First Lady Sandra Granger announced on Monday that there will be a national dialogue centred on Domestic Violence on 3rd August at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre, which will see participation from across the ten regions.
The First Lady made the announcement while opening the second Self-Reliance and Success in Business Workshop for residents of the Essequibo Islands- West Demerara Region (Region Three), according to a press release from the Ministry of the Presidency (MoTP)
“This [domestic violence] is a scar on our national life… I have been in discussions with some people about how we really go about addressing domestic violence in Guyana…We also have to deal with the issue of under-reporting or non-reporting of issues of domestic violence in our hinterland and our rural areas…We are planning to have a national dialogue…I think we have to face up to it and make it clear that we cannot tolerate this any longer,” Mrs Granger was quoted as saying in the MoTP release.
Turning to the participants of the workshop, Mrs. Granger urged them to see the many opportunities a workshop like this can bring, in terms of small and micro-enterprise development and reminded them that the certificates that they will be receiving at the end of the programme is recognised by the Small Business Bureau and other micro-financing organisations, the statement said.
“I saw the benefits [of this programme] not only to the persons who would have participated, but to their families and their communities as well. It is what I would call a holistic approach to success,” the First Lady was further quoted.
According to the MoTP release, Regional Executive Officer of Region Three, Denis Jaikaran, in his remarks, said that the first Self-Reliance and Success in Business Workshop led to the establishment the Region’s first salted fish factory. He expressed his appreciation to the First Lady for taking the workshop to the Region for a second time and pledged to assist the participants in rolling out future projects.
Meanwhile, Director of Interweave Solutions (Guyana) Incorporated, Sanjay Yohann Pooran who facilitated the workshop, provided the participants with an overview of the programme; indicating that the workshop’s main objective is to educate the participants on how to start, manage, and grow small businesses, help them to lead a balanced life and provide them with the opportunity to give back to their community through the formulation and implementation of a community action plan, the MoTP statement said.
The workshop is organised by the Office of the First Lady in collaboration with the Ministry of Social Protection and Interweave Solutions (Guyana) Incorporated. This is the third Self-Reliance Workshop for the year 2018.
