Coordinator of the Child Abuse Prevention Unit Jemma Azille-Lewis has returned to Dominica, fresh off her post graduate studies in Public Health with a concentration in Leadership and Administration.
Azille-Lewis who holds a Bachelors degree in Criminal Justice and Mass Communications (Summa Cum Laude), completed her Masters of Public Health(MPH) with Monroe College in New York.
While doing her MPH, she focused her thesis on the impact of housing on the physical and mental health of the recipients of the Dominica Housing Recovery Project.
Azille- Lewis said that she chose this area as she is interested in working with people.
“I chose that because…working for over 10 years with people, I still wanted to maintain that kind of contact. I wanted to know what are the perceptions of the people with the change in their living conditions”
According to her, the research indicated that the recipients are more comfortable, less stressed, they feel safer, and their health issues could be controlled better as they now have access to more healthcare personnel and facilities.
The children of the recipients were also impacted positively as the participants indicated that their children are happier.
The research also revealed that participants are concerned as to whether or not the homes belonged to them which in itself brought on a little stress or anxiety. Persons also said that because of the structure of the homes they were unable to do their farming which caused an increase in expenses.
Azille-Lewis who took a two year hiatus from the Welfare Division to pursue her studies says that her experience was interesting and challenging. About 4 months into her studies, she had to deal with the death of her mom who passed away in her arms. Towards the completion of her studies, she faced illness yet again in her family. However, she found the strength to persevere. Despite these challenges, Azille-Lewis graduated at the top of her class with a 4.0 GPA. She credits her achievements to God who granted her the inner strength to succeed.
Azille-Lewis said that while she is back at the Welfare Division, she would like to continue in the field of Public Health. She desires to do further studies and to give support in that field wherever the opportunity provides itself.
“I really want to give back to my country. I hope that I can use my skills, knowledge and experience gained thus far while pursuing this post grad, to make a valuable contribution to my country”.
Emonews congratulates Mrs. Jemma Azille-Lewis for her outstanding achievement.
