Saturday 7th March 2009

International Women’s Day Celebrations
AFETT Heroine of the Year
AFETT Entrepreneur of the Year

Under the theme for International Women’s Day 2009 – ‘Women and Men United to End Violence Against Women and Girls’, the Association of Female Executives of Trinidad & Tobago (AFETT) chose to celebrate the life of a remarkable T&T woman – Ms. Nesta Patrick, who has dedicated her life to helping victims of violence. 

A founding member of the Rape Crisis Society in 1987, and at age 86, Ms. Patrick still mans the hotline on weekends and remains a vibrant part of the Society’s activities.  She was President of the Child Welfare League for 15 years and has received many state and public accolades for her social and community work, including the Public Service Gold Medal.

At the Association’s IWD luncheon held on Saturday 7th March, the members of AFETT gathered to recognise Ms. Patrick as AFETT’s Heroine of the Year and made a donation to the Rape Crisis Society.  In addition to this, AFETT, in association with NEDCO, was pleased to present the AFETT Female Entrepreneur of the Year Award to Sharon Wilson, owner of Earthscents Homemade/Home Spa Products.

International Women’s Day is a global celebration of the economic, political and social achievements of women – past, present and future.

It is a good time to remember the startling realities that women face across the globe:

• 80% of the world’s refugees are women,
• 70% of those living in poverty are women,
• 1 in 3 women are victims of domestic violence,
• Women do two-thirds of the world’s work, but receive only 10% of the world’s income.

The selection and presentation of these two awards at its International Women’s Day Celebration, is all part of the Association’s mandate, which is – making women winners.