The United Nations Trust Fund’s Small Grants Programme has been providing funding for organizations working for indigenous communities around world for last six years under the Second International Decade of the World’s Indigenous Peoples. The fund is accepting provide between 1 August and 1 October to provide grants to organizations to implement projects benefiting indigenous peoples in the areas of health and education.
Before applying to this funding opportunity, it will be interesting to quickly review previously funded projects under this grant. Here we are taking into consideration the some of the projects funded by the Small Grants Programme during the last three years. Such projects will also give ideas for developing new projects to apply under this programme.
In 2010, FAIRA received funding for the ‘Pacific regional committee for promotion and coordination of the Second Decade of the World’s Indigenous Peoples.’ The Second Decade is a significant effort of the UN to increase awareness about the rights and issues and indigenous communities. Therefore, if your project has a good understanding of it, you can clearly relate it to the activities you will propose under the fund.
Youths in indigenous communities are a potential source for bringing about the desired change. If you develop a project focusing on them, then you can expect support for your proposal. The Cambodian IYLD had a similar project called ‘Indigenous youth led development in Ratanakiri.’
Ghana’s IF implemented the ‘Girl-child educational rights and domestic violence sensitization project of Bawjiase and its environs’ which is also a good idea if you are seeking to address any gender-based issues of your indigenous community.
CCD in Bangladesh was given grant in 2011 for the project on ‘Raising Indigenous Voice through Media.’ If the marginalization of indigenous community is high, the media can be a right outlet to begin with. A project of this nature where you involve the media to raise the unheard voices of the indigenous community can be proposed under this grant.
There is so much going on about climate change issues. A combination of climate change and education of indigenous community can help improve and sustain the enviornment. UN Trust Fund supported a similar project on Climate change education to Maasai communities in Kilosa district Morogoro in Tanzania.
A similar project was also supported by the fund in 2012 in the Republic of Vanuatu called the ‘Coral Eating Starfish To Compost; Sustainable Climate Change Adaptation Project.’
