Mama Cash has announced the Red Umbrella Fund – a global grantmaking collaborative launched this year to support movements and organisations fighting for sex workers’ health, human and labour rights and self-determination.
The Fund will provide opportunities and grants for sex worker-led organisations to strengthen their capacities, such as organisational development and management, programme development and implementation, resource mobilisation, advocacy and communication skills, and monitoring and evaluation.
The Red Umbrella Fund will provide grants to support four types of activities to sex worker-led organizations and initiatives (including to organizations that are registered or not registered in their country:
- Start up funds for informal groups to become legal entities;
- Multi-year, core funding ;
- Funds to support peer-led capacity building and exchanges;
- Emergency grants with capacity for immediate response.
It will also provide opportunities and grants for sex worker-led organizations to strengthen the capacity of grantee organizations stressing peer-to-peer mentoring in such areas as (but not limited to):
- Organizational development and management;
- Program development and implementation;
- Resource mobilization;
- Registration assistance;
- Advocacy and communications skills;
- Information dissemination;
- Monitoring and evaluation skills.
The Red Umbrella Fund has the specific mission to catalyse and raise new funding for sex-worker-led organisations and networks. The first-year grantmaking budget of the RUF is $700,000. The Red Umbrella Fund will provide start-up funding, multi-year and core funding, support for peer-led capacity-building and exchanges, and emergency grants to sex worker led organisations. Grant amounts will be between $5,000 and $50,000.
The deadline to submit proposals is 15 September 2012. For more information, visit this link.
I am Calixta Aquereburu HIV/Aids conselor from TOGO I woked with girls professinal sex wokers on a Project “Soeur à Soeurs” Sisters for Sisters. Our goal is to provid them with information for preventing STI and HIV transmission. More over we are trying to make them ovoid this practice by giving our Sisters job and income generating activities. This grant wil therfore enlarge our scope of work
In2006 up to2008,i initiated the formation of an informal group for CSW’s in petauke Zambia whose main purpose was to reduce CSW vulnerabilty in drinking places.This was done at a time when the level of HIV infection was too high and there was need to safe guard humanity thruogh prevention and mitigation. I mobilised 61potential CSWs out of which 30 lived strictly on sex trade and these became project members.I assisted them elect leaders among themselves and i coordinated the programs.A 5 day training was done in HIV/STIprevention,sexual reproductive health,and counselling and testing;we opened acondom distribution centre;did outreach along the high ways for truck drivers and other CSWs so that they practised safer sex and went for HIV testing.The project saw the transformation of the members who most of them opted to quit the trade and start other businesses,others got married whilst yet others went back to there original homes.However, the leaders of CSWs feel the girls on the road need assistancein terms of preventive measures.There is currently no initiative for CSWs in the town and are not protected in any way.Isold the idea of Mama Cash to them and they want to start the initiative with a bang so that they support themselves.
Now, inoder to avoid troubling myself, i seek to be guided whether such a group can be accepted?
Regards.
Pl send me more infiormation .I like to work with you
As the world continue to evolve into an equal playing field for all. I applaud your efforts in preserving human dignity and capacity of everyone to achieve their dreams in the global marketplace.
Regards,
Al Mina
Washington DC
Former US Peace Corps Volunteer
author:faceconomics
Hello
I work for The Aids Information & Support Centre (TASC) in Swaziland. we have previously conducted a study on Commercial Sex Workers in 2010. from the findings a lot needs to be done as CSWs continue to be a major culprit in HIV AIDS spread in the country. we saw a need to form support groups for the CSWs wher they will be strenghtened in HIV AIDS education, life skills in general, other income generation initiatives, human trafficking and many other issues. we are not a CSWs led organization as CSWs are not legal in SWAZILAND but they are out target population as they are the mõst at risk.
we therefore request your support in this project
Thank you