-18 graduate with special skills
“WOMEN have a tremendous role to play in our country’s development.” This remark was made Friday by Human Services and Social Security Minister Jennifer Webster at the Theatre Guild Playhouse on Parade Street, Kingston, as the Venezuelan Embassy in collaboration with the Venezuelan Institute for Culture and Cooperation (IVCC) and the Women with Power organization, held its eighth annual graduation exercise.
Addressing the graduands, Minister Webster noted that women have been increasingly contributing to the economy, and hold various technical and skilled positions.   
She commended the graduands on their achievement, drawing loud applause when she told her audience that they were all “women of worth”, even as she went on to reiterate the role they play in the national economy.
She noted that the graduation was a demonstration of their skill as achievers, and disclosed that they were entering a “new era” in their lives, and were at an important juncture to contribute to Guyana.    
The minister encouraged graduands to see the sky as the limit of their achievements, and urged them not to be complacent, but set goals for their personal development.
Lauding the initiative as a commendable one, Minister Webster said the Government of Guyana was heartened by the goodwill that existed between the Government of Guyana and the people of Venezuela.

Congratulations

Venezuelan Ambassador Dario Morandy was present at the graduation ceremony. He congratulated the graduating students and their teachers on their sterling achievement, and noted that each woman was celebrating not only the culmination of courses, but the achievement of a goal.
Other speakers of note at the event were President of the Women with Power organization, Ms. Judy Kanhai, and Administrative Officer of the National Commission on Disability, Ms. Beverly Pile.

The graduating batch comprised 18 students, but the Theatre Guild Playhouse literally overflowed with spectators, to the extent that some graduands were unable to fit into the auditorium, and had to stand outside in the foyer listening for their names in order to uplift their certificates.
The graduates earned certification in one or more of the 13 six-month courses offered in:  “Elementary and Advanced Floral”, “Bridal Accessories”, “Elementary and Advanced Sewing”, “Cosmetology”, “Knitting”, “Elementary and Advanced Surface Decoration”, “Decorative Doll”, “Tibisiri Craft”, “Pastry and Cake”, “Fundamentals of Health”, “Nail Technology” , “Cake Decoration” and “First Aid”.

Brainchild    

This initiative of teaching and certifying the women was the brainchild of the Principal of the IVCC, Ediclia Bastardo de Persaud, and her husband Kawal Persaud, who decided to be proactive in helping women to empower themselves. The couple began to reach out to women through those students who came to learn Spanish at the IVCC, encouraging the students to invite their female relatives to come together at the institute.
Those women who responded filled out forms on which space was provided for them to disclose any special skills they had.
It was discovered that one woman had special skills in tie-dyeing. That woman, Asha James-Forde, began to teach the institute’s first tie-dyeing class. Subsequently, other women began to come forward and share their skills.