Ambassador's Self-Help

Students of PMWDO's Out-of-School Program

Wardi Staff Surveying the Line of Patients

About the Ambassador’s Special Self-Help Fund

 The Ambassador’s Special Self-Help Fund (SSHF) for Somalia provides small grants to self-help groups, community based organizations, and specific types of educational institutions and medical facilities.  Its objective is to assist groups in the development of projects that improve living conditions in their communities.  This Fund will not support the start of a project or activity, but may fund the expansion of an existing project.  Projects supported by this Fund are expected to be completed and serving the community within one year.  Only projects that have strong community involvement and significant community benefit, and produce ongoing, self-sustaining activities are eligible for funding.  The Ambassador’s SSHF entertains proposals in the range of $1,000 to $10,000, however the average grant awarded is $3,000 to $7,000.  Requests within this range that support income-generating activities and vocational training for youth will receive priority.

Applying for the Ambassador’s SSHF

The Somalia Unit’s SSHF Office located at US Embassy Nairobi accepts applications on a rolling-basis.  Please send an email to SSHFSomalia@state.gov to receive application materials and guidelines.  Only proposals submitted on the official application form will be considered.

Grantees for Fiscal Year 2011

The Center for Peace and Democracy (CPD) will use Ambassador’s Special Self Help funds to purchase medical equipment for the Adado District Hospital in Galgadud which currently faces an acute shortage of basic medical equipment in its key departments such as the laboratory, theatre, X-ray, and maternity wards, hampering the delivery of quality and live-saving health services. 

The Galkayo Educational Center for Peace and Development (GECPD) successfully runs a vocational training skills center in Galkayo that serves both the Galmuduug and Puntland regions.  It will use Ambassador’s Special Self Help funds to expand the provision of carpentry and metal fabrication skills training to orphaned, poor, internally displaced, and vulnerable youth.

The KALSAN Voluntary Organization for Women will use Ambassador’s Special Self Help funds to stand up a community bakery in Mogadishu and equip 45 youth with cookery/bakery skills, thereby enabling them to be self-reliant and to increase their employment opportunities.

The Marginalized Communities Advocates (MCA) will use Ambassador’s Special Self Help funds to conduct an entrepreneurship training workshop and set up a bakery for 30 youth from internally displaced persons (IDP) camps in Bossaso, Puntland. 

The Puntland Youth Peer Educational Network will use Ambassador’s Special Self Help funds to improve sanitation in three IDP camps in Garowe, Puntland by establishing a sustainable waste management system, thereby reducing the incidence of hygiene related diseases.

The Social-Life and Agricultural Development Organization (SADO) will use Ambassador’s Special Self Help funds to expand the operations of 15 women self-help groups in Abudwak, Galgadud involved in baking, tailoring, and cereal milling.   

The Following Are Not Currently Considered for Funding

• Construction of a building, or remodeling or renovation of an existing building
• Purchase or rental of land or buildings
• Administrative, recurrent, or operational costs
• Revolving loans or “start-up” capital
• Fees or salaries, including those for training, seminars, travel costs, or per diems
• Religious, cultural, or recreational activities
• Meetings, training, information campaigns, 1-off activities
• Electrification, generators, or motor vehicles
• Office furniture, equipment, or supplies
• Electronics, including phones, computers, printers, photocopiers, and fax machines
• Textbooks, uniforms, school fees, sports or lab equipment
• Food, clothing, medicine, drugs, seeds, or any type of consumable goods or commodities
• Any chemicals, including fertilizer, pesticides, fungicides, and herbicides
• Small implements that are easily broken, stolen, or privatized
• Livestock or poultry