Through a recently-held fundraiser, First Lady Arya Ali was able to raise just over $13 million to begin the setting up of a business centre for Persons with Disabilities (PWD).
A release from her office today said that in 2020, when Mrs. Ali assumed office, she prioritized support for PWD.
“The ability of persons with disabilities to earn a living for themselves, rather than to depend on others for a living, is a cornerstone for their economic empowerment. Experience suggests that the majority of persons with disabilities are unemployed, and often denied employment opportunities even when they have met necessary requirements. Consequently, they have no stable income and have to depend on family members, well-wishers and charity groups for handouts to sustain their livelihood” the First Lady said in the release.
As a result, the business centre was conceptualized to provide an opportunity for these individuals to have sustained economic power, in order to meet their essential needs and contribute to community development.
The release said that the Government has committed to constructing the facility which will be located in Region Six, while the Office of the First Lady will be responsible for furnishing the centre, providing start-up capital and implementing the programme. The centre will support entrepreneurs and creatives from other regions, the release added.
The centre is to comprise five work stations that will allow persons to manufacture products ranging from crafts to snacks; a retail space for those products to be sold; a boardroom for meetings and training; a therapy room; a cafeteria and washrooms.
It is expected that at least thirty persons with disabilities will gain direct employment in the short term, and another thirty in the medium to long term.
“The plan is to have these persons, some of whom already manufacture high quality products, be able to increase capacity and readily supply the local and even regional markets,” Mrs Ali said.
She added that these entrepreneurs will also benefit from business development training, and can themselves train other persons with disabilities.
The Guyana National Bureau of Standards has also been engaged by the Office of the First Lady to monitor and regulate the production of some of the products with the intention of issuing the ‘Made in Guyana’ certification mark.
The medium to long term plan is to then have those products sold online to regional and international customers.
