Nelcia Robinson-Hazell facts for kids

Nelcia Robinson-Hazell is a poet, community organizer, and activist. She is also known as Nelcia Marshall-Robinson and Nelcia Robinson. She comes from the Black Carib people. She has helped create new rules and plans across the Caribbean. These plans focus on issues like gender equality and the rights of indigenous people.

Nelcia was the president of the National Council of Women of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. In the 1980s, she started to change this group. She wanted it to focus more on political action. She saw a need to study what women needed. So, she helped create groups to gather information. These groups looked at unfair social, economic, and political situations for women. She started similar projects for indigenous people. First, she worked in Saint Vincent, then she expanded her work to other areas. Nelcia has also been part of big international meetings. These include the World Summit for Social Development and the 1995 World Conference on Women. She also attended follow-up meetings. These meetings discussed important topics like poverty, helping women earn money, and stopping violence against women.

Nelcia's Early Life

Nelcia Marshall was born in Greggs Village. This village is in the central part of Saint Vincent. This island is in the Windward Islands of the British West Indies. Her family belongs to the Black Carib people. Her ancestors were allowed to stay in St. Vincent. This was when the Garifuna people had to leave the island.

The Black Carib group has mixed heritage. Their ancestors came from West Africa, Arawak people, and Island Carib people. They are considered the original group from which the Garifuna people came. However, Black Caribs have more genes from indigenous people. Garifuna people have more genes from African people. Nelcia grew up in Questelles. She went to Questelles Primary School there. After finishing high school, she studied Human Services. She earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Springfield College. This college is in Springfield, Massachusetts. Later, she studied international development. She did this as a Kellogg Fellow.

Nelcia's Work and Activism

In 1983, Nelcia Marshall-Robinson became the president of the National Council of Women. Under her leadership, the group changed. It moved from being a traditional women's group. It became an activist group working for political change. The National Council of Women was linked to the government. This meant that how they dealt with women's issues could change with different leaders.

To make things more stable, Nelcia and others started a new group. It was called the Committee for the Development of Women. This was in 1984. Their goal was to research women's issues. Nelcia was the coordinator for this Committee. In 1984, she also ran for a political position. She was a candidate for the United Progressive Movement (UPM) party. She wanted to join the House of Assembly. In 1985, she helped start the Caribbean Association for Feminist Research and Action (CAFRA). This group aimed to study and record the unfair social, economic, and political situations women faced in the region. This information would then be used to help make political changes.

Helping Indigenous People

In 1987, Nelcia became the coordinator of the Caribbean Association of Indigenous People. Two years before this, land in the traditional Carib homelands was being sold. A company from Denmark wanted to buy it. Nelcia worked to organize the indigenous Carib community members. She helped them work together. This allowed them to have more power when talking with the government.

The community formed a group called the Campaign for the Development of the Carib Community. Their efforts put pressure on the government. This led to the government taking control of the land. Nelcia has continued to reach out to people. She has worked to reconnect the Black Carib community in Saint Vincent. She also connects them with the Garifuna people in Belize and other Central American countries. She does this through programs that celebrate their shared culture. Nelcia has also written five books of poetry. There is even a poetry award in St. Vincent named after her.

International Work

In 1995, Nelcia went to the World Summit for Social Development in Copenhagen. There, she took part in a hunger strike. Women from developing countries joined her. They wanted to bring attention to the need for help to end poverty. They also wanted rich countries to cancel debts owed by poorer nations. Nelcia was worried that small island nations in the Caribbean were vulnerable. Their size and environmental factors made them weak under current trade rules. She felt this weakness hurt women more. This was because women were often seen as "cheap labor that could be easily used."

After this, she helped plan events for the 1995 World Conference on Women. This conference was held in Beijing. She also helped with follow-up conferences in 2005 and 2010.

Nelcia was the coordinator of CAFRA from 1996 to 2009. In 2003, she was chosen to represent regular citizens on the Regional Judicial and Legal Services Commissions (RJLSC). This group was created when the Caribbean Court of Justice was set up. Its job is to suggest and recommend judges. This helps make sure that judges are independent and not controlled by politicians. In 2009, Nelcia Robinson-Hazell became a Goodwill Ambassador. The government cabinet of Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves gave her a special diplomatic passport.

Nelcia Hazell has been involved in many efforts to help people who are vulnerable. She has served on the executive board of the National Youth Council. She was also the coordinator for Serving Housebound and Retired Elderly (SHARE). She was president of the Association of Social Workers. On a regional level, she has represented the Caribbean Network for Integrated Rural Development (CNIRD). She has also been the coordinator for the Caribbean Gender and Trade Network since 1999. In 2012, she passed on her role as president of the National Council of Women of SVG to Anesta Rodney. In 2013, she was the chair of the Commonwealth Women's Network. This group works to help women earn money and achieve equality. It also works to stop violence against women.