‘Upskill and earn’ – Min. Persaud tells Mon Repos residents during outreach

“Upskill and earn,” was one of the weightiest messages delivered on Monday by Minister of Human Services and Social Security, Dr. Vindhya Persaud, as she visited and interacted with residents during an outreach to Mon Repos, East Coast Demerara.

A large group of people showed up on Monday at the Mon Repos Primary School to interact with Minister Persaud and team, and to benefit from the wide array of services that the Ministry took to the location.

Minister Persaud had an opportunity to listen to individual concerns by residents, young and old, and to receive feedback from community leaders and heads of several women’s groups on the East Coast Demerara.

“We want to have a very close connection with people who are on the ground; people at the grassroots level who can give us the best idea of what the community needs to progress,” Minister Persaud told residents.

The goal, she said, is not to have a top-down approach, but one that’s more bottoms-up. “We would be in a better position to serve you if we know and understand what the key things are that you would like us to focus on in the community.”

Minister Persaud encouraged the women to participate in the free courses that the government is offering countrywide, including ones by her ministry, such as the recently launched Women’s Innovation and Investment Network (WIIN).

“I want women to stop thinking that they have to go and work for somebody; be your own bosses,” she charged, as she also urged them to look at working in groups and even on their own if possible to bring out the kind of changes they want to see in their lives.

“Go for the things that you don’t normally go for when choosing what course to do. Our training will teach you how to sustain your businesses. And don’t just take the training and sit down with it at home; earn from it. When you use your new skills to earn, you can move from financial dependence to independence,” Minister Persaud further encouraged.

Noting that the Ministry’s Gender Affairs Bureau will be following up with the community, she stressed: “Upskill and earn. Don’t let this just be a talk shop; be action-oriented.”

Present at the outreach was a team from the Ministry of Health administering the COVID-19 vaccine to those interested. Officers from the Childcare and Protection Agency (CPA) were also on hand to meet with residents.

Persons also had other services available to them such as free eye testing, and random blood sugar and pressure testing.

Minister Persaud is continuing her visits to locations all across Guyana in an effort to take the services being offered by her Ministry to the people. Just recently, she met and interacted with persons from the Grove/Diamond, East Bank Demerara communities.

She also lately visited Monkey Mountain in Region Eight (Potaro/Siparuni) and Kwakwani in Region 10 (Upper Demerara/Berbice), where she similarly interacted with residents and helped them sign on to various programmes that the Ministry is working on at the moment.