Having been awarded as one of 25 Influential Women Leaders and crowned an African princess, business consultant and activist Shabakie Fernandes, 36, is set to be named among 100 of the Most Influential People of African Descent (MIPAD) on 2nd October on the fringes of the 77th United Nations General Assembly.
The recognition forms part of the MIPAD recognition week of activities being held from the 30th September to 3rd October. It is one of several activities in observance of the United Nations International Decade for People of African Descent, which runs from 2015 to 2024.
“I think I was considered because of my activism during this UN international decade, which recognises people of African descent,” Fernandes told the Stabroek Weekend in a recent interview.
Fernandes grew up in West Ruimveldt with her grandmother, Joyce and aunt, Roxanne Nicholas. “My grandmother taught me the importance of morals and hard work. She and my aunt pushed me to always do my best, to strive for higher heights and to stay focused. My parents reinforced that,” she said.
She attended West Ruimveldt Primary School, where her teacher, Wilfred Success, stressed the importance of school work and a good education. “He was strict but at the same time kind and loving. If I needed assistance or correction, he was there,” she added.
At the Bishops’ High School, Fernandes said, “Our teachers were always encouraging. Ms Shelley-Anne Harris, one of my form mistresses, held motivational talks which I found helpful. Ms Franklin, once my English teacher, had the patience of Job. Sometimes when she gave us work and we did the bare minimum and you would expect a certain reaction from her, she would just pick out the good parts of what you did and say that was a good start but next time she would expect better.”
After completing high school in 2003, Fernandes started her tertiary education at the University of Guyana and continued at the American University of Peace Studies, where she obtained bachelor’s degrees in law and conflict resolution and a master’s degree in psychology.
At present she is pursuing an online certificate course on entrepreneurship through a Bank of America scholarship at Cornell University. She has done several courses in project management, project cycle management and project management for career development.
As coordinator of the Guyana National Faith and HIV Coalition, she was trained as a community life competence certified facilitator.
For Cricket West Indies, she was trained as a high performance mental health coach for the under 16 and under 19 cricketers.
She worked at the American International School of Medicine, which has branches in the USA and Guyana where she taught psychology, verbal reasoning and legal medical ethics for almost five years.
She was also a member of the board of directors of the Guyana Revenue Authority for two years. Serving as the executive director of the African Business Roundtable in Guyana to encourage persons of African descent to become involved in entrepreneurship, she said, “I assist in the formulation of plans for businesses, writing proposals whether it is for land application among other things and collaborating with Africans on the continent who want to go into business in Guyana. I am also in a position to advocate for African Guyanese who feel they are not being heard.”
Fernandes was the chief executive officer for the Green Guyana Expo and International Small Business Summit held at the Providence Stadium in 2018. She said the expo was a spinoff from the African Business Roundtable even though it operated separately.
“From that we were able to help a lot of other entrepreneurs to bring their products up to standard,” she said. “Some were working in isolation and needed recognition. We showed some young people from Berbice and Essequibo who had never done exports for example, how to upgrade their products to a certain standard, how to package them to be part of the expo and how to collaborate with the Ministry of Agriculture. For some others we pointed them in the direction to get the assistance they needed.”
The expo also assisted an Amerindian man and his family who own a resort but were not getting much business because of lack of marketing strategies. “They took part in the expo and have continued their business with a new approach.”
Apart from working with small businesses and getting them to understand the importance of registration and why it is necessary to promote themselves, Fernandes said, “We hosted business-to-business sessions and linked them with like-minded people and investors who worked along with them. Another similar event is in the making. Eric Phillips, a mentor to me, was the chairman of the expo.”
Many times, she said, people oppose her ideas and the work she does but that does not deter her. “If you can’t get it done, it doesn’t mean I cannot,” she stated.
As project coordinator with the Guyana National Faith (GNF) and HIV Coalition, she served as the mapping consultant, coordinator/project coordinator for projects from UNAIDS and the Global Fund.
“I conducted research using qualitative and quantitative approaches in various capacities and subject matters and worked with organisations on projects from agencies such as the Pan Caribbean Partnership Against HIV and AIDS, Department for International Development, the Regional Health Sector Development Unit and the European Union that exposed me to participatory development,” she said.
Fernandes also worked with the then Guyana Goldfields as a social counsellor on the heavy duty operator programme involving women from Pakuri village, who were taught to drive heavy duty machinery. “They had no skills and no subjects at the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate examinations,” she recalled. “Another colleague, Mr Compton Skeete and myself, worked along with the driver-trainers on the social aspects of the programme because some of the women had to get approval from their husbands or partners to undertake the training and to work in the gold mines. We were like the bridge between the women, the community and the company. Those trained went to Aurora and some are still working with Aurora Gold Mines as heavy duty operators.”
