Vulnerable women receive 15 fully-funded scholarships from First Lady

Jan 31, 2021 News

First Lady, Arya Ali (seated center) and Ms. Soyinka Grogan (seated left), Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Public Service, signing the MOU as Minister of Public Service, Sonia Parag (seated right) looks on.

Kaieteur News – First Lady Arya Ali has granted 15 fully-funded scholarships to vulnerable women drawn from two local non-governmental organizations (NGOs) on Friday.
An official release from the Office of the First Lady stated that the beneficiaries of the scholarships are women who are considered to be highly vulnerable, due to their living conditions in the past and present, and the fact that none of them was able to complete the formal school system.
At a ceremony held at the State House, she granted eight of the scholarships to women from ChildLink and seven to women from Help and Shelter. The scholarships will provide the women with the opportunity to study and train at the Carnegie School of Home Economics for one to two years.
The Office of the First Lady will fund the tuition in full; however, the Ministry of Public Service will also be lending their support by providing a monthly allowance to cover transportation cost, meals, and uniforms.
A Memorandum of Understanding has since been inked between the Office of the First Lady and the Ministry of Public Service to ensure that the commitment is fulfilled and that over the next four years, the Ministry provides similar opportunities for women in need.
The First Lady stated that Guyanese must be cognizant of the fact that women are already disproportionately affected, and more effort should be made to ensure that they are provided with the tools and resources pertinent to improving their marketability and integrating them into the labour force.
She said, “I am very happy to be able to provide these women with a window of opportunity to empower themselves and positively impact those around them.”
Also present at the ceremony was the Minister of Public Service, Sonia Parag, who expressed her willingness to support initiatives of that nature.
“I jumped on this opportunity to facilitate this activity, specifically for the fact that these women will be empowered to the point of becoming independent. This is what we want to see in society; women being given opportunities and being treated equally,” Parag expressed.
In addition to providing the monthly allowance for this year’s scholarship recipients, the Minister pledged that each year, provisions are made for vulnerable women to benefit from similar opportunities through the Public Service Ministry.

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