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SDN's Objectives

If communities in the Niger Delta are to fulfill their potential, healthy partnerships between themselves, government and oil majors that promote economic diversification and self empowerment are key. This is why SDN seeks to promote healthy community led productive partnerships that directly address the needs of the communities and at the same time lay a foundation for the recreation of the social license for the state. In order to ensure this is not just an isolated attempt SDN would like to develop a process of sharing experiences between communities in the Delta, with an emphasis on development successes and economic diversification issues.

SDN works in two pilot communities of the Niger Delta: Otuasega (Bayelsa state) and Erema (Rivers state) to:

• Improve community social cohesion

• Increase capacity of community social groups and institutions to take lead on own development initiatives.

• Improve channels of communication between community, government, oil majors and development NGO's

• Overcome community exhaustion with failed development attempts

• Increase understanding of community resource

• Increase awareness of self-help opportunities

SDN recognises the social and political challenges its work faces in the Niger Delta. This is why transparency, independence and openness with all partners are central to our work. If this platform is created then SDN expects a wide variety of deliverables to come from its community empowerment programme. This is not going to be easy and SDN is keen to hear from potential supporters or partners in developing this model further and remember SDN does not take money from oil companies.