By: Precious Mills
BASSETERRE, St.Kitts (MARCH 2018)- The contribution of nine (9) women collectively in the nursing and manufacturing sectors in the Federation of St.Kitts and Nevis was spotlighted at the recently held first annual Union Awards Luncheon organised by the St.Kitts-Nevis Trades and Labour Union on the occasion of International Women’s Day (observed on 8th March).
This year’s awardees are: Novillia Rawlins Nwosu and Davida Irish of the St.Kitts Nurses Association; Hildred Somerall and Jeneive Liburd of the Nevis Nurses Association; Vellie Wooadley and Yvette Francis of Harowe Servo Plant in St.Kitts and also -Mary Rogers, Anette DeGuire and Vida Warner of Carib Brewery (St.Kitts-Nevis) Ltd.
Notably, these celebrated women have contributed many years in their respective areas of profession having been in their field of work for over 20 and 30 years in some cases.
The ceremony was held under the theme ‘Celebrating the Strength of the Woman In You’.
Managing Director of Carib Brewery Mark Wilkin, at the end of the ceremony, congratulated all of the awardees saying: “We really appreciate what you do and we celebrate you, your strength, your hard work and dedication. Continue what you do well and keep up the good work. Thank you.”
Feature speaker Dr. Sybil Allen-Jones, a counsellor by profession, encouraged the awardees to let their inner beauty shine in observance of the event’s theme ‘Celebrating the Strength of the Woman In You.’
“All women face opportunities and challenges in their chosen field of work. The strength of the woman in you begins with cultivating your inner beauty. By definition, inner beauty may described as something that is experienced through a person’s character rather than by appearance. It’s the real beauty of a person goes far beyond physical appearances. A woman should be kind, she should be gracious.”
“So kindness and consideration, being flexible and easy going is strength. A recent study at Boston University suggest that your well-being is improved when your immune system is stronger when you are generous and treat others well,” she added.
Dr. Allen-Jones advised that “This does not mean that we should neglect our own needs or own goals and ambitions to the detriment of our health and well-being.”
She continued: “It is about balance and creating harmony in our lives which in turn creates peace in our interaction with others. It also brings forth the beauty of feminine energy being one of working together, collaborations and networking, modeling respectful interactions in our communities.”
Dr. Allen-Jones also pointed out that a woman should also have good judgment.
“If a woman is physical attractive but lack maturity or foresight, it takes away from her inner beauty and value. Good judgement is needed in many areas of our lives such as moral issues, money matters, and choices, decisions, dealing with others and certainly at work. A women who possesses good judgment is of great importance because she can be trusted to do the right thing,” she remarked.
According to her, inner beauty helps you to appreciate outer beauty and your strength.
“If you love, appreciate and feel good about yourself, you would feel more confident about facing an interacting with others. When you fill your thoughts with positive energy and inner beauty, you’d appreciate the things that are around you a lot more too.”