NGOs receiving information during a training session with R4CR staff.
PHILIPSBURG--The Resources 4 Community Resilience (R4CR) programme will start information sessions for the “Quick Win” round two call for proposals at the R4CR headquarters at A.Th. Illidge Road #60 (former Windward Islands Bank office) on Wednesday, February 10.
The R4CR programme includes a grant scheme as funding mechanism for community and social rehabilitation initiatives in St. Maarten and focuses on improving the capacity of local civil society organisations (CSOs) in reconstruction and resilience activities post-Hurricane Irma.
The R4CR programme is financed by the government of the Netherlands via the St. Maarten Trust Fund administered by the World Bank and implemented by the National Recovery Program Bureau (NRPB). The R4CR programme is locally managed by the International Cooperation Agency of the Association of Netherlands Municipalities VNGI in close cooperation with Foresee Foundation and other local partners.
The grant scheme will be active for four years and will provide grants to local CSOs (formerly known as NGOs) to execute projects focused on reconstruction, resilience and improved service provision. Project activities by registered CSOs can cover subject categories such as neighbourhood initiatives, sports, nature/environment, culture, poverty relief, day-care centres/after-school programmes, youth employment, skills development, psycho-social support or preventing gender-based violence.
“Quick Win round one started in September 2020. We selected 12 out of the 33 projects submitted and gave them each a maximum of US $50,000 to execute their project within six months. Those projects are now being implemented, so the time is ripe to start up ‘Quick Win’ round 2,” said R4CR team leader Rolf Hunink.
Projects currently in the implementation phase are, among others, the new satellite location of the library located at Hillside Christian School in Cay Hill, the spay/neuter campaign by Animal Defenders, and the lunch programme for day-care centres by St. Maarten Early Childhood Development Association (SECDA).
The first four call-for-proposals information sessions will be organised on Wednesday, February 10, and Thursday, February 11, 6:00-7:15pm and 7:30-8:45pm on both days.
The second series of four information sessions will be held on Wednesday, February 17, and Thursday, February 18, 6:00-7:15pm and 7:30-8:45pm on both days.
The information sessions have been staggered to give interested persons the choice between an early session (starting at 6:00pm) or later session (starting at 7:30pm), but also because each session is limited to 10 attendees due to COVID-19 restrictions. An extra information session has been planned via Zoom on Saturday, February 27, 10:00-10:45am, for those who cannot attend in person.
Due to COVID-19 restrictions and space limitations, interested persons or organisations are requested to register for the information sessions by sending an email to info@r4cr.org.
For more information about the R4CR programme or an overview of all current projects, visit
www.r4cr.org or the Facebook page R4CRSXM.
https://www.thedailyherald.sx/islands/r4cr-to-launch-2nd-round-of-quick-win
