THIRTY-FOUR women representing 34 villages along the Essequibo Coast can now consider themselves budding business gurus, after having successfully completed the seventh training session of the Self-Reliance and Success in Business workshop. The training was done in the Region Two Boardroom at Anna Regina, Essequibo Coast.

First Lady Sandra Granger, speaking at the graduation ceremony, told the women, “I Hope you have benefited from [the workshop]… and I hope that at the end of it you will not only have gained much from the knowledge and advice imparted by our facilitators, but also in the friendships you may have built through your experiences as you engaged in learning a bit more about setting up, establishing, and running a successful business. I am very happy to know once more that we exceeded our target number of participants.”

Yohann Sanjay Pooran, facilitator of Interweave Solutions Incorporated, the facilitating agency, advised the women that, with a strong business plan and having a clear outline of their business, they can be successful business owners and help with development in their communities.

“Her [Mrs. Granger’s] vision is our vision as we move forward with the implementation of the six Ps [Planning, Paperwork, Products, Promotion, Price and Process] of business, our community-oriented approach to action, and our emphasis on creating a good quality of life in your homes. And I believe we’re contributing to the exercise of establishing a sound and solid village economy, which helps everyone,” he said.

Pooran recalled that at several workshops conducted throughout the regions of Guyana, Mrs. Granger spoke extensively on women’s empowerment and how an economy can move forward.

“We have trained over 200 women…. Think about the impact of those if they go on to create successful businesses under the Guyanese economy. That is 200-plus people in the workforce employing additional people, who are paying taxes, making a strong contribution to their communities,” he explained.

The Government Information Agency (GINA) said the trainer also urged the women to be more actively involved in the development of their communities. “Get involved! It may be in politics, it may be in the social realm, in some community organisation that already exists…. We hope to see all of these women…in a couple of months…become leaders of good, strong, small enterprises in Region Two. This group of thirty-plus women can transform the local regional economy. You have the power to do that,” Pooran said.

One beneficiary of the training session, Vaniessa Granville, said the training done by Mrs. Granger and Interweave Solutions Incorporated has provided a great depth of knowledge for the women.

“My charge to us is to look for the good in each other; put aside our differences; face the challenges together, and let’s move forward together and let progress continue,”  she said.

Together, the women have also formed three groups within their workshops to focus on the eradication of some of the social issues faced in their communities. These are Women Empowerment, which will focus on school drop-outs; Rising to Status, which will focus on women’s empowerment and self-reliance; and the Hinterland Women’s Development Association, which will also focus on school drop-outs.