First Lady, Sandra Granger on Monday launched the 10th Self-Reliance and Success in Business workshop for women in Kuru Kururu, Linden-Soesdyke Highway.
According to a Ministry of the Presidency press release, Regional Chairperson, Demerara-Mahaica (Region Four), Genevieve Allen, at the launching, said that the initiative is one that will benefit communities along the Linden-Soesdyke Highway. “The commencement of this programme is a dream come through… It is appropriate [for you] to have this programme where you [will be taught] business skills where I am expecting you to expand your businesses,” the release quoted her as saying.
According to the release, the workshops, which are financed by the Ministry of Social Protection, have so far trained over 240 women countrywide and aim to provide empowerment for women through entrepreneurship.
The release stated that the new group of women, who all hail from villages along the Linden-Soesdyke Highway, are mostly small business owners interested in expanding their businesses. Lucia Harlequin, who owns a hardware store in Kuru Kururu, said that she decided to attend the workshop after a friend convinced her that it was important for business women in the community to empower themselves. Annie Sripersaud, who operates a stall at the Parika Market, shared similar sentiments. “In these days things are hard and if I am a woman and if I can do something to bring money in my home, what she’s doing is encouraging us and building us,” the release quoted her as saying.
To date, the workshops have been held in Lusignan, Linden, Lethem, Mabaruma, Port Kaituma, Mahdia, Rosignol, Bartica and Anna Regina.
