Minister Carola Schouten (second right) visiting social workplace “The Garden” in Saba with Commissioner Rolando Wilson (right).
SABA--The social workplace in Saba will receive guaranteed financing during this cabinet’s term, Minister for Poverty Policy, Participation and Pensions Carola Schouten announced during her working visit to Saba, her first stop in the Caribbean Netherlands.
In Saba, Schouten visited social workplace “The Garden”, where people with a distance from the labour market grow vegetables and fruit for the local population.
The Garden has room for nine people. However, stable financial resources are lacking. Therefore, Schouten offered a guaranteed budget for The Garden until 2025.
“It is important that everyone can participate to the best of their ability. Every person is valuable and has something to contribute. I definitely saw that at The Garden.
“The employees I spoke to work with pleasure and dedication. One person called it ‘teamwork’ to keep The Garden going, and together we must do it. Therefore, the government wants to guarantee financing for this cabinet term in order to offer a future to the social workplace. We will be discussing structural funding in the period thereafter later on,” she said.
Lonneke Schut, director of Saba Reach Foundation under which The Garden falls, said the social workplace in Saba is of great added value. “It is a place where people get a second chance and where development and growth are worked on at the same time. Stable financial support is very welcome.”
In addition, Schouten announced that work and development company Weener XL in Den Bosch in the European Netherlands will develop a pilot for a second social workplace on the island together with Saba.
“Not everyone can get to work in The Garden. It involves physically demanding work in the sun. The director of The Garden wants to open a second workplace where people can do creative manual labour for sale on the local market. The government wants to support and finance the pilot,” Schouten said. The outcome of the pilot will also be included in discussions on structural funding.
