Monthly Report: September 2016 - USAID/JAMAICA COMMUNITY EMPOWERMENT AND TRANSFORMATION PROJECT - PHASE II (COMET II)

Sixteen grants were awarded to community-based organizations, with 14 being social enterprise/sustainable livelihood grants and 7 being community resource center grants. The remaining two grants were awarded to the Dispute Resolution Foundation and Netball Foundation Jamaica. The COMET II grants portfolio continued to deliver small grants to community-based organizations, with 23 grants currently in the implementation phase. The Kitson Town Community Development Committee made strong progress on its community resource center, with containers installed on the site and preparation work underway. The Cambridge community resource center site faced delays due to rain and flooding, but it is expected that the containers will be installed in early October. The COMET II technical team visited with community development committees in Brixton Hill, Osbourne Store, and Race Course to outline the community's portion of the community resource center construction. The team also conducted site visits to Good Hope Partners, East Kingston Society, Mighty Sculptures, Rockfort Football Club, and Steppers Marching Band to monitor progress. Enos Barrett Disabled Group and Mount Carey Citizen Association applications are currently in the pre-award phase, pending approval of the grant awards. The grant award for the community resource center for the Linstead Community Development Committee was approved in March but is currently on hold pending the committee's selection of an alternative site. The grant award for the community resource center for the Kintyre Citizen Association Ltd. has been approved but is currently on hold pending permission from the National Land Agency. Capacity building and governance training were provided to community-based organizations and community development committees. Meetings were held across the parishes in conjunction with the Social Development Commission to inform COMET II's Year Four Work Plan. Community coordinators continued to participate in community development committee meetings and other activities to build partnerships and meet community needs. Youth empowerment was also a focus of the project, with meetings held with the Caribbean Maritime Institute and National Housing Trust to identify and outline workforce development programs. Under this partnership, youth from across COMET II communities will enroll in certifiable trainings, including mechanical maintenance, call center operations, and solar panel maintenance and repair. The Operation Clean Sweep Project, a subcontract to Idea Factor, began in September 2016 and will continue through July 2017. The project will challenge communities to design and implement a polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottle collection system for their communities. Two workshops were held in September for communities in Kingston and St. Andrew, with a total of 214 persons receiving six hours of training on the impact, effect, and business of plastic bottle recycling. Presentations were made on a range of information, including the health effects of plastics, the business of recycling, and net zero energy building techniques.