Two non-governmental organizations (NGOs) are poised to execute two community projects in St. Kitts under the Women’s Employment, Entrepreneurship and Financial Inclusion Project being administered by the Technical Mission of the Republic of China (Taiwan).

A contract signing ceremony was held on Friday (October 21, 2022) at the National ICT Center to formally provide funding for the projects ‘Hustle and Grow’ and ‘Empowering Women Living with Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs)’.

Hustle and Grow is implemented by TabSKN Ltd under the leadership of Managing Director, Gardenia Destang Richardson. The project will see women (who were previously trained) developing projects and pitching their ideas for funding. The idea merges the concepts of two U.S. television shows – The Apprentice and Shark Tank. Mrs. Destang Richardson said that while everyone may not be successful, all will gain invaluable experience and knowledge that will help their future endeavours.

Project Empowering Women Living with Non-Communicable Diseases will be executed by Lake Health and Wellbeing and its Programme Director Abi Begho. The project delivers training and capacity building for women empowering them in various areas including financial responsibility and managing their illness while living well.

Resident Ambassador of the Republic of China (Taiwan), His Excellency Michael Lin, noted that Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs is proud to fund the initiatives under the Women’s Employment, Entrepreneurship and Financial Inclusion Project. The project started in November 2021 and is implemented in eight countries. Ambassador Lin said that the St. Kitts-based projects are the first to be approved and aligned with a key global strategy.

“The programme is also an important show of support for the global gender equality initiatives and is a response to Goal Five of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) – achieving gender equality and empowering all women and girls,” the Ambassador stated. “With differing approaches, they (Hustle and Grow and The Empowering Women Living with Non-Communicable Diseases) will be important parts of advocating for women’s economic empowerment in the Federation in public health, the media and culture sectors.”

Junior Minister with responsibility for Gender Affairs, the Honourable Isalean Phillip, applauded the Government of the ROC for partnering with the local government.

“It’s really a great opportunity as it helps to stimulate our NGO sector to support the work that we are doing when it comes to women empowerment and doing that through various projects that seek to be inclusive and innovative,” she stated, offering congratulations to the participants. “Government cannot do it by itself and so we are really grateful for the opportunity to help facilitate that through the Department of Gender Affairs. We look forward to future opportunities to do that and we hope to see continued support and investment in this regard.”

The successful candidates promised to meet all the goals outlined in their projects.