Montserratian multimedia content producer Vernaire Bass has launched a new show throwing the spotlight on women throughout the Caribbean region.
‘Women of the West Indies’, which will air on various platforms every Sunday from 4.30pm to 5.30pm, highlights guest interviewees’ diverse achievements, contributions and stories.
“We are thrilled to embark on this journey to showcase the incredible women of the West Indies,” Bass said in a press release from her company 664Connect Media.
“By amplifying their voices and stories, we aim to foster unity, pride, and empowerment within our regional community.”
The first episode was broadcast on 5 May, and in a surprise twist, host Bass was the first to feature as an interviewee, while Avern Richardson took the role of interviewer.
The future guest from Anguilla is the owner of a strategic consulting firm aimed at supporting business owners, creatives and entrepreneurs to fulfil their potential.
A volcanic childhood
The interview began with Bass talking about her childhood in Montserrat which she called “a place that you wouldn’t want to leave” filled with culture and life.
“The thing that the volcano did unfortunately is that it completely destroyed our capital city – so Plymouth is now known as the ‘buried city’,” she said.
She said she remembered first hearing Soufriere Hills volcano erupt but thankfully her family did not have to evacuate because they lived in the safe zone.
“We never thought that it would completely devastate the island in the way that it did,” Bass told viewers.
She described later being sent to Boston for primary school which was a “huge transition”, and then, following a year back in Montserrat, heading to the UK for secondary school.
“It was a very traumatic experience, and sometimes I think when you live through it you don’t understand the gravity of it.”
‘Nothing can break me’
Bass went on to speak about being in a toxic relationship and becoming homeless as a young woman but was able to battle through with support from friends.
“I feel like the volcano gave me a level of resilience, where it was just like, man I’ve already been through that devastating situation, there’s nothing else that can break me,” she said.
As one of four children to a single mother, Bass then spoke about her lack of relationship with her father who left to work in Antigua when she was young.
It has instead been one of her brothers who has played the role of a father-figure throughout her life, she recalled tearfully.
Media house
Bass said it was when she was in the UK, not feeling fulfilled that she thought about migrating back to Montserrat.
There was a job advertised as head of planning and production for Montserrat Arts Council which she saw and thought “it’s a sign”, she laughed.
She then asked God if this is what she should do and heard a voice say loudly in her ear, “go home”. That was five years ago and she has been in Montserrat ever since.
Bass initially created 664Connect Media as a business directory, but during the Covid-19 pandemic there was a need for information and it morphed into a media house.
“I’ve always been someone whose been trying to always give people the opportunity to share their stories in one way or another or to shine a spotlight on people,” she explained.
WOW
Women of the West Indies was birthed out of the idea that entertainment is very important and people really enjoy the interviews broadcast on social media, Bass said.
“Looking around the region… I realised that we have this brain drain issue, and we also have this issue where women in the region are somehow overlooked,” she told viewers.
The aim of the show is to give a platform to these women and allow them to share their stories in a real and raw way.
“Stories about trials and tribulations, stories about battling with diseases like cancer, stories about hitting rock bottom and rising from adversity…” she said.
“I figured if no one else has come up with the idea, why not me?”
Women of the West Indies is broadcast on 664Connect Media’s Facebook and YouTube pages and on Radio Anguilla on Sundays, and on ZJB Radio on Wednesdays.
It will also be available on all major podcasting platforms for on-demand listening after the initial month of broadcasts.
