The U.S. ambassador, Thomas N. Hull, last Friday signed agreements with five Sierra Leonean organizations that were selected to receive the 2007 Democracy and Human Rights programme funding totaling 75,000 U.S. dollars or 225 million Leones.
The Democracy and Human Rights Fund (DHRF), which is provided by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), is a mechanism to support and strengthen democratic institutions and civil societies, as well as to adopt and adhere to democratic values and practices in African countries.
Organizations selected to receive 2007 DHRF programme funding included Community Action for Community Development Programmes, the Sierra Leone Court Monitoring Programme, Prison Watch – Sierra Leone, Youth Crime Watch – Sierra Leone, and the Male Association for Gender Equality (MAGE-SIERRA LEONE).
All the projects were selected based on their activities to support change in democratic institutions and promote political pluralism and human and civil rights.