Congolese refugees making school uniforms for refugee children in Kiziba camp in Rwanda.

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UNHCR’s livelihood programmes aim to enable refugees and

other people of concern to build the human, financial and oth-

er capital that will help them find durable solutions to their

displacement situation. Livelihood initiatives have increased

substantially in recent years: the global budget for livelihoods

programming rose by more than 25 per cent from 2011 to 2012, when almost

USD 60 million was allocated for livelihood activities. Nevertheless, ow-

ing to funding shortfalls, many field operations have had to make difficult

choices and give priority to responding to critical needs rather than invest-

ing in self-reliance for the future.

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COUNTRY SUPPORT

In 2012, UNHCR focused its live-lihoods strategies on promoting access to employment and busi-ness opportunities, moving away from interventions that were not

showing progress in generating house-hold income. Socio-economic assess-ments and multi-year programmes in Ecuador, Egypt, Ethiopia, the Islamic Republic of Iran, Kenya and Mali im-proved livelihood planning in these op-erations. Particular attention was given to developing livelihood programmes for urban areas and host communities. With the support of Headquarters and regional hubs, a number of operations took initiatives to enhance livelihood programming:

In Nairobi, livelihood interventions, based on a comprehensive household economy assessment, targeted urban refugees.

In Sudan, a mission was deployed to the eastern part of the country with the goal of designing a three-year self-reliance strategy for long-staying refugees.

In Dollo Ado, Ethiopia, a multi-secto-ral mission helped develop a three-year livelihood strategy to comprehensively address the extensive needs of Somali refugees in the five camps in the area.

UNHCR’s strategy to phase out its op-erations in Cambodia and hand over activities to other actors emphasized the importance of self-reliance pro-grammes for refugees remaining in the country.

The livelihoods strategy in India was revised to reflect the positive shift in national policy providing refugees with the right to work.

UNHCR conducted livelihood as-sessments for urban refugees in Cameroon, Ecuador and Eritrea.

UNHCR participated in the Yemen Joint Social and Economic Assessment (JSEA) led by the European Union. The assessment took stock of the livelihood situation for both IDPs and refugees.

In the Americas, access to gainful employment and sustainable housing are the main challenges facing refugee populations who are trying to integrate in urban areas. Countries in the region have been seeking solutions to address these issues. An example is a project for small businesses in Esmeraldas, Ecuador, which helped launch a tailoring coop-erative owned by seven women (both nationals and refugees). This project provided employment for many women from the refugee and local communities.

Social media and the internet were utilized to promote and share best prac-tices from the Americas in the design, implementation and monitoring of innovative and effective self-reliance schemes. The regional database on best practices in urban settings (http://live-lihoods.acnur.org) was expanded and translated into English, resulting in an average of 300 hits a month.

In Mali, UNHCR initiated a livelihood programme to help Mauritanian refugees cope better with life in the Sahel, given the deteriorating economic and environ-mental conditions. Projects were aimed at strengthening livestock rearing, de-veloping community groups, providing literacy training for adults and promoting primary education.

• Investing in the future

E lvira, 54, is a Liberian refugee who has worked as a teacher for many years in Nigeria. She now runs a private kinder-

garten and primary school in one of the suburbs of Lagos. The school is situated in a small rented building and is attended by 192 children. It has basic classroom equipment and employs 14 staff. Elvira received a cash grant of USD 500 from UNHCR, which she used to pay back-owed rent and buy some plastic chairs and a few benches.

Each student pays USD 15 per term, which helps Elvira cover salaries and the cost of rent. However, she struggles to break even. “To make parents pay the school fees is a tug of war,” she says. As

the school is not fully certifi ed, Elvira has negotiated with the Ministry of Educa-tion for students to take exams at a local school nearby. She would like to expand the number of students and get access to land on which to build her own school building. However, without meeting the requirements for full certifi cation, including equipment, fans and computers, the task will not be easy.

Elvira operates a personal account in a local bank and has deposited an initial amount of USD 30. If given the possibi-lity, she would take up a business loan. She does not receive remittances from outside Nigeria and hopes to receive more fi nancial support from UNHCR for her school.

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50 UNHCR Global Report 2012

ASSESSING LIVELIHOOD OPPORTUNITIES

UNHCR conducted nine comprehensive livelihood assessments in 2012 that yield-ed a number of critical lessons, such as:

Forcibly displaced populations can achieve some level of self-reliance if they are supported over a sustained period of time. Livelihoods are dependent on a complex mix of an individual’s assets, capabilities and activities, and are con-stantly influenced by social, economic, political and cultural factors. This com-plexity has to be accounted for in the de-sign of livelihood programmes.

Competition for scarce livelihood opportunities often creates tensions between local and displaced popula-tions and discourages investment. This could affect the labour market, increasing the price of staple foods and forcing the communities concerned to sell some of their assets. Addressing poverty in this context requires long-term interventions and investment in development.

The assets that refugees can rely on, such as their skills, financial capital and physical health, are critical in wid-ening opportunities for access to safe and productive work. In many cases, however, these assets are either in-sufficient from the start or have been eroded by years of displacement.

The legal and political environment in host countries often hinders refugees’ right to achieve self-reliance. In some cases, refugees and asylum-seekers are formally excluded from the labour market and denied access to education-al and health services. Consequently, many refugees are exposed to various forms of economic exploitation.

