Workshop on micro-finance inaugurated [Archives:2003/698/Community]
Reported by: Fahmia al-Fotih
For the Yemen Times
Under auspices of Mr. Abdualkareem Al-Arahbi, the minister of Social Affairs and Labor, Women Economic Empowerment Association (WEEA), in cooperation with Royal Netherlands embassy, is holding a 7-day workshop about lending and savings that started on Saturday 27 December 2003 in its headquarters.
The workshop attended by Mr. Ali Saleh, the Deputy minister of social affairs and labor, who exalted the exerted efforts and activities that WEEA has been doing in developing the woman status in society
The workshop discussed the program of supporting the abilities in financing small businesses and the system of financing in WEEA.
Dr. Fathia Bahran, the head of WEEA, said in her opening speech “The workshop aims to let the WEEA members and the women in local communities get known with the skills and concepts of micro-finance. The workshop aims to discuss the system of micro-finance and come up with primary agreement on implementing the suggested policies, mechanisms and techniques. This system will be developed later grounding on the local communities' feedback.”
Dr. Baharn said further ” The association's vision in this workshop is a step in helping to alleviate poverty rate among the targeted groups of the local communities through the activities of the micro-finance for micro projects. Actually the association aims at creating a system between the micro-finance institutions that will be in turn connected with supporting services as skills training, awareness and consultations for civic organizations. WEEA will seek to link the needy to those who offer services as well as find funding sources. In short we want to create and enlarge women possession and ensure them the bases of self-dependence.”
Dr. Bahran concluded “This workshop comes to confirm the WEEA mission and strategy in economically enabling and empowering women and employing her in development”
It is noteworthy that this workshop comes as a result of field visits to a number of areas in Ibb, Lahj, and Al-Hodeidah governorates within which the members along with a Sudanese expert Mr. Abdualmajed al-Khuji have visited the communities there and studied women needs and their problems in savings and loans-obtaining.
It is also worthy mentioning that a seminar will follow this workshop in Hada Hotel to discuss the results of the workshop and enrich it with suggestions and participants' points of view on which the recommendation will be released.
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