Applications for US Ambassador’s Special Self-Help Grants are open   |03 September 2021

Non-governmental organisations in Seychelles seeking funding of up to US $6,700 (approx. R86,000) from the US Ambassador’s Special Self-Help grants are being invited to submit their project proposals by Thursday September 9, 2021, the US embassy based in Port Louis, Mauritius  announced yesterday.

The application form can be found on the US embassy’s website at https://mu.usembassy.gov/education-culture/the-ambassadors-special-self-help-ssh-program/. All project proposals and required documents must be submitted by email to PortlouisSelfHelp@state.gov

The US embassy plans to award US $30,000 toward projects in Mauritius and US $20,000 toward projects in Seychelles under the programme this year.

The Ambassador’s Special Self-Help Programme is a grassroots assistance initiative that allows US embassies to respond to the needs of small, community-based development projects every year. The programme promotes self-reliance through community action and aims to support projects that positively impacts communities.

Last year, the US embassy awarded grants totalling US $30,000 (approximately MUR1.3 million) to five NGOs in Mauritius and US $20,000 (approximately R220, 000) to four NGOs in Seychelles.

The five beneficiaries in Mauritius for 2020 were A.I.L.ES., Association des Malades et Handicappés de l’Est, Association Social et Culturel de Rivière Noire, Nature Yetu, and Rotary Club of Phoenix.

The four NGOs that received funding in Seychelles in 2020 were Nature Seychelles, Soroptimist International Club of Victoria, International Friendship League, Seychelles’ Alzheimer's Foundation.

The US embassy in Port Louis has been providing continuous funding to groups in Mauritius, Rodrigues, and Seychelles through the Ambassador’s Special Self-Help Programme for the last 15 years.

Press release from the US embassy Mauritius and Seychelles