By Amin Kef (Ranger)
The Gento Group of Companies was one of the private entities that joined other entities in the country, on the 8th March, 2023, to commemorate International Women’s Day on the theme, “DigitALL: Innovation and Technology for Gender Equality”.
It was a special day set aside to reflect on how far the issue of gender parity in the country has been addressed and to celebrate women that have accomplished remarkable feats as well as the commendable inroads they have made which hitherto were taught to be the exclusive preserve of only men.
Chief Executive Officer of Gento Group of Companies, Mohamed Gento Kamara, warmly wished the women of this country a happy and impactful International Women’s Day celebrations, especially female employees of the company. He encouraged them to be innovative, live their dreams, pursue their ambitions as well as candidly assured them of his unflinching support in helping them realize their full potentials and pursuits in life.
It is worthy to note that the company’s CEO, who doubles as the aspiring SLPP sole Mayoral Candidate for the Freetown Municipality, is a fervent believer in gender equality more especially as he firmly considers it is an integral part of the company’s policy that should be actualized and out of the fact that he has seen it practically working well at first hand.
In how gender equality obtains at the Gento Group, one outstanding and vivid outcome of the demonstration of making judicious use of the opportunity and space that the company offers is a female employee of the company that goes by the name of Admire. This remarkable lady was initially employed as a Cook by the Gento Group but with her daily interactions at the quarry site, she developed a strong interest to operate one of the big machines.
For someone who had no education, no prior machine or engineering knowledge, this must have been a joke.
Regardless, she was persistent and pleaded with the CEO to give her a chance. A chance she did get and she made the very best of it leaving only amazement in her trail; a cook who became an Excavator Machine Operator.
She always exudes confidence at the wheel and mastery of its operations as she gently manoeuvres a caterpillar from a parking lot towards the quarry for onward loading of a truck parked nearby, being part of her daily routine.
Admire has been able to use the money she earns from this job in training her child up to University level! She expressed her thanks to God and Gento whom she has come to identify as her benefactor.
CEO of the company, Mohamed Gento Kamara, during a snap interaction, intimated this medium that on the occasion of International Women’s Day, he wants to use it as an opportunity to celebrate “Admire” and other great women out there doing their little bits at breaking concrete ceilings.
A senior employee of the company frankly averred that on International Women’s Day women of such stature and determination are to be celebrated because they are the type of examples that cause others to look inwards, realize their potentials and act accordingly.
As for Admire, she firmly believed that despite the fact that she is a female, however, she could do better what a man can do, which peculiarly in this case was to operate an excavator machine not resting on her oars as the company’s cook.
She mentioned how she approached the CEO and determinedly informed him about her intention to which he readily and gladly offered her the opportunity and made good use of it to become an Operator, shifting away from being a cook.
Admire told this medium that she is encouraging other young women out there, who consider themselves as drop outs in society, not to give up in life but to keep pushing on until they achieve their dreams.
She expressed gratitude to the CEO of the company for believing in her and giving her the opportunity to realize her ambition.
Another female employee of the company that is an epitome of gender parity in the company, Adama Kposowa, narrated how she joined the company as a young graduate saying through hard work she imbibed useful skills that have transformed to become a very good engineer and always successful in carryout certain tasks for the company.
She emphasized the fact that the opportunity that she was offered was unfettered and she harnessed it and made proper use of it also profusely commending the CEO for always offering equal opportunities to both female and male employee of the company as well as tapping into their potentials. She advised young girls to learn useful skills that could help them earn incomes and take care of responsibilities. Adama also extended thanks to the CEO for all the support he has been rendering to all the employees of the company.
Other female employees expressed similar sentiments.
It must be underscored that the stories of these women coming out from the Gento Group is one that strongly supports the theme “DigitALL: Innovation and Technology for Gender Equality” as all the women are engaged in the field of Civil Engineering which was once considered to be a male dominated profession.
