This will be a relatively short article, but I just wanted to bring attention to the Social Fund for Development that is operated by the Embassy of France to Kenya.
The French Embassy's Social Fund for Development (SFD), now in its third year of existence says that its main goal is the eradication of poverty in Kenya.
This SFD is hosted by the Co-operation Service of the Embassy of France but works in a close partnership with various partners in key areas of development: water and sanitation, and health, primary education and the improvement of conditions of living of the poorest segments of Kenyan society.
In the area of water management, sanitation and health, the SFD works in the areas of communal chemistries and the dispensation of water, among other things.
Construction of classrooms and rehabilitation are its main focus under the umbrella of primary education.
The poorest of the poor in Kenya, as in most developing nations are women who live in slums and poor rural areas, street children and the disabled.
While projects dealing that help to improve the quality of life for all members of a community benefit women and children as a part of that community, one third of SFD's funding goes to matters related to women's issues and another twenty-nine percent go to programs dealing with youth. This means that over half of the SFD's budget goes towards women and children specifically.
In the three years that SFD has been in existence, it has approved 14 projects and another 12 are currently under study. Of course the request are much more numerous. During that same period of time the Selection Committee of the Social Fund for Development has received 250 requests for assistance.
The Selection Committee considers the application to determine the self-sustainability of this project as well as the context of the matter and the aims of and goals of the applicant. Of course, the means needed to carry out this project are carefully considered as well.
Seriousness of the applicant and self-sustainability of the project are the two conditions, which are considered guarantees of the project's likelihood of success.
The funding limit for any applicant project is 5.000.000 Ksh and the project cannot run more than one year. Additionally, the recipients must contribute, financially or in kind at least 30% of the total budget of the project submitted.
During the fiscal year 2003-2004, 600.000 Euro (i.e. 50.000.000 Ksh) were available, for any project located in Kenya that met the SFD Selection Committee's approval.
SFD partners financially and operationally with many NGOs and other state run organizations and agencies including: the government of Kenya and local authorities; agencies of the United Nations, such as UNEP; international foundations such s the Aga Khan Foundation, Médecins Sans Frontières-Belgium, Handicap International and many more. In addition to this the Co-operation Service of the Embassy of France gets technical support from many agencies and organizations such as the French Agency for Development (AFD), the British High Commission, DFID, GTZ of Germany and various UN agencies.
As I said in my last article, I do not usually write about governmental agencies, but the Social Fund for Development of the French Embassy to Kenya definitely deserved to be known for its good work. You can find their web site at:
Social Fund for Development of the French Embassy to Kenya
Vive la France!
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