Dr. Barbara Carby
Avia Ustanny, Outlook Writer
HURRICANE IVAN was the windy monster which tested the mettle of Dr. Barbara Carby, director general of the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management (ODPEM) and proved her to be a worthy opponent.
The hurricane, which reached Category Five strength three times on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale (SSHS) was also the strongest one on record east of the Lesser Antilles.
Hurricane Ivan struck close to Jamaica on Friday 10 September 2004, lashing the country with hurricane force winds and torrential rains for almost 24 hours, leaving a trail of death and dislocation.
During the event, Dr. Carby was able to demonstrate her abilities in planning and disaster management, leading a team which oversaw the recovery programme. While there are some persons who are yet to move into their new homes, the recovery period for the economy was remarkable. It is no wonder that, in 2005, the geologist was recognised with a Gleaner Merit Award.
During the hurricane period, the geologist was on call 24 hours each day. Journalists remember how alert she sounded, even in the wee hours of the morning
Cecil Bailey, senior director of disaster mitiga-tion, planning and research at the ODPEM, who worked closely with Dr. Carby during the event told Outlook that she was "on the go." This was standard for the woman who he also describes as the epitome of professionalism.
"There is no detail too small to be overlooked. Each member of staff had their own area of responsibility, but she oversaw everything."
According to Dr. Carby, she got very few hours of sleep during the period in which the hurricane affected the island and her duties included fielding calls from local as well as international interests around the clock. She came into office on Thursday September 9 and did not return home until Sunday night September 12, leaving her mom in the care of friends. "Hurricane Ivan was the single most challenging event of my career," she admits.
Job change
How did she move from quiet job in research at the University of the West Indies to the helm of the disaster management machine in Jamaica?
Dr. Carby, who has ridden elephants in India, camels in Egypt and who trains dogs for fun clearly exhibits a desire to face frontally any worthy challenge.
A disaster management professional with 15 years experience in both pre and post disaster planning and interventions, she admits that her role as director-general of the Office of Disaster Preparedness "is not the easiest of jobs. You have to love it in order to be committed to it."
In spite of the limited resources which she has at her disposal, her commitment to what she does is no less than a passion.
Barbara Carby was born in St. Ann, but lived all of her later life in Red Hills, Kingston with mother Winifred Carby - a teacher from a generation which was extremely disciplined.
Winifred Carby was a principal of Rockhall primary school and would eventually move on to Mico Teacher's College as a lecturer. The retired principal told Outlook that her daughter, " was always a very intelligent child. Very, very intelligent. She was an avid reader."
Avid reader
Barbara, she said told her "after a time not to buy any books for her because she would read them off in hours. In the supermarket, she simply went to the reading corner and read (while her mother shopped). At age six, Barbara was doing the work of six class (sixth grade) and throughout primary school got awards for placing first in her class. She attended Rockhall Primary, as well as Red Hills and Providence schools before going to St. Andrew High School for girls.
From her mother, Barbara quickly learnt the academic basics as well as such old fashioned values as politeness, self discipline and a consideration of other people's feelings.
"I was a perfect child", Barbara quips.
"Her English was excellent," her mother says.
"She learned very, very quickly." her mother states. "She took the common entrance at age 9 and passed it."
She would take it twice more before she was permitted to begin classes at St. Andrew High School which she attended on a full government scholarship. She did her O' and A' levels at St. Andrew doing exceedingly well. From St. Andrew High, Norma Darlington her English and Literature teacher recalls that "Barbara was a very bright student. She thought deeply about things. When she was preparing for the O'levels I was very sorry she was not doing English Literature. The sciences were what she was more interested in."
Barbara she said, always had a view, which she would defend passionately.
"She should speak for other students and look after their interest. I like that about her."
Good Samaritan
Barbara Carby was environmentally-conscious and also took the cause of the underprivileged to heart. We have it from good sources that while she frequently forgot her lunch in the manner of the absent-minded scientist, she never once forgot to bring money on Wednesdays when students visited younger children in need of care.
When she went to St. Andrew High, her mother had requested of the principal that she be placed in second form "because the work she was doing was above first."
The principal disagreed, but Barbara flourished, nevertheless. "In retrospect" says Dr. Carby, "What I appreciate about Andrews was that the girls were never limited. It was the norm for us to do all the physical sciences as well as the life sciences. There were no limitations set on us because of gender and even in extra-curricular activities we were completely exposed."
At the end of high school, she secured another scholarship to attend the University of the West Indies majoring in Geology which she did, she said, because she "saw it on the notice board and thought it might be interesting."
Barbara Carby was the first woman to be awarded a PhD in Geochemistry at UWI and possesses a BSc in the Geology as well as a diploma in Applied Geology from the Ecole Nationale Superieure de Geologie in France. She was also awarded the first ever scholarship to study Natural Sciences in France by the French Government
Dr. Barbara Carby was employed as a research fellow in the department of Geology and also worked in the office of the principal. In another first for Jamaica, she was elected vice-chair of the United Nations Scientific and Technical Committee (STC) for the International Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction (IDNDR).
In 1993 she was invited to address a UN Special High Level Council including Secretary General Boutros Boutros Ghali on the Jamaican experience in implementing its disaster plan.
Dr. Carby was the only Caribbean member of the STC which had 15 members from various countries.
When, in 1997, she was appointed director-general of the Office of Disaster Preparedness, this marked her second stint at that organisation, as she had been previously employed in a senior position. She was the first woman to hold the position of director-general, breaking a tradition of mostly military leaders from the Jamaica Defence Force.
Consummate professional
Barbara Carby is the consummate professional says Cecil Bailey of the ODPM. "She goes through things logically, plans them accordingly and then acts."
The Jamaican was elected vice-chair of the UN Scientific and Technical Committee. She is a member of the Geological Society of Jamaica. Her research interests are disaster mitigation, policy development, hazard management, and environmental management.
While Dr. Barbara Carby is prepared for a hurricane season in 2006 which will be even more active than the record events of 2005 when 23 named hurricanes passed through the region, she also has her eye on taking a break. "I need to take some leave" she told Outlook.
Such a break, we think is not likely to include weeks of sun bathing. Dr. Barbara Carby is actively adventurous and is also a committed Christian. She is a local preacher in the western St. Andrew circuit of the Methodist Church since 1984.
Twin loves
Her twin loves, her mother states, are animals and the environment. She never cuts down trees. She also designs things for herself and is very good with her hands. "She has designed buildings and supervises construction where necessary," Winifred Carby said. When asked the reason why she has remained single, the geologist said, "the question you need to ask yourself is if the stress is worth it. "She dedicates many hours to obedience training for dogs (an area in which she is also certified) and comments that dogs are far less problematic than human beings.
Her passion for what she does provides boundless motivation and a great sense of purpose. She combines integrity with a sense of humour, possessing a sharp wit which is loved by her friends.
Close friend and colleague from the University of the West Indies, attorney-at-law Cheryl Brown told Outlook, "She is one of the most dedicated and hardworking persons I know and the most ethical. She has a highly developed sense of right and wrong instilled by her mother."
Co-worker Cecil Bailey admits that he has observed Barbara Carby going beyond the limits of her physical strength in her determination to get the job done. That's the kind of woman she is, he said. When duty calls, the standard for the disaster management specialist is above and beyond what physical resources dictate as the norm.
