A self-reliance and success seminar has commenced in Region Five, Mahaica-Berbice, and is aimed at helping women to become independent. The seminar which opened in the Regional Board Room at Fort Wellington represents the 15th such undertaking to unfold nationally.
It was officially declared opened by First Lady, Ms. Sandra Granger, as a successful collaborative initiative organised by her office and the Ministry of Social Protection and Interweave Solutions Incorporated.
These individuals identify the six ‘P’s of business.
The First Lady in her remarks told the women that it is important for them to recognise their expertise and be able to use it. She also urged to appreciate the fact that they are special adding that “we are all shaped by…our experiences and what we get out of those experiences.”
Further, she spoke about the important role each woman plays in developing their families and communities. “We have to address the things that might keep us back as women while at the same time continuing to nurture our families in a very positive way and move forward as we ourselves grow and move forward. One of the beauties of knowing that you can always learn is that you never stop learning,” Mrs. Granger underscored.
Regional Executive Officer (REO) of Region Five, Mr. Ovid Morrison, encouraged the participants to grasp the opportunity being given to them and utilise it in a positive way for not only their communities but the country at large.
According to him, for too long the working class people have been living a life of economic dependence. As such he believes that the training programme is the starting tool that would enable the women to move from economic dependency to economic independence. “Your Government is following through on their promise to provide you with the necessary tools so that you would be able, not only to change the economic condition of yourself, but to provide the spring board where you can lay the foundation to ensure that the economic condition of your offspring is secured for the future. I urge you to grab this opportunity with maximum force … and move forward to implement the ideas that would be shared with you,” he said.
Meanwhile, Facilitator of Interweave Solutions Incorporated, Mr. Yohann Sanjay Pooran, in giving an outline of the Workshop’s achievements to date noted that over 400 women have been trained across all 10 Administrative Regions. The training was introduced in 2015.
The workshop is expected to close on Friday, after which each participant will be certified as successful business entrepreneurs.