Wenceslaus Magun, founder of MAKATA, an NGO that protects and preserves leatherback turtles in Papua New Guinea is among 32 participants attending a financial management training in Eastern Highlands Province.
The training in Goroka is for recipients of grants from the USAID PNG Lukautim Graun Program (LGP).
Through the USAID’s LGP program, grants are provided enabling NGO partners to conduct activities on the ground strengthening the biodiversity conservation, women’s economic empowerment, local governance and livelihoods in PNG.
Mr. Magun is aware of the difficulties that NGOs like his face regarding funding support for their biodiversity and conservation work and was grateful to USAID for the opportunity to learn how to help his NGO be successful in applying for and managing grant funding.
He said, “I see this training as a positive gain as I will go back and build the capacities of the communities that I work with. I am not here only learn how to comply with the guidelines of my grant from USAID’s Lukautim Graun Program, but build my capacity for the long-term. I can use this knowledge to run my organization or build the capacity of the other community-based organizations (CBOs) working with Makata.”
Grants Manager for USAID’s LGP, Junne Cosmas, said the aim of LGP’s financial management training was to build the capacities of organizations and empower them to apply for and manage well the grants provided by LGP and other international development partners.
“As part of the grant awarding process, the USAID LGP team assesses the financial capacity of each grant applicant and conducts risk assessments related to their internal systems of management. Then we work collaboratively to provide training and support that addresses specific capacity gaps identified,” she explained.
According to Ms. Cosmas, LGP grant applications from each organization are assessed based on the amount each organization can effectively manage, this way, they match grant amounts to the capacity of each recipient and avoid overloading them whilst also building their capacity to manage larger grants in the future.
Cardno International Development leads USAID’s LGP program in partnership with Care International, The Nature Conservancy, the PNG Tree Kangaroo Conservation Program, the Wildlife Conservation Society, and the Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle Washington.
