SINT MAARTEN (PHILIPSBURG) - In the week of May 16 R4CR will organize the next round of information sessions for civil society organizations (CSOs) about obtaining grants through the R4CR program.

Officially called “Resources for Community Resilience” the R4CR program includes a grant scheme as funding mechanism for community and social rehabilitation initiatives on Sint Maarten and focuses on improving the capacity of local CSOs in reconstruction and resilience activities post hurricane Irma. Project activities by locally registered CSOs that are eligible for funding can cover subject areas such as neighborhood initiatives, sports, nature/environment, culture, poverty relief, day care centers/after school programs, youth employment, skills development, psycho-social support or preventing gender-based violence.

The upcoming information sessions will mark the fourth time that R4CR is organizing such gatherings to kick off the official call for project proposals. Since the launch of R4CR in 2020 the program has supported 35 small scale projects, disbursed or committed approximately US$ 1.7 million to local CSOs and provided free training to strengthen the capacity of local foundations.

On Monday, May 16, Tuesday, May 17th and Wednesday May 18th face-to-face sessions will be held at the R4CR office (Illidge Road 60 – the former WIB branch office) from 6:30-8:00 PM.

On Thursday, May 19th a ‘Zoom’ video session will be organized for those who were unable to attend the sessions in person. The time for this online session is from 6:00-7:00 PM.

Online registrations are required due to limited seating (max 16 persons per session) for the in-person sessions. Interested CSOs can register online by clicking the following link: https://bit.ly/R4CR-Registration-Info-Sessions

The link for the online Zoom session will be sent after registration.

The R4CR program is financed by the Government of the Netherlands via the Sint Maarten Trust Fund. The latter is administered by the World Bank and implemented by the NRPB (National Recovery Program Bureau). The R4CR program is locally managed by the VNGI (International Cooperation Agency of the Association of Netherlands Municipalities) in close cooperation with Foresee Foundation and other local partners.

For more information about the R4CR program or an overview of all current projects please visit www.r4cr.org or the Facebook page (R4CRSXM).

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