel Harper and his wife Mary (née Chin). She attended The Bishops’ High School on scholarship and later returned to teach Latin.
Mrs. Burnham worked briefly at the Argosy newspaper and later became a teacher, which led her to obtain a scholarship for university abroad. She earned a Bachelor of Arts in Latin from the University of Leicester, United Kingdom, and her Master of Arts in Education from the University of Chicago, United States.
In 1967 she was elected Vice-Chairperson of the Women’s Auxiliary of the People’s National Congress (PNC). Mrs. Vi, as she was fondly called, was involved in the reorganising of this arm of the party and took up additional responsibility in that regard.
In 1975, the “International Women’s Year” as dedicated by the United Nations (UN), Mrs. Burnham led the Guyana Delegation to the first World Conference in Mexico. In 1980 she led another women’s delegation to Copenhagen, Denmark, and in 1985 to Nairobi, Kenya. In 1995 she participated in the UN Conference in Beijing, China.
In 1976, she was elected as Chairperson of the Women’s Revolutionary Socialist Movement (WRSM), the renamed women’s arm of the PNC. As chair of the WRSM she was responsible for projects related to women’s employment and education in Guyana as well as the greater Caribbean region.
Under her leadership the WRSM engaged in several economic activities such as rice farming, clothing (Vanpro) and earthenware (Vanceram). At the time of Vanceram establishment, it was the only tableware factory in the Caribbean. The factory converted Guyana’s mud into worthwhile refined products.
Through her work, the WRSM hosted delegations from the Caribbean, Africa, Asia and Europe.
Mrs. Burnham was a Child Rights and Women’s Rights advocate and championed gender equality, equity and opportunities.
She served as a Chair on the Guyana National Commission on the Year of the Child (1979).
She was instrumental in the founding of the Caribbean Women’s Association (CASWIG) where she served as First Vice President. She was also a founding member of the Women’s Affairs Bureau (WAB). She led the fight to reform the legal system in relation to the laws of Guyana which affected women, and it was through her work, the Desiree Bernard Committee was established to make the laws a reality.
She was elected to Parliament in 1985 and stepped down in 1991.
In August 1985 she was appointed to President Desmond Hoyte Cabinet as Vice President and Deputy Prime Minister with responsibility for Education, Social Development and Culture.
She was also the first woman to serve as President of the Cooperative Republic when both President Hoyte and Prime Minister Hamilton Green were abroad on state business.
Mrs. Burnham was a farmer. She was the recipient of several international awards and the Order of Roraima, which is Guyana’s second highest award.
Mrs. Burnham died on 10th October 2003. Paying tribute on her seventh death anniversary, the PNC said Mrs. Vi was a lady, in the best and noblest sense of the word, “refined, gracious and yet possessing the capacity to meet and understand the needs of citizens from all levels of Guyanese society.”
