THE Women of Worth (WOW) Programme has recorded many successes since its inception despite the challenges of the initiative.
Minister of Human Services and Social Security, Priya Manickchand, made this observation last evening during the launch of the ‘Feminition’ Women’s Exposition 2011 at the Guyana International Conference Centre, Liliendaal. In her address, she pointed out that the programme is a perfect example of public/private partnership working to benefit all Guyanese.
The Guyana Bank for Trade and Industry (GBTI) has collaborated with the Ministry of Human Services and Social Security to offer single parent mothers the opportunity to strengthen their financial and social capacity with its WOW Loan Plan, which was launched last year.
As to the benefits of this, Manickchand explained, “The Guyana Bank for Trade and Industry (GBTI) has joined in the Government’s goal of providing credit to many women who, prior to WOW, were unable to acquire loans for lack of collateral; so we had to find ways around these obstacles.”
The minister noted that as Guyanese, “we have proven ourselves resourceful over the years in overcoming many such obstacles, especially through the WOW loan programme, which has been successful in upgrading single parents out of poverty.
As to the success of the initiative, Head of the Credit and Corporate Services Department of GBTI, Shaliza Shaw, said that since the launch of the programme last year, the successes have been many, a fact which is evident in the large amount of applications received.
“I am pleased to announce that, so far, the bank has approved 781 loans to the value of $154 million, and GBTI has committed a total sum of $500 million to the WOW programme,” Shaw revealed.
According to the GBTI representative, this means that more women will have access to and benefit from this loan plan.
And the bank intends to revolve the funds, which means as the loans are repaid, the beneficiaries can re-apply.
Alluding to the reason behind the collaboration, Shaw explained that   the Bank seized upon the opportunity to collaborate with the ministry on the initiative, geared towards advancing micro financing to eligible single mothers, to provide a platform in assisting these persons in overcoming the challenges they face in raising their families.
To date, several outreach programmes have been facilitated, through collaboration, to promote this programme in Region Ten (Upper Demerara/Upper Berbice), Region Six (East Berbice/Corentyne), Region Two (Pomeroon/Supenaam) and Region Four (Demerara/Mahaica).
The Women of Worth Loan Plan is a fulfilment of government’s promise to establish a single parent assistance plan and a micro-credit scheme for single parent women.