On February 6, 2020, 25 girls and
young women graduated from the one-year Comprehensive Empowerment Programme for
Adolescent Mothers (CEPAM) which was organized by Women Across Differences
(WAD) at Baridi Benab, State House.
Speaking at the event, First Lady
Mrs. Sandra Granger, who serves as a patron of the WAD encouraged the young
women to capitalise on every available educational opportunity as they are the
future leaders of Guyana.
“You are the next leaders of our
country and I would like to encourage you to seize every opportunity [that] you
are offered to educate yourselves [and] to take your rightful place in
society,” Mrs. Granger said.
The CEPAM programme aims to build the
self-esteem and self-worth of teen mothers through education and empowerment.
It is an initiative organised by Women Across Differences (WAD) in partnership
with Republic Bank (Guyana) Limited (RBL).
During the year-long programme, participants are given psychosocial support, while being taught entrepreneurship skills, academics, family planning and other subject areas.
The First Lady noted that many of the
graduates of the programme and members of WAD have moved on to become success
stories.
Meanwhile, Coordinator of WAD, Mrs.
Clonel Samuels-Boston, in her address noted that the feedback and impact of the
programme has been overwhelming. Since its commencement in 2009, a total of 545
adolescent mothers have benefited. She urged the young women to stay focused
and to utilize the knowledge they would have gained for their own self
development.
“The future ahead looks promising,
not only for the programme but also for the adolescence mothers… I challenge
you to stay focused, keep the positives and discard the negatives… Remember
that there are always solutions for everything,” she said.
Additionally, RBL’s Marketing and
Communications Manager, Mrs. Jonelle Dumette, emphasized her bank’s commitment
to continued partnership with WAD in pursuit of the empowerment of girls and
young women. She noted that the initiative will ensure that the participants
have access to social and economic resources and life skills.
“We, at Republic Bank, are firmly
committed to the development and empowerment of women…Be assured that Republic
Bank Guyana Limited will continue in support of this group even as we look at
ways in which we can expand our support,” she said.
Representatives of the United Nations
Children Fund (UNICEF) Mr. Irfan Akhtar and Ms. Jewel Crosse; Secretary-General
of the National Commission for the United Nations Educational, Scientific and
Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) Ms. Patrice La Fleur, representatives of the
Peace Corps, Ms. Yefi Oshodi and Ms. Lucy Cumberbatch and the Deputy Permanent
Secretary, Ministry of Social Protection, Mr. Mohan Ramrattan also attended.
