Basseterre, St. Kitts, March 09, 2016 (SKNIS): Six women, namely Jacqueline Lenora Browne, Merclyn Hughes, Maureen Dickenson, Cherryl Ward, Raslyn Connor and Malvie James, were recognised on International Women’s Day, March 8, for their sterling contribution in various fields.
Merclyn “Dolly” Gumbs-Hughes was awarded for her 37 years of service in the Royal St. Christopher & Nevis Police Force, and has recently risen to the rank of Assistant Commissioner of Police with responsibility for the Administration, Resources, Technology and Intelligence Directorate. This is the first time in the history of the Federation that a female has been chosen to be an ACP.
She is member and co-founder of the “Women of Purpose”, Grace Gospel Hall’s vibrant ministry in the community and hospitals. Merclyn is a Co- founder of the Boys/ Good News Club at Grace Gospel Hall from 2011 with a contact of over 100 boys and girls from the communities of Old Road to Half Way Tree.
She is also a coordinator and teacher at the Good News Club at the Tyrell Williams Primary School established and conducted by the Women of Purpose of Grace Gospel Hall. Merclyn is a member of the Worship Team and Camp Abraham’s Choir. She has a daily ministry of encouragement and prayer to hundreds via Whatsapp Messenger, and she is the conduit through which requests are channeled for urgent prayer needs and bulletins for the members of her church and others via electronic media. To the children in the community and at church she is known as Sister Dolly.
Awarded for her service in the manufacturing sector, Malvie James joined the industry with a wealth of experience in human resource development that was deeply rooted in academia, religion and community engagement. For the last 15 years, Mrs. James, along with a strong team, has made change happen at the level of the company and the industry she currently serves. Among her impressive portfolio she has worked to design training schedules that allow members of her team, to deliver the highest level of quality, increase productivity and competitiveness. Ms. James was an integral part of her organization's ability to achieve ISO certification - a mark of distinction for manufacturing entities in St. Kitts.
She also has successfully participated in Six Sigma training and integrated this knowledge into the workplace. For the last 10 years, Malvie has been the primary organizer of an Easter Camp that provides training, career guidance, religious instruction and social integration, for approximately 75 students between the ages of 8 to 25 years. In addition, she volunteers on the FNDECCU Board, she is very active in her church and works closely with the Ministry of Social Services to improve the lives of women and girls in our society.
Inspector Jacqueline Lenora Browne became a member of The Royal St. Christopher and Nevis Police Force on February 16th, 1987 and has thus been celebrated in the area of law enforcement. She has served in almost every department and district in the organization, including but not limited to: The Nevis Division, Out Stations (St. Christopher Division), Basseterre (Beat & Patrol), The Criminal Investigations Department, Police Supply Stores, Court Processes and Prosecution, The Traffic Department and The Immigration Department.
In 2006, the inspector enrolled in the degree programme with the St. Kitts UWI open campus and graduated in 2011 with a BSc in Management Studies. She has also received the Dr. Christmas award from the Chamber of Industry and Commerce, for the best results at evening institute.
Her chosen carrier in Law Enforcement has led to her providing counselling and guidance to many young people, who she encourages to stay on the straight and narrow.
Ms. Cherryl Ward, Broadcast Manager of ZIZ Broadcasting Corporation, has been awarded in the area of media. She possesses a B.A. in Journalism, a Diploma in Programme Production and a Diploma in Mass Communication.
Cherryl has held several positions within ZIZ. Early in her career, she was one of just a few female radio announcers who positively engaged her female listeners with her music selections and discussions of current events. As a TV programme director and Programme Producer, Ms. Ward has been integral in the development, hosting and production of several television shows that aim to educate the general public about current events including: Carnival Vibes, Cooking Made Easy and Ask Nital, as well as Youth Express on the Steps, where young people shared their views on youth-specific issues; Dr. Garfield’s House Call, which made medical information available free of cost and; SBizz News Programme, a platform to encourage youth entrepreneurship, which she hosted.
Before assuming her current role at ZIZ, Ms. Ward also worked as a News Manager and Marketing Manager. Cherryl’s work extends beyond the Federation as she has represented ZIZ at numerous events within the Caribbean, in the United States and Europe. Ms. Ward’s dedication to serving the people of the Federation through media is truly admirable and she is honoured for her achievements.
Mrs. Raslyn Connor has been dubbed “a farmer with a vision” and has been awarded in the agriculture sector. She owns and fully runs a 5 acre farm in the rural village of Newton Ground. Farming became a passion for Sarah around the year 2000. Hailing from a strong farming district herself, in the village of St. Paul's, she grew up with the understanding and the knowledge of the value of farmers. Sara, however took a quite roundabout way to this pursuit, as her first job was in an administrative capacity with a local construction sales firm.
She and her husband started a small farm in the Fahies, Newton Ground area and quickly expanded into animal husbandry, bee-keeping and agro-processing, all of which are key cross-fertilization sectors within the agricultural industry
Maureen Dickenson was born in Montserrat to parents from the Federation and has been awarded in the field of education and medicine. In 1961, she moved to St. Kitts and entered the St. Kitts Nevis Grammar School, obtaining a Cambridge Higher School Certificate in 1963.
Maureen taught at the Girls High School for 1 ½ years. In London, she was a Student Nurse at the Elizabeth Garrett Anderson Hospital. She also completed midwifery training at the Victoria Maternity Hospital and the Alexandra Maternity Home and undertook an Operating Theatre course at Barnet General Hospital.
By 1972, she had returned to St. Kitts and was employed as a staff Nurse at JNF Hospital. Committed to improving her education and the knowledge of others, Maureen completed a Certificate in Nursing Education from the University of the West Indies in 1977 and was promoted to the post of Principle Tutor at JNF School of Nursing where she coordinated a small staff of tutors and other health professionals who kindly used their time to educate students.
The 1980s were very productive for Ms. Dickenson. She returned to UWI, completing a Bachelor of Science in Nursing with honours in 1985. In her role as Principle Tutor, she was involved in the development and implementation of a new general curriculum under the Guidance of PAHO/WHO that focused on Primary Health Care. In 1989, she also initiated the Nursing Assistant Training Programme which enabled Kittitian and Nevisian nurses to more easily meet many of the standards required for participation in the Regional Nursing exams, therefore, enabling them to acquire regional certification.
Maureen served as Principle Tutor for 13 years, training over 200 general nursing students and several groups of midwives and nursing assistants. She also developed and taught a short home Nursing course for Red Cross.
In 1991, Ms. Dickenson was promoted to Principle Nursing Officer and was responsible for the overall operation of nursing services in St. Kitts and Nevis. She also became a member of the Regional Nursing Body, which monitored the progress of nursing practice and education in the region.
Although Maureen retired from Government service in 1996, she remains active. From 1998-2004, she coordinated and taught a Gerontology programme at the UWI open campus. Additionally, 2004 up to last year, Ms. Dickenson has worked as a School Nurse at Ross University School of Veterinary Medicine. Since the beginning of her career, Ms. Dickenson has been committed to medicine and to the education of countless others in this field and so she was awarded for her service to the Federation.
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