The Mark Benschop Founda-tion which has adopted the motto “Making the way for tomorrow’s children,” yesterday held a small ceremony to mark its social work initiative focusing on single mothers.

The initiative will see the Robb Street-based Benschop Foundation funding courses for single mothers in cake decoration, nail care and computers. Benschop, in addressing the gathering, said that the Foundation has a special emphasis on the empowerment of single mothers which was of great importance to the upbringing of their children. Spokes-woman for the Benschop Foundation, Olive Gopaul implored the participants to become independent and to be change agents in their communities.

Facilitator of the cake decoration training Audrey Hunt, in a motivational speech urged the participants to pursue efficiency and excellence as part of their training and development.

The Mark Benschop Foundation also presented school supplies to Keivon Bacchus and eyeglasses to Stephanie King as part of its philanthropic outreach.

Stabroek News spoke  with Rayann Dickson, Carla Bayley and Natalie Critchlow all of whom, under the initiative of the Benschop Foundation, completed an elementary cake decoration course and are now engaged in advanced cake decoration training.

These single mothers said that such training would be vital in their further upliftment since they anticipate gaining employment upon the completion of their cake decoration education.

They also posited that such tutoring was moreover important in view of the fact that support from ‘child fathers’ was not reliable.

Benschop, following his release from prison has undertaken social activism towards the objective of what he calls “giving back” which has resulted in the creation of the Mark Benschop Foundation.