CELEBRATING GUYANA’S ENTERPRISING WOMEN

Mar 11, 2019 News

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The sky is the limit for Capt. Feriel Ally

For Captain Feriel Ally, “The Sky is the limit”. Literally.
Pilot Ally, of Air Services Limited, has been working in the aviation sector for over 30 years and has no regrets.
“As a girl, in high school, one day I woke up with this vision, I wanted to be a captain, I wanted to be in a pilot’s uniform, wear my four bars; I wanted to be in command and control,” Ally told the Department of Public Information (DPI).

Ally said upon graduating from Codrington High School in Barbados, she attended the ADF Airways Flight School in Miami. Following this, she took her first job at the family business – Air Services Limited.
Ally began by loading and cleaning aircraft, taking reservations and scheduling pilots. It was this humble start, which made her develop a deeper appreciation for aviation.
Over the years, Ally worked her way up the ladder in the aviation sector.
“I did my flying at ADF Airways at Tamiami Airport in Miami; however, I did not just want to be a pilot; I wanted to move laterally in aviation. Therefore, I took some time off from studies and worked at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport [CJIA] as a Deputy Manager of Operations, after that, I worked with the Guyana Civil Aviation as an Aviation Inspector. This is the regulatory body of aviation with oversight for Guyana,” Captain Ally recalled.
After acquiring her licences, Captain Ally also pursued other academic advancements, such as Aviation Management and a degree in psychology.
Addressing the challenges and dangers she faces daily in her profession, Ally has this to say, “The jungle is unforgiving; however, my day to day challenges is the weather. But with experience, you live and breathe safety. I try not to go beyond the safety curve, and I try my best to be safe.”
Captain Ally said she comes from a family of aviators who knew of her passion from a tender age and gave her full support to achieve her dream.
“I was lucky to have my parents provide me with a grounded education; thereafter, I took it on my own to pay my full tuition for schooling, and that was my greatest accomplishment in life.”
Captain Ally’s advice to young women is to set their goals from a young age, be focused and pursue your career.

 

 

Passionate about medicine, compassionate about people

― Dr. Kezia Gordon seeks to impact health sector

Thirty-one-year-old paediatric resident at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation, Dr. Kezia Gordon, has endeavoured since childhood, to be a part of a health system, contributing to saving lives. This young doctor who hails from Mocha, East Bank of Demerara, is making a conscious attempt to impact her sector.
The budding paediatrician has been in the medical profession for six years and counting. Speaking with the Department of Public Information, Dr. Gordon explained that since the death of a family member as a result of a heart complication, she chose to professionally pursue a medical career.

“My main inspiration came when my older sister died from a cardiac defect. I later learned it was a cardiac defect, but we were initially told she had a hole in her heart… so that pushed me into wanting to find out why and if I could help other people in her position.” Dr. Gordon explained.
She added that her love for children has given her the desire to specialise in the field catering specifically to children. “Paediatrics combines my two loves, medicine and children.”
After completing medical education at the Latin-America School of Medicine in Cuba and graduating from the Cuba-Guyana medical programme in 2013, Dr. Gordon worked in several areas. She completed a brief stint at the Mahdia Regional Hospital and also worked at West Demerara Regional Hospital, Leonora Cottage Hospital and the Diamond Diagnostic Centre. She also served as Doctor-in-charge for two years at the Grove Health Centre.
The road to becoming a doctor for her had its fair share of challenges. Just when she thought that being a female medical doctor was a norm, she was surprised by one of her patients who refused to take a diagnosis from her.
“When I started my internship, it was the first time I confronted this. A patient came to us and I was in the room with a male nurse and I explained to the patient the diagnosis and the treatment. The patient then told me ‘no I want that doctor to tell me what he thinks.’ I was taken back because that was the nurse, but he preferred to listen to the nurse than to me.”
Despite this Dr. Gordon forged ahead, fueled by passion and love for her job, refusing to be discouraged by the challenges she faced. She maintained that regardless of the situation, building pleasant relationships with patients is the first step to their healing.
She encourages young women to hold fast to a belief, one which can serve as inspiration and couple this with hard work to guarantee success.
“It’s important to first of all trust God and see him for your encouragement, for your inspiration and two it’s very important to work hard because success is not achieved any other way, there is no shortcut.”

 

 

Braving the heat and breaking barriers – firefighter Melesia Martin

– first female driver of the fire truck

Braving the heat of burning buildings and hearing cries of families on the verge of losing everything takes not only courage and being fearless but also a heroic will to save others. Before, that job was reserved for men.
However, that is the everyday life of firewoman Melesia Martin, who has been at the job for the last three years.
Martin is proof that women can perform tasks that were originally thought to be the sole domain of the men.
Martin said her inspiration for getting into that field of work came from her father who was a member of the Guyana Defence Force. “I chose to be a firefighter because of my dad, he always wanted me to be a firefighter since he was in the military field. So, after school and after changing a few jobs, he advised me that I should become a firefighter because he thought I would grow to love the profession and so far, so good” Martin stated.
This bold young woman has not regretted this decision as she has not only saved countless buildings from destruction but also broken barriers.

“My biggest accomplishment since I am here is being the first female driver within the service to drive the fire trucks and likewise the ambulance” Martin proudly said.
It is a known fact that anything that you do comes with challenges and for Martin, it is the same. She emotionally explained that her biggest challenge is “having to be brave and at the same time, have empathy for distraught callers or whenever you go on a fire scene for the victims of these disasters.”
This young vibrant firewoman has some words of encouragement for other young women who might be thinking about joining the profession. “… I would advise you to go for it! Do not let anyone deter you from your dreams because there is nothing to regret, it is a wonderful career.”
Melesia Martin is truly deserving to be celebrated this day set aside to honour women. (A DPI Feature)

 

Women engineers…Helping to keep a nation safe from the sea

When it comes to the construction of critical sea defences, the creation of access roads to hinterland communities for farmers to transport their produce, or the undertaking of small to large construction projects, the female engineers within the Ministry of Public Infrastructure remain critical assets.
Three distinguished engineers attached to the Ministry of Public Infrastructure provided the Department of Public Information (DPI) with an interview to share their experiences on a profession that is typically associated with men.
Engineer Denita Crandon relayed the defining moment as a child when she decided that engineering was the path that she would pursue. “I liked drawing [architectural] plans because my father taught us how to read plans at an early age. It was very exciting. However, it was in Fourth Form when I was in the tech stream, that I realised that engineering was actually what I wanted to do.”

Her colleague, Kimberly Charles, emphasised the importance of a family support system to persevere in the field.
“When I applied at TI [Government Technical Institute], I had no experience. It was kind of tough, even though at the time I was technically an adult, my mother went in with me, sat down and asked all the relevant questions,” Charles explained.
For Carissa Goodings, a sound academic background is a necessity to advancing in the field. “If you don’t have the science subjects, but you have your Mathematics and English, you can actually go to TI [Government Technical Institute] first to learn the trade, to understand that this is what you really want to do and after you head on to UG where you can read for your degree in Civil Engineering,” she explained.
While admitting that there are stereotypical perceptions of women in engineering, Crandon had encouraging words for women who may be considering the field.
“You might meet some challenges along the way. Some persons might say you can’t do it, but the key to success is to keep striving. (A DPI feature)

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