54 Women Entrepreneurs Receive Assistance from UNDP

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), as part of its support to the Government of Jamaica’s hurricane Beryl recovery programme, has donated small grants and inputs to 54 female micro business owners impacted by the hurricane.

The beneficiaries, who are from the parishes of Clarendon, Manchester and St. Elizabeth, received chickens, feed, irrigation and other farm supplies.

The initiative was implemented in partnership with the Bureau of Gender Affairs and the Jamaica Network of Rural Women Producers (JNRWP).

Speaking at a ceremony held at the Golf View Hotel in Manchester on January 31, UNDP Resident Representative, Kishan Khoday, said most institutions in Jamaica which provide financing and business development services to micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), do not consider the specific needs of women entrepreneurs.

“This financing gap is why we have partnered with the Bureau of Gender Affairs and the JNRWP to specifically support the recovery of women business owners impacted by Hurricane Beryl,” Mr. Khoday said.

He noted that by financing their empowerment journey, and building their capacity to operate resiliently, the women entrepreneurs will be better prepared to navigate future shocks with limited or no down time.

Meanwhile, beneficiary, poultry farmer, Keisha Wint, expressed thanks to the UNDP, while noting that Hurricane Beryl had a huge impact on her.

“When I woke up the morning after it passed and my son told me the coop went down, I was so upset but then I said, I still have a roof over my head, so it’s better she (Beryl), gwaan with the chicken coop, because I can build it back. It impacted me a lot, I was devastated,” she stated.

Ms. Wint, who lost her sight 22 years ago when her younger son was only eight months old, said she was in denial during that period of her life.

“I was in denial for two years and suffered severe depression, but I realized I had my children to live for, so I had to move on with my life. I don’t like begging, so I decided to raise chickens and started with 25. After each cycle, I increased the business to where I am today. Sometimes it’s down, but I don’t let that stop me,” Ms. Wint said.

“If I can do it, you can do it too, we have many able-bodied people who don’t want to work and they come begging me who is doing something,” she said to loud cheers.

For her part, Trishauna Brown, a strawberry and flower farmer from St. Elizabeth said her business is the result of a vision she got while sleeping one night.

“I got a vision that I was doing well in a farm and people were interviewing me. I don’t know much about strawberry, but I have a passion for it. When I started, I had 87 plants and now I have 518. I said I wanted to reach 1000 by this June, but I might reach there before, because I now have 518 plants and 235 suckers and it’s just January,” she stated.

Going forward, Ms. Brown is looking to sell her product both locally and overseas. She also plans to brand her strawberries, as part of a legacy for her children to keep for future generations.

For her part, Maya Biggs, a chicken farmer who lost it all during hurricane Beryl said things are now back up.

“We have an eight-gallon tank for water to feed the chickens. We also have 30 in the coop now, but for this year, I want to improve by 200 more chickens, so we will sell what we have and use the profit to buy more to make progress on the coop too,” she stated.

Another beneficiary, Lorna Henry from May Pen, is a new farmer who raises chickens.

“I lost 50 chickens, we had no current for two months, so I had giveaway some, eat some and throw away what was spoilt. I am expecting that this programme will make me a better person, build my goals and increase on my chicken rearing,” she said.

Meanwhile, Sherry-Ann Brown, also from May Pen, Clarendon is a crop farmer who also does chicken rearing.

She plants bananas, okras, cassava, pumpkin, sweet peppers, tomato and Pak choy.

“I have been a part of the JNRWP for about six months and it has benefitted me greatly because it has helped me to feed my family and I am working on my house that I bought,” she said.

Ms. Brown received 100 chickens and 15 bags of feed from the programme, having lost 30 during the passage of Hurricane Beryl.