My birth name is Doreen Leona. I come from the village of Loltong, on the island of Pentecost in Vanuatu, South Pacific. There are seven of us in the family, two brothers and five sisters. I am married and have three children. For my educational background I hold a Bachelor’s Degree in Public Administration, Management and a specialization in Geographic Information Systems (GIS), from the University of the South Pacific, Suva, Fiji.
My first job was a mapping officer in the Policy and Planning Unit, Department of Education for one year. Then, I was recruited to Telecom Vanuatu Limited (TVL) in a technical department, External Line Plant to digitize underground copper network that are in hard copy into the system. This is when I first introduced GIS into TVL, using GIS platform to computerize all network plans using a mapping programme called MapInfo Professional. During eleven years working with TVL, I had occupied several managerial positions from a technical department to commercial department managing sales, customer service and sales distribution channel. I moved on to work for the Telecommunications and Radiocommunications Regulator (TRR) where I managed several projects including Women and Girls in ICT, launched the first ICT Day in Vanuatu, built a GIS database and maps for Telecommunications services coverage, managed Rensarie Telecentre a Broadband Pilot project for the Vanuatu Government. During my contract with TRR, I assisted in other areas as well, including Consumer Affairs.
Currently, I hold the position of Manager Member Services' with Vanuatu National Provident Fund (VNPF) since March 2013, managing members database, registrations, contributions payment and payout on withdrawals. Customer service is also under my responsibilities. With VNPF I am a member of the ICT Strategic Committee undertaking a big reform on the overall ICT systems of the organization.
My other obligations outside of work include being a member of the Advisory Group for the Huhugaituva Association (HGA) based in Loltong, North Pentecost. HGA is a community based organization established with a purpose to promote the livelihood of the people of the community by facilitating services to benefit the community. The association has established a telecentre since 2008 and is still in operation today. There is a huge positive impact of the telecentre on the people of the community through direct access to internet and ICT trainings provided by the service providers.
I am also one of the founding members of the Vanuatu Women Konekt (VWK). Vanuatu Women Konekt is a women's group recently established for Women and Girls in ICT with a vision that states "Women and Girls in ICT for empowerment towards eliminating disparity and poverty". The objective of the association is to establish a telecentre that will unite all the women's group, create a database of women's organizations and individual profiles, be able to disseminate information using sms platform and web portal. It will be a hub for ICT trainings and other trainings that promote empowerment and self-reliance. Its mission is to connect, educate, inspire, empower and uplift women of all ages and backgrounds by providing and promoting women’s interests that will be able to encourage women to build up their world and help them grow intellectually, physically, financially and positively so they can effectively manage themselves and those around them.
What would you say are the most challenging and the most satisfying aspects of your work?
One of the main challenges is being the only woman working in a technical department in a telecom company among all men and eventually becoming the Assistant Manager, managing operations of the department including managing male staff. At the same time introducing GIS in the company with none or very limited assistance from Vanuatu GIS User group. The GIS platform is still in use and had expanded to other departments. It is a very useful tool for decision making on the expansion of network, to crews attending to repair faults, and is used for designing new network.
Being appointed to manage the commercial department was very challenging as I became accountable to the financial performance of the company. I was trained in the technical department and promoted to manage commercial department was a big step for me. Overall my performance was very good resulting in high revenue in 2011 for the company.
Another challenging and most satisfying aspect of my work is working on the sustainability of the Rensarie telecentre. This included initiating ways, products and services to promote demand for the community and ensuring that people using the internet in rural areas are able to generate revenue in order to meet the costs of the telecentre. Other interesting functions entailed finding out factors of a failing telecentre and making recommendations for changes and communicating with a range of stakeholders including the Vanuatu Government, TRR and AusAid.
What qualifications or certifications did you attain in order to reach your professional goals?
The highest qualification achieved is Bachelor’s Degree. In the Telecommunications field I have acquired a certificate in Customer Access Network from Telecom College in Lae, Papua New Guinea (PNG). Otherwise, I have had wealth of experience learning on the job. Being in the Telecom industry for 12 years beginning as an underground network designer, then a Customer Access technician and promoted to managerial positions, managing several offices had contributed to my personal development and professional career.
If there is one message you would like to convey to young women to encourage them to consider a profession in the ICT sector, what would it be?
As a role model, I encourage young women to take up ICT in your career. ICT is a male dominated area and as a young woman it will groom you to build your competency and ability to work in any challenging work environment. It will help you to acquire attributes and elements of a good decision maker in your professional career including managing an enterprise, your family and home.
Generally, women taking ICT as a career empower individuals to achieve their goals and aspirations in life, and can provide avenues of advancement to seek new opportunities in various sectors of work. On a higher note, ICT can eliminate gender disparities, gives recognition to women and helps women to take up the male dominated roles and be part of the decision making.
