Grass roots women become agents of change through leadership training

FOURTEEN hopeful and ambitious grass roots women are gearing up to take on leadership positions for the betterment of their respective inner-city communities, once they have completed an interactive transformational training programme. These promising trainees will benefit from training in 'developing the self for leadership; understanding gender and leadership; effective communication; managing conflict; basic research skills; developing training skills; money management and social graces and etiquette.'

The upliftment programme forms part of the Strengthening Women's Leadership Initiative being spearheaded by the Women's Resource and Outreach Centre (WROC) in partnership with the United Nations Democracy Fund (UNDEF). It came about following a needs assessment conducted in 2009. Following the training period which will equip the 14 trainees to become community facilitators, each of them will in turn be required to train and mentor another 10 grass roots women to, in the same way, rise to the challenge of leadership.

Speaking at the launch of the project recently, executive director of the Dispute Resolution Foundation Donna Parchment-Brown charged the trainees to remain hopeful about their role and the future.

"You are hope... some of you are hopeful because you have children and if you give up hope then you have murdered them, some of us have hope because we have seniors in our lives and we have a responsibility towards them and if we give up hope, we have murdered them," Parchment-Brown reasoned with passion.

She also gave the trainees practical advice on ways in which they could serve their community.

"How many of you would like to become a JP?" she questioned, adding that "we have to do what we need to, to ensure that people see us for these opportunities." She also encouraged the trainees to join a credit union to help build their capacity for accessing financing.

Continuing, she noted that the initiative will provide a kind of transformation for the women that "recognises that what you bring to the table can be multiplied for your benefit and the benefit of others".

The six-day training which began on January 21 is the first phase of the programme. It will continue for four months with a practicum component. This training is the second component under the WROC/UNDEF Strengthening Women's Leadership Programme. A total of 25 corporate women were trained last year to assume leadership positions on public and private sector boards. At least another 75 women from across the island are to receive training throughout 2010.

For more information contact communications@wrocjamaica.org.

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