ORANJESTAD – The 10th annual Statia Women’s Day Gala, organized by the Statia Women’s Day Committee, was a great success, honoring the achievements of women and promoting gender equality through economic empowerment.
The event, held on 8 March at the Community Centre, was attended by a large crowd and featured speeches from three distinguished speakers: Keynote speaker Leah Marville, Jean Marie Schmidt, and Nadia Turner. Their messages reflected the theme of the evening, “#Count Her In: Accelerating Gender Equality Through Economic Empowerment.”
A highlight of the evening was the presentation of the Ingrid Whitfield Woman of the Year Award to Pamela Berkel and Irma Spanner. Both were recognized for their years of dedicated service to the St. Eustatius community, where they have made a lasting impact on local development.
The event also featured performances from the Aloei School for Performing Arts and Vocce Dynamico, along with additional awards honoring other women in the community for their achievements.
The gala was organized by a team of volunteers, including Ingrid Whitfield (Chair), Maya Pandt (Vice Chair), Rijziena Hooker, Sharday Bennett, and Daniela Richardson. Whitfield expressed pride in the event’s success, noting that the messages shared will continue to inspire the community.
“We are proud of this milestone,” said Whitfield. “The inspirational messages shared tonight will continue to empower our community long after this celebration.”
The event was co-hosted by Jurgen Leon.
