Bog Walk leaders get proposal writing tips

BOG WALK, St Catherine:

TWENTY COMMUNITY leaders representing 10 districts in Bog Walk, St Catherine, were exposed to several components of project proposal writing recently.

The workshop, hosted by the Social Development Commission (SDC) Greater St Catherine branch, was facilitated by Baldvin McKenzie, field supervisor, and Deedan Codrington, community development officer for the Bog Walk area.

Codrington said several community-based organisations (CBOs) were unaware of the existence of various funding agencies and the assistance that could be garnered to uplift their communities.

"The workshop resulted from a community-based organisation's audit, which showed that several CBOs lacked resources which could be accessed through project funding," Codington told The Gleaner.

"So we took them through things like how to identify basic project ideas, objectives, beneficiaries ... . In addition to the project writing, we also conducted a stakeholders' analysis of the area, where we were able to identify some of the key businesses in Bog Walk, critical to the development of the area," explained Codrington.

Meanwhile, Althia Fuller, secretary of the Bog Walk Community Development Committee (BWCDC), told The Gleaner that the organisation welcomed the training held at Bog Walk High School, which was also part of SDC's mandate to build the capacity of community leaders.

"We are happy for the opportu-nity to learn about the different aspects of project writing, which the BWCDC will definitely have to do, as we seek funds to offset the costs of some of the projects we will be undertaking in 2011 and beyond," said Fuller.

The BWCDC was formed in 2003. It seeks to mobilise and empower residents of the development area, which includes districts such as Knollis, Lime Walk, West Prospect, Giblatore, Cameron and Lucky Valley, to contribute to their personal development, as well as the development of the wider community.

- Karen Sudu