In the spirit of police and community working today the Yabra Community Policing Centre received today a variety of sewing supplies and handicraft materials. The gift from the Social Investment Fund will be used to equip women especially single mothers who residing on the city’s south side and who are unemployed and in need of income to support their family. The programme gets under way in two weeks when it is expected that there will be a full employment of thirty eight persons. Youth Coordinator Douglas Hyde tells us why he is optimistic about the programme at this time even though it is being launched in a time of recession.
Douglas Hyde, Youth Coordinator – PBD
”This donation is very very helpful. We are very appreciative of it. It is one of the programs, one of the requests of the community, and we have persons who have been asking for things they can do during the day time and also after school. But there have been major requests for things during the day time and during the work time so that those who are not working, those who are not going to school and can do during that work time and this is one of those activities and so the sewing materials and machines are one of the requests that the persons from the who wanted to participated in this.”
Jacqueline Godwin,
“Do you think the market is right for self-employment?”
Douglas Hyde,
“Definitely. I think any persons who recognize that recession is here know that there is also an opportunity for you to sell yourself, that craftsmanship that you have, and sewing is one of them. There are so many things that can come out of sewing and we realize that we are not having much Belizean sewers and this might be something where we can take advantage of those ladies who lost their jobs through Williamson, that they could assist us by participating in such activities and we will have incentives that will be part of the program to encourage persons to be a part of it and to help them during that time of the training.”
Sandra Grant, SIF
“From what we see we need much more in the community, this is not even a drop in the bucket but at this time as with everywhere, money is short and so it is small and we are hoping the Community Policing Unit will be able to do their best with it and I would like to be able to do much more for them. As you can see there is a lot of problems and they need the assistance.”
It cost the Social Investment Fund just under ten thousand dollars to purchase the items. According to the Programme Youth Coordinator Douglas Hyde there are five other initiatives that they will be working along with SIF to establish in the New Year.
