Ambassador's Grants
Ambassador's Special Self-Help (SSH) Program
The American Ambassador to Nigeria's Special Self-Help (SSH) Program provides small grants to community development activities in Nigeria. It is designed to help communities help themselves. Under this program, projects must originate in the community and the community must make significant contributions to the success of the project, such as land, labor, money, materials, ongoing supervision, and other resources. Currently, the American contribution to any one project ranges from USD$3,000 to $USD10,000. Smaller requests are also welcome. All funds under the SSH Program are disbursed in Naira.
The U.S. Democracy And Human Rights Fund
The DHRF project finances small short term, high impact activities which target support at democratic institutions, political pluralism, and the protection and advocacy of human rights in African countries. The project, authorized in 1991 under the Foreign Assistance Act, complements other funding mechanisms which support larger, multi year initiatives as part of the U.S. Government's overall strategy to promote democracy and improved governance.
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Sample Proposal
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News
On September 19, 2006, U.S. Consul General Brian Browne, representing Ambassador John Campbell, signed thirteen grant agreements to fund Special Self-help SSH) and Democracy Human Rights Fund (DHRF) projects in Nigeria. Totaling $95,000, eleven SSH grants will fund a diverse range of community development projects, including boreholes, classroom furniture, food processing equipment, school textbooks, a livestock building, solar panels, and a community library.
The DHRF program divided $60,000 of funding between two organizations planning democracy-building projects in Nigeria. One grant provided funds for community trainings to promote nonviolent political activism in the Niger Delta, and the other grant recipient held a three-day workshop to train and encourage women to become active in local decision-making processes and elections.
In his remarks at the signing ceremony, the Consul General noted that the grant recipients were partners with the U.S. in the projects, and he encouraged the organizations to continue their community development efforts. He urged all Nigerians to embrace political democracy and live its values.
Julia V. Taft Fund for Refugees 2008
The U.S. Mission to Nigeria is pleased to announce that we are now accepting proposals for the 2008 Ambassador's Julia V. Taft Fund for Refugees. This grant is available to meet gaps in refugee protection and assistance. In FY 2007, projects were funded in 33 different countries throughout Africa, the Near East, Central America and the Caribbean, Europe and Central Asia.
The Ambassador's Fund is intended to meet gaps in ongoing refugee programs that can be filled locally for under $20,000 and are not already being addressed by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), other international organizations, or non-governmental organizations that are already receiving USG funding. Please note that this fund is not meant as an emergency fund.
The Fund is intended primarily for refugees or returnees. We also consider support for projects that benefit both refugees/returnees and their host communities. While we cannot provide direct support to local host governments, we welcome requests for support of reliable local NGOs.
2007 Ambassadors' Fund projects in Africa include:
Algeria --- $20,000 for AFAD to purchase primary school textbooks for Sahrawi refugee students
Benin --- $17,000 to CARISTAS to construct school classrooms for Togolese refugees in Agame Camp
Burundi -- $16,592 for APECOG to provide school furniture for returning Burundi refugee children
Cameroon --- $20,000 for the Center for Rehabilitation and Torture to provide psychosocial support and mental health interventions for urban refugees
Central African Republic -- $19,950 to CARITAS to supply the National Committee for Refugees' health center with drugs and medical equipment
Chad --- $20,000 for ACTED to improve food security for Darfur refugees and their hosts in Oure Cassoni Camp
DRC --- $19,782 for AIDES to improve secondary education opportunities for repatriated refugee children
Ethiopia --- $20,000 to support three projects including (1) $8,000 for the Somali Community Literacy Center, (2) $8,000 for International Rescue Committee to improve conditions for Somali refugees in Kebribeyah, and (3) 4,000 for GAIA Association to assist urban refugees in Addis Ababa
Gabon --- $20,000 to ALISEI to promote self-sufficiency for refugee communities
Ghana --- $18,083 for Women's Initiative for Self-Empowerment to improve health and sanitary conditions for refugees
Kenya --- $19,700 for Mapendo to address critical medical needs of urban refugees in Nairobi
Mozambique --- $20,000 for World Relief to support self-reliance for refugees in Maratane Camp
Nigeria --- $19,142 for the Justice, Development, and Peace Commission to provide vocational skills training to refugees and asylum seekers in Ijebu-Ode
Rwanda --- $20,000 for American Refugee Committee to construct shelter for returned Rwandan refugees and migrants in Rutete
Senegal --- $20,000 to Handicap International to assist returnee landmine victims
Tanzania -- $20,000 to CARE to address environmental degradation in refugee camps and host communities
South Africa --- $20,000 to support two projects including (1) $10,000 to the Mennonite Central Committee to train refugees in Durban in home-based child care, and (2) $10,000 to Youth for Survival to expand skills-training for refugees in Pretoria
Uganda --- $20,000 to InterAid to construct shelter for vulnerable refugees in Kampala
Zambia --- $20,000 to Christian Outreach for Development to support community schools in Meheba refugee settlement
Zimbabwe --- $20,000 to IMBISA to construct and furnish school classrooms for refugees in Tongogara Camp
Please submit your proposal for the 2008 Fund by May 1; proposals may be sent electronically to lagossh@state.gov or mailed to:
Ambassador's Fund for Refugees
Pol-Econ Section
United States Consulate General Lagos
2 Walter Carrington Crescent
Victoria Island, Lagos
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