Activism
Working in groups like the African Cultural Development Association (ACDA) and the Association of Young Africans (AYA) as a social counsellor, Fernandes said, “We involved young people from seven to 16 years in community activities at places like Plaisance, Victoria and Ann’s Grove. We taught them the historical facts of the villages so that they can have an appreciation for culture.
“In Plaisance, we made a walkway at the Zoar Congregational Church. We cleaned up the monument in the churchyard. The monument has a list of the names of all of the people who pooled together and bought the village.”
Much of this work was done as part of the anthropological part of their Triple A programme. “Whether it was entrepreneurship, how to write a curriculum vitae, it was something that would serve them well.”
Within the African communities, she said, many people need assistance, maybe just simple advice to move forward. “Many do not understand the law and how it affects them or their social circumstances and what to do and how to organise themselves. I found that with my background in psychology and law, I was able to help them to process and deal with certain issues especially when I went into certain communities.”
In collaboration with one of her counterparts from Ghana-Liberia, Africa, Fatu Gbedema, another of her mentors, Fernandes founded Guyana Global Consulting Group, where she holds the position of CEO. “Apart from Ghana and Liberia, we have connections with the continent of Africa,” she said. The company produces a magazine, GAP Magazine (Gurus and Prospects) that features what it does on the continent, in the diaspora and the Caribbean. “Under the Guyana Global Consulting Group, we assist people from Africa who want to come to Guyana to set up their businesses. We are in the process of talking with some who want to come to do things on a larger scale.”
Another of her mentors with whom she has collaborated is Eslene Richmond-Shockley, a Guyana-born humanitarian who is the founder and CEO of the charitable organisation Caring for Others in Atlanta, Georgia.
Rebuilding
As owner of Fernandes and Associates, Fernandes said, “I’m in the process of restarting… after the fire.” Fire gutted the West Ruimveldt family home in early May this year and she lost everything except for a cellphone and the night clothes she was wearing at the time.
“I had to re-accumulate and redo lots of my documents I lost in the fire,” she said. “I have another company, WF Global Project Consultants, under which I intend to do project management and anything under construction. On the reconstruction of the house in West Ruimveldt, there is a lot of paperwork to be done before [that]… could begin. Right now I am staying with family.”
Recalling the fire which occurred in the wee hours of the morning, she said, “I was sleeping. I’m asthmatic. I couldn’t breathe and it’s normal for me to feel that way. Whenever I feel that way, I would just feel around for my inhaler, take two pumps and continue to sleep or whatever. That morning instead of feeling the inhaler I got my cellphone. After feeling around some more and not finding it, I felt like I was going to pass out. I recall getting up from bed and shouting for my neighbour. By that time I realised everything was on fire. I saw fire behind me and fire above me. Just as I stepped out the bedroom door, the entire bedroom was engulfed in fire. I barely made it to the front door where my neighbour was calling for me and that was it.”
Awards
In 2017, Fernandes received the Kykoveral Award from the news outlet Caribbean Voice for her work as a public servant within the social areas. At the time she was working with the American University for Peace Studies but was doing volunteer work with ACDA and AYA.
This year, she was one of the recipients of the 25 Influential Women Leaders Award for 2022 in Guyana. The award is given to women who have demonstrated a deep commitment to the development of their organisations, agencies and communities. The award is sponsored by the
US-based Nico Consulting Inc and Guyana-based Cerulean Incorporated to recognise the success of national and regional women leaders.
In July, Fernandes was crowned Princess Apadet by Queen Cynthia Khumalo Mzilikazi of the AmaNdebele clan, a prominent branch of the Zulu nation in South Africa. She was crowned a princess under the Diaspora African Kingdoms Alliance (DAKA). Fernandes said it was granted because of the work she has done and continues to do with the Ateker International Development Organisation (AIDO) network.
AIDO is an international non-governmental organisation that brings together different stakeholders in Africa and the diaspora and from the cultural community, educational, faith and sporting sectors to challenge human rights abuses, and to use culture to promote unity, development and social change.
“There is a misconception that Africans from the continent don’t want anything to do with Africans in the diaspora,” she said. “The announcement took me by surprise but I felt good. When I was called up, I was astonished. I was standing at the door managing the tickets.”
Going forward, she said, “I want to grow Fernandes and Associates and WF Global Consultancy. I want to give myself a little bit more time to complete the rebuilding process. From there focus on working more with the African continent.”
