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| Project Name: | Strengthening Civil Society in Lesotho (SCIL) |
| Project Description: |
In Lesotho, civil society is still a fledgling sector of society, largely uncoordinated and without a united focus. To date, Civil Society Organisations have focused largely on service-delivery, with some limited advocacy initiatives. However, despite the contributions to poverty alleviation through service delivery, CSOs have received little recognition from government for their role in this regard, and limited financial support. This, compounded with other socio-political factors, has resulted in a current situation of civil society and government operating in relative isolation of each other.
As Lesotho embarks on implementing its Poverty Reduction Strategy and a process of decentralization, it is an opportune time, and more essential than ever, for civil society to become actively engaged with government, serving as advocates for social justice and poverty alleviation. In order for this to happen, capacity building and strengthening on several levels within civil society organizations individually and as a part of a larger sector of society, needs to take place.
Building on CARE’ s global experience as well as within Africa in working both with government and civil society, the SCIL programme seeks to strengthen civil society organizations and networks in Lesotho with regard to their technical and managerial capacity; community development strategies; ability to network and collaborate; and skills in effective engagement and advocacy with government. The programme will achieve this through an innovative combination of capacity building approaches including training workshops, mentoring, cross-visits, and technical assistance, developed from civil society strengthening programmes in South Africa and elsewhere on the continent. SCIL will not only build initial management, community development, networking and advocacy skills through training, but most importantly, aims to support the practical application of these skills with support from a small-grants program coupled with continuing technical assistance from the project throughout the project life.
The SCIL programme will be implemented through a consortium lead by CARE Lesotho-South Africa and including the Catholic Commission for Social Concern, Justice and Peace and ActionAid International. |
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