With over $100,000 in grants from the Ministry of Women and Children -the Almanah Hope Centre conducted its latest graduation for underprivileged women in Lautoka yesterday.

Assistant Minister for Women, Veena Bhatnagar noted the active role played by Fijian women in the informal sector, with long hours of unpaid labor, household management and caring for family members while supporting the economic activities of menfolk.

Bhatnagar says as a nation and with an economy growing rapidly every year, Fiji cannot just leave behind half the population’s resourcefulness and contributions in the development of the nation and that is why women’s economic empowerment is the right and smart thing to do.

She says the government through its policies and programs recognizes the role of women in influencing these spheres.

Run by Lifebread International, graduates, and trainees at Almanah include widows, single mothers, women with little or no formal education, women from broken families, and women from all cultural and religious backgrounds.