An Anguillian young woman is at the helm of her department in the public service. Ms Kafi Gumbs, 29, assumed her appointment as Director of Fisheries and Marine Resources with effect from Thursday January 2, 2014. She succeeds Mr James Gumbs who relinquished has his post.
In a press release on Tuesday, January 7, the Ministry of Home Affairs wished him the best of luck in his new endeavours and congratulated Ms Gumbs on her appointment. The Ministry also appealed to the general public, including the fishing community, to assist her in carrying out her new duties.
A professional Marine Biologist, Ms Gumbs formerly served as Deputy Director at her department. She holds a BSc. Degree in Marine Biology from the University of the Virgin Islands, and a Master of Science Degree in Natural Resources Management – with a concentration in Coastal Resources Management – from the Cave Hill Campus of the University of the West Indies (UWI). A brief look at her goals and achievements, over the years, has shown Ms Gumbs to be a hard worker determined to succeed as a young person and to be a sterling example to her peers.
“I had a love for the sciences at the Albena Lake-Hodge Comprehensive School, she told The Anguillian. “My first love was Agricultural Science but I also had much fascination for the sea, fish and nature. On completion of high school, in 2002, I wanted to go away to study. I went to Florida and then came back to Anguilla and spent two years in Sixth Form. In January 2005, I enrolled at the University of the Virgin Islands (UVI) St Thomas, but when I started they closed the programme. My second love was Marine Biology, having had experience in working at the Departments of Agriculture and Fisheries in Anguilla during the summer placement programme and the Easter and Christmas breaks.”
Ms Gumbs is grateful to Mr William Vanterpool and Dr Patrick Vanterpool who, at both departments, were of great assistance to her in the early development of her career. She also owes a debt of gratitude to her uncle, Mr Leonard Gumbs, who initially paid her tuition and accommodation fees and other expenses at the UVI. She is thankful to the Anguilla Government as well which, after much persistence on her part, awarded her a full scholarship when the Department of Public Administration was advertising for a candidate to study Marine Biology.
“I was extremely happy when I got the scholarship,” she said. “I finished my studies in 2010 and I was excited to come back home. After three months, I was hired by the Government of Anguilla to replace Stuart Wayne then Deputy Director, Scientific Research on contract… After one year, I decided to do my Masters. I applied to the University of Virginia Tech. My application was successful, but the cost of the studies was too high and a scholarship was not available. I eventually applied to the University of the West Indies, Cave Hill, Barbados, and was successful.
“Although it was cheaper, I still couldn’t afford to go so I wrote the university to defer my enrolment until I would be able to get some funding. My uncle really wanted me to go but I didn’t want to give him that financial burden again because he had paid for half of my undergrad schooling. The UWI eventually wrote me saying they had scholarships available so I got a full scholarship including room, board and tuition fees and they paid for me to go overseas to do research if I had to. I also got a monthly stipend from the Australian Government. That was extremely beautiful. I was lucky and the scholarship was in 2011/2012.”
Ms Gumbs did the research for her thesis “in an area in Anguilla in which I felt that we needed some extra studies done,” she recalled. The particular area was the Anguilla Marine Monitoring Programme at the Department of Fisheries and Marine Resources. “What we have been doing from 2007 to 2012 was just collecting the data on coral reefs and sea grass health and the changes between the years,” she explained. “But nobody had ever sat down and analysed that data and looked at the changes, what was causing those changes and what could be done. So that is what I focused my thesis on and did my research paper on.” She graduated in October 2012 well qualified for advancement in the Anguilla public service.
“I was successful when the vacancy came up for the post of Director of Fisheries and Marine Resources and here I am now,” Ms Gumbs told The Anguillian. “The post entails a lot of administrative and management work. I think it will be a bit challenging, but I think I am innovative and have a lot of passion for the job. I am young blood but I think it should be good in this post. I think I am full of energy and have the necessary drive. We will continue with the same programmes and will introduce new ones as well. Having been interested in sciences from young, one of my main goals is to get other young people involved so that in time we won’t need to bring in experts from overseas.”
Ms Gumbs said she enjoys the teamwork and cooperation of all the personnel at her department, and can count on their support. Her office work load, as indicated above, will be heavy, but she is hoping to engage in some of her usual fieldwork which she loves very much. One aspect of her work has involved deep-sea diving to look at the health of coral reefs, sea grass beds and fish stocks and to install moorings among other marine duties.
Ms Gumbs is hopeful that Government will soon fill the vacancy of Deputy Director Fisheries Management to give her more flexibility to perform her job efficiently and effectively.
Ms Gumbs is a Certified Diver with the Professional Association of Divers Instructors (PADI). She holds an Open Water Licence for 130 feet, but the greatest depth to which she has dived so far is 90-95 feet. “It is all a different world down there,” she added, recalling the thrills and experiences she has had in the depths of the ocean during the course of her field work.
