Shabakie Fernandes –Making a tremendous difference in the lives of young women

GROWING up in West Ruimveldt, a young Shabakie Fernandes had no choice but to reach for the stars, as her grandmother refused to believe that anything worth doing should be done half-heartedly.

altAs she attended the West Ruimveldt Primary School and the Bishops’ High School, she was told that books were her best friend. In the home in which she was brought up, children had to read everything; and when there was nothing to do, she had to find something to read. Under her grandmother’s watchful eye, she spent many hours in front of the television, but not watching Beverly Hills 90210 or Sister, Sister. She had to look at programmes by estealtemed Guyanese journalists and broadcasters, such as Francis Quamina Farrier and Clem David. She had to watch the daily news, whether she wanted to or not, so as to be a well-informed young lady.
Today, Shabakie holds a B.A in Conflict Resolution and Peace Studies, an LL.B in Law, an M.Sc. in Criminology and Criminal Justice, and an M.Sc. in Clinical Psychology. Through The Guyana Faith and HIV Coalition, she has managed projects as coordinator for international agencies such as UNAIDS, Global Fund, and The Vatican, holding respected positions such as project manager, coordinator, and consultant.
She is a member of the Guyana Psychological Association and of the Caribbean Youth Environment Network, among many other agencies. Currently a lecturer at the American International School of Medicine, Fernandes has, within the last two years, earned two more shining diamonds in her crown: one is the now “Miss Emancipation”, formerly known as the Miss Guyana African Queen in which she is a Public Relations Officer and Founder of the ‘I Can Foundation’, which empowers men, altwomen and children, and builds stronger families.
The ‘I Can Foundation’ offers courses in hairstyling and nail and make-up artistry, administered by professional hair and beauty expert Malinda Marks. Earlier this year, with assistance from Guyana Goldfields Inc. and partnering with the Ruimveldt Children’s Aid Centre, the I Can Foundation provided free hair and beauty training courses for single women altwho aspire to be financially independent in the interest of themselves and families. The course ran for a period of three months, and covered areas of cosmetology such as hair-styling, manicure, pedicure, facial and make-up.

Since the foundation is so strongly rooted in the concept of family as a building block of society, and since family and parenting go hand-in-hand, the first batch of graduands were also exposed to parenting classes held by the Guyana National Faith and HIV Coalition and the Education Ministry. They were also given talks on career guidance and child sexual abuse.
Besides the cosmetology courses, the programmes were focused on child sexual abuse, domestic violence, parenting, and other social issues plaguing society. The 75 women attending the course, whose ages ranged from 16 years to 55 years, were respondents to a public announcement to register for the courses.

“The aim is to have persons build skills which they can use to make a living, even if they have alternative jobs or academic certificates,” Fernandes has said. The I Can Foundation has trained over 70 women with entrepreneurial and important family life skills, and 54 of them received certification at a graduation ceremony held in May of this year.
Currently, through the I Can Foundation, Miss Fernandes has expanded her skills training to the Plaisance area, and intends to target other areas throughout Guyana. Many of her students volunteer and assist her in doing so.
Her motto is: ‘Aim for the stars, if you miss, you will still land on the clouds’
Another skill Ms Fernandes possesses is to showcase the natural beauty, talent and strength of Afro-Guyanese women. Thus Miss Emancipation 2013 will focus on a more holistic view of feminine beauty, and will feature various segments, such as evening wear, business wear, and talent display.
In keeping with the United Nations’ Day of the Woman, the delegates will be choosing a strong woman of African descent to speak on as their platform.

Stemming from last year’s pageant, there will be the girls Group, ‘Guyanese Girls Unite’, which aims to promote empowerment of young girls. In keeping with her reign, on the International Day of the Girl Child, reigning Queen Ms. Jillicia Pinder visited the East Ruimveldt Secondary school to promote STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) and also participated at the World Youth Day event with the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport, among many other events.
This year the pageant is again promoting STEM, and will be sending 12 girls from Mali (where education is not free) to school through the Guyanese Girls Unite project. The girls would be given much needed facilities to explore their senses and skills, and, most importantly, get an education that lets them know that not even the sky is the limit.
Persons who wish to support the work of the I Can Foundation can do so by contacting Fernandes on telephone number 672-1930, or by making a contribution to the I Can Foundation (Republic Bank) account number 1603711.
Tickets for the Miss Emancipation pageant cost $1000, $1500 and $2000, and can be  bought at the National Cultural Centre, at Nigel’s Supermarket, Joan’s Beauty Salon on Durban Street (between Mandela Avenue and John Street), at Ashmins, and at Upscale Restaurant and Sports Bar.

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