FOR many, empowerment leads to independence. Through the Supportive Services Unit for Persons with Disabilities, under the Ministry of Human Services and Social Security, several persons are acquiring marketable skills that can lead to employment and entrepreneurship.

One of the recently highlighted skills training opportunities is the Makeup Artistry Course (training levels one to three), where participants gained hands-on experiences, built their confidence and turned creativity to opportunity.

The sessions were held at the Mahaica Learning Lab, which provides free technical and vocational training for persons with disabilities in Guyana.

Grace Goodridge and Odessa Evans, two participants, recently spoke about their experiences in videos which were uploaded to the ministry’s Facebook page.

Goodridge said that through the course, she has learned about the different types of makeup that can be used, as well as how to properly do the eyebrow, and contouring.

“I enjoy doing it. I learn a lot. The different type of things to use on your face because your face is different from your body and you need to do something different,” she said.

The woman expressed thanks to the Minister of Human Services and Social Security Dr Vindhya Persaud, saying, “Thanks [to] her for the initiative and if we could get more differently abled persons to come out because most of them is [sic] hiding and we need to bring them out.”

Meanwhile, Evans said that for her it was “a bit challenging.” However, she persevered until the end and learned a lot.

Like Goodridge, Evans stated, “I would like to be a part of many more courses to come. I would also like to thank the Ministry of Human Services to bring out more courses for people like us. Thank you.”