The American Embassy in Banjul on Thursday, 3 September,, 2009, has awarded grants amounting to One Million Six Hundred and Ninety Thousand Dalasi to five local civil society and community based organisations.

The beneficiaries are The Gambia Press Union, Kerewan Community Radio, Network of Human Rights Journalists, National Council for Civic Education and Aid The Children Network.
According to the US Ambassador Barry L. Wells, who was speaking at the signing ceremony yesterday at the Embassy’s hall, this project is under the US Embassy’s 2008 Democracy and Human Rights Fund (DHRF).
Ambassador Wells said that DHRF provides assistance through small grants to local Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) and Community Based Organisations (CBOs).
“We have awarded $19,600 (529,200 dalasi) to the Gambia Press Union to enhance institutional capacity to provide freedom of information,” he said.
He noted that the GPU faces the daunting challenge of capacity and resource management and added that GPU is committed to providing information and access to information to all Gambian citizens.
“By contributing to building its capacity, this grant will support GPU’s efforts to promote responsible journalism and press freedom in the Gambia,” said Ambassador Wells.
For Kerewan Community Radio, the Ambassador said they have awarded $12,400 equivalent to D334, 800 to develop another radio station in Barra under the management of NBC Radio Management.
A grant of $14,000 eqivalent to D378, 000 was given to the Network of Human Rights Journalists for the establishment of a national information resources centre. The Ambassador explained that the Network will set up an information and research centre for human rights journalists that will serve as a Documentation and Resource Centre.
On Aid the Children Network, Ambassadors Wells said they have been awarded ($2, 300 or D62, 100) for the publication of 1,000 booklets to prevent the trafficking of children. This, he said, will create awareness in the community and help prevent incidence of human trafficking. According to him, trafficking in people is nothing more than modern day slavery and a heinous crime which must be stamped out.
The National Council for civic Education, he said, has been awarded $14,300 equivatent to D386, 100 to sensitise the public on the government’s decentralisation strategy with the aim of empowering local communities to participate in their own development.
Ambassador Wells expressed hope to be seeing exciting projects next year towards the implementation of the projects.
The Grants Program Coordinator Janko Fofana, for his part, described the beneficiaries as “lucky” to be among the projects approved by the Ambassador. This he said will go a long way in providing good governance. Their goals, he went on, is to help the beneficiaries achieve their objectives. He assured them that they will be working closely together towards the implementation of the project.
The ceremony was attended by officials of the beneficiary organizations, US Embassy and the media.