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Front Row (seated): June James-Morton, Lillian Salters, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Social and Community Development and Gender Affairs, the Hon. Sam Condor, Patricia Davis-Paul and Ms. Aimee Inniss.
Back Row (standing): Sandra Morton, Murene Pemberton, Jasmine Clarke, Angela Maltay-Cornelius, Sylvia May Archibald, Jennifer Archibald, Verna Pemberton and Agatha Caines. |
BASSETERRE, ST. KITTS, OCTOBER 24TH 2005 - Sixteen ladies in St. Kitts and Nevis have declared they "will no longer be damsels in distress" when they graduated from a Car Maintenance Workshop for Women. "We are celebrating an accomplishment as it is the first course of this kind to be held solely for women in our Federation," said graduant, June James-Morton, who pointed out that auto mechanics is still an unchartered territory for women.
"Participants are graduating from ignorance in this area to possess a wealth of knowledge and have developed skills in the car maintenance. We are graduating from fear of the many car problems, the jargon and the bills that the mechanics throw at us, to confidence in dealing with these problems and in dealing with the mechanics; from forbidden territory to familiar grounds. Under the bonnet was off limits to us and it was the men who set the limits for us and we are now on familiar grounds," said James-Morton in delivering the welcome remarks during the ceremony at the Keys Community Centre.
She said the young ladies were graduating from dependence on male partners or mechanics to independence.
"We do not have to play the role of the damsel in distress and wait on a man to pass by and change our flats, we can do that ourselves. It warms our hearts to know that our accomplishments are celebrated by other women," said James-Morton, who challenged the men in the room to lift any car bonnet and ask them to identify the parts of the car engine.
The brainchild of the course, Miss Aimee Inniss, representing the course facilitator, Sgt. Royston Griffin of the St. Kitts-Nevis Coast Guard, in remarks said it was organised as a result of her own ignorance and fear of her vehicle.
"And I thought to myself that if I have all these fears and do not know about my vehicle, I am sure there are several other women, who do too," said Inniss. The course first started with 8 persons and concluded with 16 successfully completing.
Ms. Inniss was high in praise for course instructor Griffin. "He was very eager, very loyal and very dedicated and stuck with us women and he answered so many questions," said Inniss, who added that the 8-week course comprised of theory on Wednesdays and practical on Thursdays.
The areas covered included engine pre-check, history of vehicles and identification of operating parts; basic operation of the engine, vehicle first aid, changing the tires, use of the transmission, use of the foot and safety brakes, the purpose of the battery, an outline of the cooling system, an outline of the lubricating system and practical evaluation.
The graduating students are Jennifer Archibald, Sylvia May Archibald, Cheryl Boyles, Agatha Caines, Jasmine Clarke, June James-Morton, Angela Maltay-Cornelius, Sandra Morton, Patricia Davis-Paul, Amanda Pemberton, Carol Pemberton, Murene Pemberton, Verna Pemberton, Kirsten Richards, Lillian Salters and Eveta Somersall, most of whom received their certificates from Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Social and Community Development and Gender Affairs, the Hon. Sam Condor.
The graduating students participated in a skit highlighting the abuse women unknowingly suffer at the hands of unscrupulous mechanics.
