By: Precious Mills

BASSETERRE, ST. KITTS (Monday 10th February 2025)-In an exclusive interview following her recent book launch, daughter of the soil Nyoka Gumbs (who currently resides in New York in the U.S), a trained architect turned author, shared her insights on heritage, financial resilience, and the impact she hopes her book will have on fellow Kittitians and Nevisians.

Her two-fold book launch took place on Saturday 1st February 2025, with a morning session at El Fredo’s Restaurant in Newtown and an afternoon session at the McKnight Community Centre, spotlighting ‘The Day After the Unemployment Runs Out: A Survival Guide for Those Facing Financial Hardship’.

As gathered, local book sales went well with more than forty-five (45) copies sold. 

See interview details below:

Reporter: Congratulations on the successful launch of your book. Can you give a summary?

Nyoka Gumbs: It’s about resilience. The ability to withstand and recover in times of hardships. For my SKN readers, I want them to think about is what in our culture makes us easier to recover. Things that we take for granted, what is the creativity of our background and how does that factor in? One of the things I mentioned to the college students (at Clarence Fitzroy College-CFBC) is, I just only found out like a couple of years ago that we are the smallest country in the Western Hemisphere. That blew my mind because that was not something that I was taught. I mean, I know where we are in terms of size in the Caribbean, but I didn’t know in terms of the whole hemisphere. And so it makes me think about the things that we have accomplished as a nation and things that we’ve seen, how gutsy and powerful and bold and brave and courageous as a country we’ve been. So at some point you absorb that into your being. 

And then just like how I talked about going to the U.S. at 16 to be in college, where does that come from? That strength came from things that I’ve always been seeing here that we just think is just our way, but it’s actually pretty amazing. And so I want my Kittitian Nevisian readers to recognize just that heritage that we have. When you now apply it and zero in it to financial hardship, you could overcome anything. Resort to your community, helping each other, pooling resources, right? And you’re here. The help is here. Create an empathetic environment for people that are in need so that they know to come to the community, see people, really see people and value them. 

And so there’s a lot of practical tips in the book and so just have it as a guide whenever you have a financial hardship. Figure out, yes you got to solve your situation financially but make sure that your mental health stays intact because you can’t separate the two. You’re not alone, it’s just a temporary situation and it’s just your circumstances. Nothing is wrong with you. Of course if you made mistakes or whatever you could always dig a reverse right but I’m just saying general unemployment there’s nothing it’s not personal to you sometimes it’s the circumstances of what’s going on in the world it’s going on to the country so don’t internalize it that way be flexible be humble you know; you might have always been on one path professionally, but there’s something else you might be good at or something else that you could turn to in that time. Keep your options open and just lean on me as part of the community and the resources that I’ve given you.

Reporter: How did you feel about the turnout at your launch?

Nyoka Gumbs: El Fredo’s was intimate and so it got really vulnerable, and this (at the McKnight Community Centre) had a different vibe which is what I wanted. I wanted both. I didn’t want it to feel repetitive since I’m the one in all the spaces…There’s some things of course you have to share with each audience but I mean some of the people that I’ve seen I haven’t seen in a long time and they just showed up. And look at how many of my teachers just showed up and just texted them. You know what I mean? That really means a lot to me it means a lot so I feel loved you know sometimes you hear people criticize their own …but I just felt like people were just sitting waiting for an opportunity to support me that’s literally how I felt…and they delivered; it wasn’t just small talk, they were there they showed up for me.

Reporter: Your professional background is in architecture and construction management. When did you realize you wanted to become an author?

Nyoka Gumbs: Initially, I didn’t think of writing a book but maybe about five years ago, I knew I wanted it to be a book but I really didn’t buckle down to do it until about a year ago and then work was in the way because you know you’re working every day and you have other things going on so really just making that space to buckle down and do it. That happened in the last year. And I focused on others, not myself. So even if there’s some shyness about it, I focus more on the benefits to others and that helped me fulfill it.

Reporter: You mentioned in your speech that you wish you had access to a book like this during the COVID-19 pandemic. How do the lessons apply to today’s realities?

Nyoka Gumbs: Well some of the lessons are like when you’re back to making money again or being on your feet, don’t forget all these strategies about being frugal and don’t be wasteful you know what I mean? and just know that a rainy day could come at any time. And so just making sure you hold on to those lessons. One of the budgeting principles that I put in the book is called the 50-30-20. 50% of your income should go to your needs. The 30% goes to your variable expenses and 20% savings, just a simple principle. And sometimes you can’t get to the 20% savings because you might have debt, but just have it as a goal…And as a principle, as long as you spend less than you make it’s a start and then what you do with what you’re saving whether you invest or whatever, that’s different but that’s a good way to just stay financially on track. Like I said, one of the scriptures in the book says the borrower is the slave to the lender. That’s in Proverbs. So if you keep overextending yourself financially, you’re basically enslaving yourself to whatever, layaway people or, you know, credit cards, living above you mean. So there’s a lot of principles in there that draw from different spaces. And I just want people to basically take that in there’s a practical there’s, emotional there’s a mental you know spiritual and treat yourself your whole being in times of hardship.

Reporter: During the book signing, did you personalize messages for each person?

Nyoka Gumbs: Specific things according to who. The teachers, there were things that I wanted to say…and to my long-time classmates…and then people who played a role in supporting me even before I became…and then some people I wanted to say something that they could pass on to their children. So I tried to keep it personal. 

Gumbs’ book is available worldwide on Amazon and locally through her family-her mother, Georgina at Pelican Mall, her father Walford Gumbs and her sister, Gallio. 

This new author is also working on expanding wider local distribution.