Amb. Lan attended the MOU Signing Ceremony of NGOs within the Women’s Empowerment Project at the Blue Lagoon Hotel & Marina on 26th January, 2023. The ceremony was co-hosted by the Technical Mission of the Republic of China (Taiwan) and the Ministry of National Mobilisation, Social Development, Family, Gender Affairs, Youth, Housing and Informal Human Settlement. Permanent Secretary Catherine De Freitas, Project Coordinator Jemima George and other officers from the Ministry, staff from the Embassy and Technical Mission of Taiwan as well as representatives from the organizations of Kingdom Life Tabernacle Church, Vincyklus Inc., St. Vincent Planned Parenthood Association (SVPPA) and Caribbean Women in Leadership (CIWIL) Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Bequia Threadworks, RedRoot SVG Inc, SVG Girl Guides Association, National Council of Women, We Are Mayreau Inc. (WAM Inc.) and Generation Next, and the media also attended the ceremony.
In his remarks, Amb. Lan said it was the fifth day of the lunar new year and traditionally it was the opening day for all businesses, making it a perfect day to announce that the Women’s Empowerment Project (WEP) had entered a new phase after the completion of vocational training courses and management training courses for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs). He congratulated the participating organizations which would work with the Taiwan Technical Mission and the Ministry of Social Development in implementing their proposals to benefit Vincentian women. He stressed that the spirit of WEP was to empower women rather than merely provide grants. He urged the participating organizations to do their best in implementing their proposals so that the goal of 1,000 women benefitted could be achieved, and wished them success and all the best.
Ms. De Freitas said in her remarks that the programme would be implemented through cooperation among the Ministry of Social Development, the Taiwan Technical Mission and local groups, aiming at reaching out to communities and providing women empowerment, education and all assistances. SVG had been greatly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and the volcanic eruption of La Soufrière in recent years. Women are one of the most vulnerable groups after such a disaster, and many small businesses had to close permanently which heavily impacted the livelihood of women and their family. In light of this, WEP had brought tremendous and instant support to the economic recovery of SVG. On behalf of the government and people of SVG, she expressed sincere appreciation to the government and people of Taiwan, and pledged to continue working with both the Embassy and the Technical Mission of Taiwan.
The MOUs were signed by Mr. Kevin Lin, Chief of the Taiwan Technical Mission, and the representative of each participating organization respectively, witnessed by Amb. Lan and Ms. De Freitas. (E)
