THE Regional Democratic Council (RDC) of Region Ten, under its Regional Economic Advancement Partnership (REAP) programme, on Tuesday launched its first project with the start of an internship for women interested in learning dress-making.
According to Regional Chairman Deron Adams, the REAP effort seeks to empower women across the region, by supporting their attempts to become independent and to support their families.
He said that under the REAP programme, a series of projects will be held to teach women entrepreneurial and life skills, even as the region pushes for the reactivation of the Linden Enterprise Network (LEN) loans to provide funding through micro-loans to start businesses.

“The Regional Economic Advancement Partnership,” he said, “will seek many similar opportunities to empower both men and women, including youths, to move their efforts into areas that could provide a sustainable income through training for involvement in micro-enterprises, with the support of private sector and individual partnerships like this one.”
According to Adams, another important facet of the programme is to encourage skilled personnel and seniors to donate their time and expertise to these training efforts, “as we pool our efforts to address unemployment, under-employment and poverty in our region, and impact positively on the lives of those who need this type of input the most.”
Adams has also expressed optimism that the persons being trained could secure contracts to supply the government’s school uniform project in Region 10, once they would have mastered the skill. He also called for future collaborations with persons interested in supporting the REAP programme and other similar projects in the region.