First Lady Sandra Granger yesterday launched an entrepreneurial workshop for Blueberry Hill, Linden residents.
“I think this workshop today is very well received. It’s very important and I know the residents of Blueberry Hill do appreciate this very much. Blueberry Hill was like the lost city. Nobody ever remembered us”, said Cicely Montrose, according to a statement yesterday from the Ministry of the Presidency.
The workshop was themed “Self Reliance and Success in Business” workshop and was supported through the Office of the First Lady.
The workshop was held in the auditorium of the Christianburg Wismar Secondary School. It was the second community to benefit from this initiative. The first such workshop was held in Good Hope, East Coast Demerara and involved fifteen persons. Yesterday’s workshop registered twenty-one participants.
The First lady said that the forum offers opportunities to the participants with the hope of them returning to their respective communities to educate others.
She also expects the formation of groups by participants to ensure a strong support network. The First Lady said persons are very open and receptive to education and the demand for such a programme in growing.
“It was something that people wanted and I had the resources and I’m very happy. I’m looking forward to taking it to other parts of the country,” Mrs. Granger said, according to the release.
She added that her mantra, going forward with this initiative, is “once women are successful and educated, they seek the same for their children and their home and communities.”
Montayne Solomon of Blueberry Hill, who participated in the workshop that was originally aimed at women said, “This has impacted us in many ways, because for some time now we have been seeking directives on the way forward. We need the opportunity to create businesses. Opportunities have been lacking in this community because of the unavailability of skills, finances and general know how. By the end of this workshop we should be in full grasp of the basics to make us better entrepreneurs.”
Another participant, Irene Bentick, also lauded the First Lady for choosing Region Ten, which she said has been starved of these opportunities. “I think this community will benefit a whole lot, because we have the opportunity now to get a better insight of how to do business,” Bentick said.
The release said that the workshop is being facilitated by Wayne Barrow of Interweave Solutions, which is a Non-Governmental Organisation that helps local organisations and congregations to develop and create self-reliance by providing them with training.
The next session for this workshop is scheduled for Thursday October 22, followed by Tuesday October 27 and the closing session will be held on Thursday, October 29.
