The Canada Fund for Local Initiatives (CFLI) is a small project fund managed from the Canadian High Commission in Pretoria, and financed by the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA). CIDA Pretoria manages the CFLI in the following countries: Lesotho, Madagascar, Namibia and South Africa. The total allocation of funds for the CFLI in each of these countries is made on an annual basis.

The general objective of the CFLI is to fund development projects undertaken by local institutions, Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) and Community Based Organizations (CBOs). Funding is provided for expenditures of a non-recurring nature. Projects considered by the fund are well defined using the format provided in the Fund's guidelines. The amount allocated per project does not exceed CAD 50,000.00 or its value in local currency at time of contribution, however most projects are funded in the region of CAD 20,000 to CAD 30,000.

CFLI Priorities are consistent with CIDA's Priority Areas which are:

• Increasing Food Security
• Securing the Future of Children and Youth

In addition CFLI identifies the following as sectors of special interest:

• Democratic governance; human rights; service delivery to the poorest populations;
• Skills Development Areas that are of cross-cutting importance are:
• Equality between men and women;
• Environment

The funding year starts in April. Proposals are reviewed on a continuous basis, however funds are limited and therefore proposals of interest are more likely to obtain funding early in the funding year. The guidelines for proposals can be obtained electronically from the CFLI Fund Manager at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

In the following section some of the projects that have received funding in previous years from the Canada Fund for Local Initiatives are presented by country.

Organization: Department of Political Science, University of Pretoria
Project Title: Research Project on the Experiences of the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) and South African Police Service (SAPS) Female Peacekeepers

The project responds to debates on peacekeeping and peace building, which is that there has been a growing interest in matters relating to gender. Gender has come to inform discussions on, and strategies relating to the recruitment, training and deployment of peacekeepers. At the same time, policy frameworks advocated by a variety of international policy think-tanks have come to provide instructive guidelines in this regard.

South African practices too reflect the international concern with gender representivity. The study is based on the premise that gender has shaped South Africa's deployment to peace missions in Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in particular. Over the past two to three years cohorts of female peacekeepers have returned to base, however, little is known about their experiences in the field of peacekeeping. The study analyses how their knowledge and experiences can be utilized to inform policy. The final report has been completed and will be presented to the South African National Defence Force and the South African Police Services at a workshop.

Organization: Musina Legal Advice Office
Project Title: Migrants Rights Project

Musina Legal Advice Office (MLAO) is a non-governmental organization which is located in Musina Town, which is about 12 km from the Beitbridge Border Post between South Africa and Zimbabwe. The office services a community with a population of about + - 47 000 within the Greater Musina Municipality, including neighbouring home lands (former Venda) and the surrounding farms and urban dwellers. Ever since its establishment MLAO has interacted extensively with various local stakeholders and international organizations.

The expected results from the objectives identified in the project are to ensure that the migrants, primarily from Zimbabwe, integrate well into the community and that there will be no xenophobic tendencies amongst the people. Through the project the Musina Legal Advice Office anticipates that foreign nationals and migrants will be better informed as to what their rights and obligations are, in terms of the South African laws. Given that Migrants are having difficulty getting legal advice and assistance and also accessing government departments, in many ways, MLAO's intervention will address that particular gap.

In its endeavour to be relevant to the community, more especially the migrant community, MLAO attends to awareness raising campaigns, normally carried out at schools, farms and villages. This project will have a direct impact on migrants and displaced persons in the Musina Municipality and surrounding areas. It is anticipated that 900 minors, 435 women, and 475 men will benefit from direct services of this project. In directly services will also reach: 750 minors, 405 women, and 500 men.

Through the preparation and printing of awareness raising material, provision of legal advice and facilitating instrumental services such as housing, and transportation, foreign nationals passing through the Beitbridge Border post will be better informed of their rights. At the same time, members of the community are sensitized to the rights of foreign nationals in South Africa. In addition it will ensure that migrants integrate well into the community and that there are no xenophobic violence incidents within the Musina community. In addition direct services to foreign nationals will result in less difficulty in accessing government departments.

Organisation: Open Africa
Project Title: Development of the Kavango Tourism Route in Namibia

The objective of the project is to develop a rural tourism route consisting of small to medium sized tourism operators in the Kavango Region of Namibia. It is expected that all the tourism stakeholders in the area will be coordinated around a vision of common purpose of and that the route will assist giving these enterprises access to new travel markets. Beneficiaries are rural tourism entrepreneurs and community-based tourism projects and the people that they employ.

Website: www.openafrica.org

Organization: Bicycling Empowerment Network Namibia
Project Title: Rainbow Bicycle Shop

The Rainbow Bicycle Shop was established in September 2009 as an income generating activity in the town of Rehoboth, 80km south of Windhoek. The project was implemented by the Bicycling Empowerment Network Namibia (BEN Namibia) in partnership with Catholic AIDS Action (CAA), and funded by the Canada Fund for Local Initiatives (CFLI). The project is part of BEN Namibia's Bicycle Empowerment Centres (BEC) programme. A BEC is a 12m modified shipping container with about 350 second-hand bicycles, tools, spare parts, paint, roofing materials, and workbenches, delivered to a grassroots organisation and run as a community-based bicycle shop. Income is generated through sales and servicing of bicycles to the community and, after an initial donation of stock for the project's implementation, the bicycle workshop is responsible for meeting ongoing costs such as purchase of spare parts and bicycles for resale. Currently, the Rainbow Bicycle Shop employs five people, three of whom are women. They donated 30 bicycles from their initial stock to other volunteers working in the area, and also re-invest approximately 10% of their monthly profits to CAA's activities with volunteers and beneficiaries.

Website: www.benbikes.org.za/namibia/

Organization: G.R.O. Foundation Lesotho
Project Title: Capacity Building and Project Development

Global Relief Outreach Foundation Lesotho is registered as a local nonprofit organization within the Kingdom of Lesotho. Focused on poverty reduction, G.R.O. Lesotho's programs focus on livelihood building through social enterprise including economic empowerment, job creation, and career guidance.

The CFLI funded Capacity Building Project, in the Hlotse-Leribe district assisted the organization to:

• Provide employment and skills training to women artisans affected by HIV/AIDS and provided a capital investment to strengthen and expand their Collective
• Provide infrastructure development and training to a support group of Grandmothers operating a small scale poultry initiative with profits being used for community support
• Provide career guidance and support to thousands of high school students through a Career Fair and Career Guide book distributed nationally
• Hire and train program staff and the board to ensure local ownership and sustainability of programs and organization.

Website: www.grofoundation.org