Suzette Dumfries, Chairwoman and CEO of JP Dumfries Economic Development Corporation, is a powerful, steadfast woman who always starts from one central idea: dare to believe that you can do more than what is thought of you on a collective level. It is this idea that Suzette wants to share with Surinamese women during the UMA! Empowerment and Awareness week in Paramaribo.
Together with Mireille Liong A Kong, Erna Aviankoi and Jennifer Baarn , she founded the women's organization UMA!, which is committed to the development of Surinamese women. An initiative that came at just the right time for Suzette. "I had wanted to do something for my own people for a long time, but I didn't really know what. And then the proposal came to start Uma!." An opportunity that Suzette also seized with both hands. Because if there is one thing that she has understood well, it is to make full use of the opportunities that you are given. A characteristic that she undoubtedly inherited from her grandfather.
With great willpower and perseverance, Johannes Paulus Dumfries, son of a freed slave in Suriname, founded the Landbouwer Leenbank in Domburg in 1905. With this, he not only provided his own family with a better future, but also many families in Domburg. The bank was specifically set up to offer local farmers access to capital, to develop the agricultural sector and thus also to bring about the sustainable socio-economic development of Suriname. Almost 110 years later, Suzette continues to build on her grandfather's legacy with the same willpower and perseverance. JP Dumfries Economic Development Corporation applies the principles of Impact Investment to finance large-scale economic development projects that generate a significant socio-economic impact. All from its headquarters on Wall Street. Yet Suzette interprets her success story in a different way.
“The success in the story does not lie in the fact that my grandfather founded a bank. But that he worked hard enough for a better future for his own family, the generations after him and other families. He also offered other families the opportunity to buy land and provide for their needs. My grandfather's bank was not the only one. There were many more agricultural associations that made this possible and that is now all part of Surinamese history; The ability of Surinamese. Especially when you consider that these were people who were direct descendants of slaves. These are people who really started to think about how they wanted to see their future.”
An ambition that Suzette would also like to stimulate in Surinamese women. She believes that women in general are often not given the opportunity to express how they see their future. Definitely not an easy task and she realizes that all too well. “I do know that the change we envision will not happen overnight. It is a process. But at least we already know where to start and where we want to go, regardless of history, gender or financial situation. The turnaround is only possible when women realize that the change starts with themselves.”
The Uma! Awareness & Empowerment week will start on March 2nd with the theme 'Identity and self-development'. During a week, lectures and workshops will be held. Successful women like Suzette Dumfries will tell their story and give advice to women who want to take their self-development a step further. A great initiative, but not the first of its kind. Every year around International Women's Day, March 8th, women's organizations pop up to sell utopian stories about women's rights and self-development. On March 9th, the organizations disappear just as quickly as their sweet talk. When asked why Uma! is the exception to the rule, Suzette explains that she would never commit to such a project without concrete plans to actually help their target group. Uma! will therefore continue to collaborate with other organizations after the conference by offering tools to women to further develop themselves. She also proposes a mentorship for those who want to take concrete steps to start their own business. But it is mainly a matter of individual willpower.
“We now live in a generation where everything is possible. Everything we want to try or learn is available to us via the internet. If I want to learn how to make a viadu, I don’t have to call an aunt in Suriname. I can look it up and try it myself. No one can tell me that these tools are not available in Suriname. The question is: how badly do we want it. Do we want to think differently, do we want to work on a different future. We can at least get the conversation going.”