The Open Society Initiative for West Africa has met with 17 of its 21 partner organisations in Sierra Leone, assuring them of the work of the organization in the country. They also got representatives from the OSIWA Guinea office.
The day-long meeting discussed procedures for applying for grant and receiving funding from OSIWA, emphasizing the need for transparency and accountability. There were also senior officials from the OSIWA headquarters in Dakar.
The partners include civil society and media organizations as well as Government institutions,
In her welcome remarks, the Programme Coordinator of the OSIWA Sierra Leone Office, Nancy Sesay lauded the partners for their turnout which she said was testament to the fact that they were enthusiastic and dedicated to “the wonderful work that you all are engaged in”.
She said the meeting was to “have direct engagement” with partner organizations and to “provide you with a clear understanding of our processes and procedures for effective reporting and meaningful impact of projects”.
The meeting also aimed at providing the “understanding of OSIWA’s strategic direction; and [to serve as] a platform to interact with other OSIWA partners with a view to learning about their work and finding ways of possible collaborations”.
She said the meeting was happening at a time when her organization was working on its strategic interventions for 2014-2017.
Head of OSIWA Country Office, Joe Hindovei Pemagbi took the meeting through the process of applying for and being selected for an OSIWA grant which he said was very transparent. He stressed that their partners included both state and no-state actors.
