US support for NGOs, community groups

Seven non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in Benin are to receive about US $55,000 for micro-projects in areas such as infrastructure development and the promotion of democracy and human rights under an agreement they signed on Friday with the US government. The agreement is aimed at enabling the NGOs to help the most vulnerable sectors in society to be better able to help themselves and strengthen their awareness of factors that hamper their development. According to the US ambassador to Benin, Pamela Bridgewater, the seven NGOs are the second batch of organisations to benefit from the programme. The first were 11 NGOs and community groups who received financing on 5 July. The projects cover areas such as strengthening democracy, including the role of women in this regard, and building community infrastructure. In the departments of Mono and Couffo in the southwest, for example, the programme will seek to increase people's awareness of decentralisation. On the other hand, the project being funded in Fombea, a village in the department of Donga (centre west), provides for the construction of two classrooms and a three-compartment latrine. Other areas include food production, promoting girls' education and protecting children's rights, Bridgewater said.