The EFJ served has partnered with the Bernard van Leer Foundation on many occasions. They have co-funded grants and served as Fund Managers for their Inner City Child Support Project which closed out in July 2009. Direct beneficiaries under the project were 4,800 children ages 0-6 years in the 12 inner city communities of Bennett Land, Greenwich Town, Whitfield Town, Rose Town, Allman Town, Kingston Gardens, Fletcher’s Land, Swallowfield, Jones Town, Arnett Gardens, Tavern, and Cedar Valley.

The Environmental Foundation of Jamaica serves three major roles with the Global Environment Facility (GEF) Small Grants Programme (SGP) in Jamaica. Firstly, the SGP is implemented by the UNDP but the EFJ is contracted to serve as their National Hosting Institution (NHI) so they are housed in EFJ’s offices. This has made sharing of information and networks an easy process. Our second role is as a member of the National Steering Committee that oversees the local activities and grant awards of the Programme. This has also led to many successes, especially in our third area of partnership – that of co-funder of SGP grants. We have provided over US$250,000 in co-funding arrangements for SGP projects that also meet EFJ objectives. Projects have ranged from biodiversity management, to climate change awareness and community adaptation, to alternative energy demonstration. One such project is the establishment of a learning centre for renewable energy at the Caribbean Maritime Institute. The Global Environment Facility Small Grants Programme (GEF SGP) awarded the Jamaica Maritime Institute Trust Fund US$40,000 in grant funding and an additional US$10,000 in co-funding from the Environmental Foundation of Jamaica.

Funding assistance received from ELMA Philanthropies, through the Environmental Foundation of Jamaica, has allowed the Dudley Grant Memorial Trust (DGMT) to pioneer the way in recognizing the traumatic experiences that young Jamaican children face as a result of Hurricanes. Children in ECIs can be taught how to respond and cope with the trauma associated with Hurricanes. The role of the Resource Centres and the Education Officers in the dissemination of information on these coping skills was highlighted by participants both through the research process and at the end of the project’s workshop.

Through this project it is important to stress that parents are also crucial in the dissemination of information to their children. The DGMT and the McCam Centre envisions the continuation and expansion of this project involving the training of Trainers island wide so that all children in ECIs can be reached and not just those in the parishes identified by this project as being particularly vulnerable to the effects of hurricanes. This will ensure:

he EFJ is currently implementing a 2-year, US$400,000 from the Inter-American Foundation (IAF) to provide funding for grassroots groups undertaking projects in environmental and natural resource conservation and child survival and development. At least 14 sub grantees will receive up to $25,000 in IAF funding and between $25,000 and $75,000 in EFJ funding. This collaboration is expected to benefit 5,000 Jamaicans. The IAF is an independent agency of the United States government dedicated to improving the well-being and civic engagement of the organized poor in Latin America and the Caribbean. The IAF makes grants directly to grassroots groups throughout the region.

Through this project it is important to stress that parents are also crucial in the dissemination of information to their children. The DGMT and the McCam Centre envisions the continuation and expansion of this project involving the training of Trainers island wide so that all children in ECIs can be reached and not just those in the parishes identified by this project as being particularly vulnerable to the effects of hurricanes. This will ensure: