— programme being rolled out in phased approach, says Minister Persaud

MINISTER of Human Services and Social Security, Dr. Vindhya Persaud has reassured Guyanese women that the Women’s Innovation and Investment Network (WIIN) programme is not going anywhere anytime soon and will continue as long as needed to include all those interested. “So if you haven’t yet heard from us, don’t panic,” Minister Persaud said, adding, “WIIN has generated a lot of excitement. Some people haven’t heard from us as yet, but this is not an all- in-one rollout; it’s a phased rollout, depending on the courses and locations.” Even so, persons who have not yet received a response after submitting their applications can contact the ministry and also follow its social media platforms to keep abreast on how the programme is progressing.

WIIN has started in Region Four at the Guyana Women’s Leadership Institute (GWLI) and other locations, and will be moving to Region Six next week. The online programmes have started for Regions Three and are being rolled out in different communities each week. “So people shouldn’t get too worried if others started and they haven’t. The idea behind WIIN is that no one will be turned down. For those people who didn’t manage to make it into the first phase of WIIN, it will be continued. We will do WIIN as long as we can to make sure we capture more people who are interested,” Minister Persaud guaranteed. Her advice though, is to, “Commit and see it to the end.” She said: “Don’t start and give up. This is an opportunity not only to have a certificate, but an accredited one. It can help you to really move from a state of dependence to independence. You just have to decide what you want to do with the training.”

Just last Friday, 25 women of the Riverview community in Georgetown signed on to the programme. WIIN, a brainchild of Minister Persaud, is available both online and in-person across the country and seeks to provide women and girls with economic benefits, along with an enabling environment to help them boost their self-confidence and individuality. Whether persons are interested in garment construction, ICT, graphic designing, video editing, photography, interior decorating, or child and elderly care; the ministry is moving to cater for major development in the country. WIIN also includes the provision of functional, business, social issues, and legislative literacy, and covers areas in anger management, emotional intelligence, coping mechanisms, as well as information on support systems from the ministry. Each course is followed by an assessment, and the top five students will be eligible for assistance to start up their businesses.