West Africa Civil Society Institute (WACSI), in partnership with TechSoup, has initiated a support project for nonprofits operating in seven member countries.

WACSI said the project was initiated to assist CSOs in Ghana, Liberia, Nigeria, Cameroon, Sierra Leone, Benin and The Gambia struggling to operate amidst the Covid-19 pandemic.

According to WACSI, 102 laptops will be donated to 40 CSOs operating in the seven countries.

The regional body of CSOs said the project was initiated after a study revealed that several CSOs in the aforementioned countries had greatly been hit by the pandemic.

Many CSOs in Africa are facing a critical threat from the Covid-19 pandemic due to lack of funding as they have been forced to downsise and lay off staff at a time when the work of nonprofits have become critical.

‘Several organisations admitted that they have some capacity challenges that impede their effective use of technology’, WACSI said in a statement.

The hardware donation initiative is a significant step in the process of supporting CSOs  across West Africa to bridge existing technology gaps, according to the statement.

‘The deficit in technology equipment, especially computers, is a major obstacle to the capacity of organisations in delivering their social impact mission due to limited funds and conflicting budget priorities’, the statement added.

Head, Monitoring and Evaluation Unit at WACSI, Franck Sombo, said, ‘The TechSoup technology donation programme is a much welcome progamme that has helped to alleviate the burden from civil society in the region’.

The body encouraged CSOs in West African countries to register with TechSoup and the West Africa CSOs E-Directory to benefit from intervention projects.

Source: WACSI

Photo source: WACSI