KINGSTON, Jamaica (JIS) — The European Union (EU) has provided $68 million (€500,000) in grant funding support towards the two-year Civil Society Boost Initiative (CSBI) being implemented by RISE Life Management Services.

The project aims to increase the capacity of Jamaican civil society organisations (CSOs)/non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to operate effectively and improve service delivery to their target populations.

The initiative was officially launched on Wednesday during a ceremony held at the Jamaica Conference Centre in downtown Kingston.

Among the initiative’s offerings is an intensive training programme for 10 selected CSOs/NGOs, as well as the administration of a $10-million mini grants programme to CSOs for project implementation.

Beneficiary agencies of the two-year project include those serving women; children; at-risk youth; the disabled; persons living with HIV and the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community; and those involved in environment and climate-change engagements.

Other interventions include the establishment of a CSO Network through collective impact, and the establishment of social enterprise initiatives.

Head of the European Union (EU) Delegation in Jamaica, Ambassador Malgorzata Wasilewska, addressing the launch of  the EU-funded Civil Society Boost Initiative (CSBI) on Wednesday at the Jamaica Conference Centre in downtown Kingston. At right is Executive Director of RISE Life Management Services, which is spearheading the initiative, Sonita Morin Abrahams.