(de Ware Tijd) NIEUW NICKERIE– The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has granted the Sari Foundation US$50,000 for beautification of the Courantyne beach in the District of Nickerie. The women’s organization has taken the initiative to drain a plot along the Courantyne River and make it more environmentally friendly. ‘Our plans call for this project to be realized within a year, making the site attractive to tourists,’ says Krishnawatie Bajnath, chair of Sari. The project will be carried out in four stages. The site will soon have benches and waste baskets, with flowers and trees for shades planted all over the place. Bajnath calls on people to contribute to the project by donating plants or flowers and by helping with the maintenance. The Ministry of Public works is officially in charge of the site, but Sari has been granted permission to create an environmentally friendly recreational resort. Boatmen of the so-called back track route say the site is regularly visited by scores of people. The project will enable others to earn a living. He is grateful for the UNDP grant. This is the first project by the Global Environment Facility/Small Grants Programme (GEF/SGP) Suriname in Nickerie, which makes it doubly special. Tanja Lieuw, national coordinator of GEF/SGP hopes that more projects for Nickerie can be submitted. The GEF/SGP is a special organization that gives financial and technical support to non-governmental and community based organizations for projects aimed at improving man’s wellbeing through specific environment projects.
