Woman Engineer Ramy Chia Pens Her First Book

This week’s story is suitable for both kids and adults alike, and it comes with a book available for purchase too. We had the opportunity to sit down with Ramy Chia, a Belizean engineer and author, to discover how she is inspiring children to believe in themselves through her newly published book, ‘Amy’s Red-Haired Dream’. In this week’s edition of Looking on the Bright Side, Ramy shared how she found her voice in a bottle of red hair dye. Here’s that story.

Sabreena Daly, Reporting

Reality was only an act of perseverance away from this young dreamer, Amy, as she set out to realize her dream of one day becoming an engineer. This is not a fairytale; in fact, it is the real-life story of its author, Ramy Chia, written as a children’s book.

Ramy Chia

Ramy Chia, Published Author
“The message that I want to portray with this book is that you can dream for anything, and you just need to find a way to get it. You can’t wait for somebody to give it to you. You have to go and get it yourself. But it’s possible, because if this little village girl is now the president of the Engineers Association, then I believe we all have the potential to be our greatest self. We just need to find it.”

Ramy Chia, a trailblazing woman, is the first female president of Belize’s Engineering Association. She is a seasoned civil engineer with more than a decade of expertise under her hardhat, contributing her skills to pioneering projects, including the construction of roads and landfills, across the country.

Ramy Chia

“I’ve been working on all types of projects here in Belize, from things from the landfill all the way to the Coastal Road, which just finished. I was working on that. I’ve worked on the Roaring Creek Bridge, um, on some of the sugar roads. I’ve worked on Several projects. And I love it. I don’t regret ever being an engineer. I would say the landfill.  I, it was innovative. It’s the first landfill that Belize has, with the Solid Waste Management Project. And bringing that to life, the first phase of it, I felt proud that Belize was moving forward to something more innovative. We weren’t going to just be having open dumps anymore. And I love that for Belize. So I thought that would, for me, I think is the project that I had closest to my heart so far.”

Like her personified character, Ramy’s achievements weren’t handed to her on a silver platter.

Ramy Chia
“So the book is about this little village girl that had black hair that went away to study. I mean, she had a hell of a time to get there.  Um, she got a scholarship, went away to study, came back, and then she thought that she was going to rock at this job. Then she realized that It wasn’t the way she thought it would have been because she was a girl, so nobody wanted to listen to her.”

According to Chia, it takes more than just knowing your job to survive in this male-dominated field.

Ramy Chia
“Since the construction workers are men, um, a lot of them don’t like being told what to do.  Period. And when a woman comes to tell them what to do, it’s even worse. So, that, for me, has been like the biggest challenge. To, to be heard.  Um, I used to just look like this little Spanish girl that just got off the bus and came from the little village and, you know, nobody wants to respect that person. So, making my voice heard on a construction site, um, has been the biggest task. Making my presence felt has been even bigger because it’s not only about your voice but your presence. People need to know that they need to respect you. And as a woman, sometimes finding that respect, it’s kind of hard.”

To make her presence felt, Amy and Ramy did the unexpected.

Ramy Chia
“She went home, got some red dye, colored her hair red,  and then people started to look at her, and when they looked, she could speak, and she could then shine as brightly as her hair. The hair is always the thing that gets everyone as I walk into a room so I know that that purpose was served. The red hair gets the attention. And with the kids, it gets the attention even more. Um, you would have thought that maybe it would get only the girls attention, but no, even the boys too. I’ve been asked, is that your real hair?  You know, I’ve been asked weird questions about my hair. Um, and I just tell them that that’s my superpower.”

Ramy skillfully delivers a powerful message to children through her book, “Amy’s Red-haired Dream,” using her own personal story of how she found her voice in a bottle of red hair dye. Although the book is readily available for purchase, we had the privilege of witnessing her share this empowering story in a private reading at The Hub in Belize City. At the core of her message is a profound encouragement: A compelling call to believe in one’s self.

Ramy Chia
“This book that I wrote was for that. It was to give somebody the opportunity to believe in themselves. Because we can’t wait for mommy and daddy to do everything for us. Sometimes we have to take the bull by the horns and do it for ourselves. But if we as adults inspire our kids, tomorrow might be brighter than today.”

Looking on the Bright Side, I’m Sabreena Daly.