"Prayer, planning, preparation and the people.'' That, says newly elected MP Neletha Butterfield, was the secret behind her General Election success in scoring a PLP victory in the hitherto UBP stronghold of West Pembroke Central.

"The reaction has been overwhelming -- I can't even walk down the street, or go to the gas station and it took me an hour to get to the grocery store,'' she says. "People are still tooting me on their horns and crowding round me in the street. It's been truly amazing.'' For Ms Butterfield who, although unsuccessful last time around, was appointed a Senator in 1993, her success was particularly sweet. "I had hoped to have been elected a bit sooner than this but I've done a lot of hard work and when we were canvassing this time, I began to realise there were a lot of individuals who really were looking for change. Even when I lost in '93, Jennifer told me she thought I could still make it. So I'm happy that the people of Bermuda are so pleased. My first priority is not only to serve the PLP but all the people, in particular those who elected me into the House from West Pembroke Central.'' Bubbly, yet relaxed in her flower-filled office at C.A.R.E. Computer Services on Brunswick Street, she keeps a sharp eye on, and maintains a running conversation with a seemingly endless flow of young Bermudians who have turned to her private, Christian computer school for help in completing their education. Finally, she closes the door "so that we're not disturbed!'' Asked in which area of government she hopes to specialise, Ms Butterfield reveals she would like to have some input on educational and social issues, especially those affecting young people. "I also love our seniors and one of the things I would like to do is try and connect our elderly and our young because they have so much to give each other.'' Describing her work in the Senate as having special emphasis on education, community and cultural affairs, women's issues, youth, recreation and sport, Ms Butterfield, says that, in spite of owning -- and running -- her own company, she has been able to pursue her political career because she is a good organiser, and knows when to delegate. "That was necessary because I was also a single mother and brought up three children.'' Her interest in youth and education go back a long way. With a degree in Business Administration/Computer Science, she has worked as a computer education consultant and as a lecturer at the Bermuda College. 15 years ago she decided to found her own school, which started life in the basement of her parents' home. Since then, she has assisted over 350 adults obtain their high school diplomas. It's a subject she feels deeply about. "Those people who don't have a high school diploma and those who can't read above the fourth grade have no future in today's world. They cannot survive. Today, we have to be life-long learners.'' Co-founder of Prison Fellowship Bermuda, she became a hands-on activist in helping inmates and estimates that she helped over 150 people to obtain diplomas and to learn how to read. "I also worked at the women's facility and through that, made friends with a woman who died shortly afterwards from AIDS.

So that led to my involvement with STAR, an organisation I worked closely with for several years.'' Eventually, she decided to devote full time to C.A.R.E. Computers. "I miss my prison work but I left teaching there because I felt I could do more at my own learning centre. The rate of recidivism was really getting to me -- it really affects you after a while, to keep seeing the same people coming back.'' She has not given up on them, however: she credits their attendance at C.A.R.E.

with having kept at least three young men out of prison in the first place.

Ms Butterfield was one of the first to take advantage of the freeing up of land vacated by the US forces. "I moved my school from the basement of my house to Southlands and I really loved it there. It was so nice for the kids -- so spacious, they were able to spread out and the setting is so tranquil and serene. But the support wasn't there with the after-school students or the people attending our evening classes, so I had to move back to Hamilton.'' Fortunately, she found the upper floor of the Brunswick Street building, "and I'm grateful that Dr. Dyer let me move in. Now, I need to find some space where some of our young mothers can leave their children while they study. So many of the kids can't come to classes because they can't get babysitters.

So,'' she adds with a laugh, "we need some volunteers for Mondays and Fridays and a few evenings each week!'' Many of her students, she adds, have social problems of one kind or another. "So we have to let them know that we care about them and to make sure their learning gets on to a successful pathway. It takes a while to get some of them to settle down, but I can really see that happening now.'' For the past three years, Ms Butterfield has been sending her students away to sit the American GED (General Educational Development) tests -- and has seen them obtain a 90 percent test rate. "They range in age from 17 to 40 and I am very proud of their attainments. Now I am trying to bring in an alternative high school diploma because I feel we need desperately to reach those people who left school without diplomas.'' With classes held throughout her busy day and evenings at the centre, Ms Butterfield says she has little time to herself. "But when I do, I like watching soccer, especially when Dandy Town is playing, I enjoy going out to lunch after church with my sisters, and I like to sit down and watch a good movie. I also love to travel -- and I think we need to encourage all our young people to travel as much as possible, to open their eyes to the possibilities in this world.'' Does she have any regrets? One is undoubtedly the fact that her mother is no longer here to share her political triumph. "She was my hero and my greatest friend. I remember when I told her I was going into politics she said `Oh my God, they're going to talk about you'. She died in May '91. She was a wonderful supporter of everything I did, even helped me write my speeches, so I shall be taking some of these flowers to her. My father is Charles Butterfield, the musician. He lives with me. I once asked him why I didn't go to music lessons and he said he thought I was going to be a good athlete -- a runner! Can you imagine?'' Shaking her head, Neletha Butterfield admits that she still cannot get used to all the excitement of the past couple of weeks. "I'm still pinching myself! I don't think it will really hit home until tomorrow, at the Opening of Parliament, when I take my seat in the House.'' NELETHA BUTTERFIELD -- "I don't think it will really hit home until ... the Opening of Parliament, when I take my seat in the House.''