The St. Lucia Social Development Fund (SSDF) with a grant of approximately EC $6 Million from the European Union have started a project “ Poverty Reduction through Community Based Development Planning”. The project is designed to help 16 of the poorest communities in the rural areas in St. Lucia improve their standard of living. (How were these communities selected?)
The programme seeks to develop and implement community action plans which will aim to build community assets, strengthening human capital and organisational capacity in overcoming poverty.
St. Lucia Social Development Fund
The “POVERTY REDUCTION THROUGH COMMUNITY BASED DEVELOPMENT PLANNING” project is integrated in the permanent structure of the St. Lucia Social Development Fund (SSDF). The core mandate of SSDF is to facilitate the delivery of services, infrastructure, opportunities and access to resources to the indigent, poor and vulnerable populations and communities throughout the island.
In sum, the Executive Director, the Project Co-ordinator and key SSDF staff are integral to the overall project implementation and coordination. General oversight and policy guidance is provided by the SSDF Board of Directors.
Project Support Unit (PSU)
This unit is comprised of technical, projects, accounts and administrative officers of the Fund. In addition, a programme implementation team was established in collaboration with the Social Transformation Officers to foster meaningful synergies and linkages with the Ministry of Social Transformation. A total of 22 Programme Officers from the two agencies provide support towards the effective implementation of the SSDF/SFA 2006 programme within the 16 selected communities. effective implementation of the SSDF/SFA 2006 programme within the 16 selected communities.