ABOUT
Our Objectives
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Promote opportunities for civic engagement through community forums, social media, petitions, public demonstrations, and other activities
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Support anti-corruption reform initiatives to ensure government transparency and accountability
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Advocate for better laws that protect women and children from abuse or harm
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Educate and inspire the populous to push for improved conditions for victims of sexual violence
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Consult the government on particular matters that are vital to the security and welfare of its citizens
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Partner with other NGOs that share common goals
We tackle the hard subjects, educate on important issues and share information that will make citizens more aware of their rights.
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Our Pillars: Community Empowerment, Good Governance and Child Protection
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Community Empowerment
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We believe that we are stronger together. Some of our work has included youth development, a crime prevention town hall meeting, leading on-the-ground searches for missing elderly men and advocacy for equal rights.
Pathways
The 2017 Pathways Youth Empowerment Program ran for 10 weeks and taught the majority of male participants soft skills. The children heard from guest speakers, did athletic exercises, went on field trips and enjoyed lunch time breaks for the duration of the program. Pathways was funded by the Pan American Development Foundation (PADF) and was a partnership between Rise Bahamas and Lignum Vitae Centre of Hope.
Missing Elderly Men
In late 2014, two older men went missing in Nassau. One suffered from Alzheimer’s and the other Dementia. Their families began search efforts and Rise Bahamas joined to assist. We also lead efforts by bringing more media and social media coverage to the plight.
Activism & Advocacy
We encourage Bahamians to take a stand on issues that are important. In today's climate, social media is an integral part of supporting movements. It's time now that we reflect on those that came before us. We seek to emulate their actions that brought about change on a national level.
Good Governance
We believe in leadership that works for the people; where their rights are respected and democracy is deepened.
Democracy is based on the idea that everyone should have equal rights and be allowed to participate in making important decisions. (Source: reference.com).
Anti-corruption initiatives are high on our agenda because they ensure accountability to the Bahamian people. For example, some Parliamentarians have breached the Public Disclosure Act. As a result, in 2014, Rise Bahamas requested an anti-corruption investigation that was conducted by the Organization of American States (OAS). This resulted in an investigation of The Bahamas government, which resulted in the release of a report and recommendations.
Our 2022 focus surrounds the implementation of Local Government in New Providence. The campaign is called, "Imagine Local Government".
Child Protection
"There can be no keener revelation of a society's soul than the way in which it treats its children."
- Nelson Mandela
We believe that we must speak out for our most vulnerable population - the children. Young Marco Archer's brutal murder in 2011 caused an unprecedented public outcry. In 2013, parliamentarians passed "Marco’s Law" calling for a missing child alert system and sex offender registry. From the beginning, Rise Bahamas lobbied for the implementation of Marco’s Alert - the missing child notification system and sex offender registry. Almost a decade later, Marco's Law has not yet come into effect apart from testing the Alert system via mobile carriers. There are many components to the required communication systems. For years prior, we have done our best to post missing children posters via social media.
