Domestic violence survivors gifted tablets

Twenty domestic violence survivors have been gifted tablet computers to bolster their chances of winning small business grants and to facilitate access to virtual training and business resources.

As a pre-requisite for their upcoming graduation from a five-month business training programme later this month, the participants must develop and submit business plans for a chance to receive grant funds to set up or strengthen their small businesses.

The 20 participants recently received the tablets at the Wembley Centre of Excellence in Hayes, Clarendon, during a personal development and life skills training session. The session is one of several modules in the five-month Local Economic Development Community Training Programme, funded under the European Union/United Nations Spotlight Initiative. The course aims to bolster economic empowerment of domestic violence survivors through training in business management, marketing, and sustainable business strategies.

"Spotlight Initiative aims to effectively equip vulnerable women with the skills capacity and resources to disrupt their economic dependence on male partners and progress to independence. By gaining financial earning power, they are less susceptible to dependent relationships and at less risk of exposure to domestic violence," UNDP programme officer Shellian Forester said.