Sewing Programme for Underprivileged Women in Rural Toledo Launched

A three-month sewing training programme is expected to benefit underprivileged girls and women in rural Toledo. The training programme was launched on Monday in Pueblo Viejo Village, Toledo District, by the government of Belize and the Embassy of the Republic of China (Taiwan) under the name “Sewing Training to Underprivileged Adolescent Girls and Women.”

This initiative focuses on exploring entrepreneurship and enhancing financial stability among the participating women, and is part of the project “Enhancing Economic Empowerment of Women in Belize in the COVID-19 Post-Pandemic Era.”

The project aims to empower disadvantaged women with sewing skills. It will be managed by the Tumul Uj Pueblo Mopan Women’s Group. 

At the launch, Oscar Requena, Minister of Rural Transformation, Community Development, Local Government, and Labour, said, “What this project seeks to do is really to provide trading for our women, to improve their entrepreneurial skills, to improve their sewing skills, to improve their collaborative efforts of working together. And to be able to pass on those traditional and cultural skills that our women have.” 

Lily Li-Wen Hsu, Ambassador of the Republic of China (Taiwan) to Belize, commended the women participating in the programme, “such programme will build up self-confidence, and form a network of mutual support that helps the participants fulfill their potential.”