BOOST, which stands for “Building Our Organization Sustainably and Technically,” provides these initiatives with training that covers everything their leaders need to know to run successful and sustainable projects, from how to design and evaluate their projects to how to write proposals that meet the expectations and requirements of donors. Some of the organizations also receive mini-grants and practical support while they implement their ideas after qualifying through a competitive process for mini-grants and practical support.
Since its launch in 2021, BOOST has helped strengthen the capacity of 37 CSOs and youth initiatives in three governorates: Aden, Lahj, and Abyan working in the fields of peacebuilding, the environment, and history preservation. Fourteen organizations have additionally qualified for mini-grants and support that have made it possible for them to directly benefit approximately 3,000 individuals through activities that have improved livelihoods, provided education and training, and empowered women.
The Basma Insaniya Initiative in Abyan, for example, has implemented the Maraya Al-Salam project, which is empowering women living in displacement camps that lack basic resources by teaching them how to build solar ovens instead of conventional ovens that consume costly and polluting fuels, providing them with a free, safe, and sustainable alternative as well as helping them to earn a living and support themselves and their families.
Also in Abyan, a largely rural area dependent on cattle as a source of income, the Al-Baraka Women’s Association has used its mini-grant to implement the Selal Project, an eco-friendly initiative that set out to educate the community about the environmental impact of plastic bags by conducting awareness sessions in several villages. It also promoted the creation and use of cloth shopping bags and other items to reduce the use of plastic bags, which are harmful to humans, animals, and marine life. The project additionally seeks to facilitate their access to markets that can acquire their products and thereby improve their living standards.
Other efforts that are benefiting from BOOST’s support seek to empower youth and displaced people by helping them to develop skills and resources that are a lifeline to people in need, as well as psychological care to help them cope with the losses caused by the war. A few of the projects also helped repair areas damaged by warfare.