In spite of restrictions, refugees use many strategies to stay resilient and generate income, including undertak-ing daily labour in the informal work sector.

STRENGTHENING LIVELIHOOD PROGRAMMING CAPACITY

In 2 01 2 , U N HCR introduced the operational guidelines for live-lihood programmes to supplement the Practical Guide for the Use of Microfinance in UNHCR operations

and the Operational Guidance on Refugee Protection and Solutions in Urban Areas (accessed from http://unhcr.org/liveli-hoods). These guidelines will add great value to colleagues and partners in the field when conducting assessments, plan-ning livelihoods programmes, and devel-oping multi-year livelihoods strategies in the years to come. The Office has also developed a training-of-trainers manual on livelihoods, to be launched in 2013, to ensure increased capacity of UNHCR staff and partners. In Panama, a regional training programme on microfinance and coexistence was provided for 31 staff, resulting in better understanding of how to design and implement income-genera-tion interventions in urban settings and how to use programming tools and ap-proaches. Another series of workshops on livelihood capacity building was run for implementing partners and Government representatives in Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay.

A multi-year strategy being devel-oped in 2013 will direct future livelihood interventions. It will include measures to build the technical capacity of UNHCR staff and partners through training; the creation of a knowledge network; and new operational approaches, such as data out-sourcing. Evidence-based programming – built upon context-specific assessments of the population, market potential and partners – will underpin the strategy.

The Community Technology Access (CTA) programme, with 47 CTA centres in 25 countries, continues to provide ac-cess to computer skills, certified educa-tional courses, non-formal education, and language classes for schoolchildren, youth and adults. The programme will

Encouraging Self-Reliance

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establish a more effective link between education and livelihoods, taking into account recommendations from an in-ternal review conducted in five coun-tries with CTA centres. The objective of the next phase of the programme is to provide comprehensive, consolidated and country-specific solutions, including vocational training, employment oppor-tunities and business development.

UNHCR created a number of new posts in 2013 to boost livelihood inter-ventions, including in Chad, Egypt and Kenya, and one position at headquarters. However, in-house capacity is still limit-ed in relation to the needs, and UNHCR must rely upon a solid foundation of policy guidance and training to support the gradual strengthening and expansion of livelihoods programming. Meanwhile, a roster of livelihood consultants, up-dated in 2012, will ensure that capacity for short-term or long-term field deploy-ments is readily available.

PARTNERSHIPS TO PROMOTE LIVELIHOODS

Livelihood interventions for ref-ugee populations are complex, requiring close cooperation with partners and joint initia-tives. These include the private

sector, governments, academia, local NGOs and international organizations such as ILO, FAO, the Swiss Agency

• The Graduation model

UNHCR, the NGO Trickle Up and the Brac Develop-ment Institute (BDI) have devised an agreement

to support the “graduation model” in refugee operations. This model has been implemented in a dozen countries worldwide and aims to “graduate” people in rural or urban areas out of

poverty through a sequenced combina-tion of interventions that include grants, capacity-building and microfi nance. The agreement will be rolled out in 2013-2014. Trickle Up has worked with the Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP) to implement this model in India and has solid experience in poverty-re-duction programmes.

for Development and Cooperation, and the Norwegian and Danish Refugee Councils. Training and support for the implementation of guidelines have helped build the technical capacity of UNHCR and its partners to implement livelihood interventions. UNHCR also worked closely with partners in 2012 to consolidate good practices, identify new operational approaches and initiate effec-tive monitoring and evaluation.

In partnership with Oxford University, UNHCR conducted a study in Kampala, Uganda, with a focus on livelihoods, self-reliance and the role of the private sector. The results of the assessment will feed into a survey that will capture data to help demonstrate the value of a specific monitoring and evaluation methodology for UNHCR’s livelihood programmes.

An agreement was reached with ILO on the loan of a microfinance specialist to support UNHCR on a regular basis, helping to ensure the availability of technical knowledge in the area of mi-crofinance programming and improved guidance on partner selection.

UNHCR’s partnership with the Women’s Refugee Commission (WRC) continues to grow. UNHCR and WRC collaborated on a number of workshops to present and disseminate the find-ings of urban livelihood assessments in Panama City, Nairobi and Cairo. These joint efforts allowed the two organiza-tions to share lessons learned and best practices that can be replicated in other operations.

The findings of four joint evalua-tions with WFP in Bangladesh, Chad, Ethiopia and Rwanda on the impact of food assistance in protracted refugee situations point to the need to reinforce the promotion of self-reliance through a multi-stakeholder approach.

In-house, the UNHCR Innovation Team joined forces with the Livelihoods Unit to help identify and develop solu-tions across all operations. This included examining ways in which partnerships with the private sector could help create livelihood opportunities and assist in monitoring and evaluating livelihood initiatives.

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52 UNHCR Global Report 2012

MAKING IT AGAINST ALL ODDS IN SOUTH AFRICA

UNHCR PRETORIA

PRETORIA, DECEMBER 2012 | If anyone represents the possibility of making it against all odds among the refugees, then surely David from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Mersha from Ethiopia serve as perfect examples. Their stories serve to illuminate the notion that, every so often, those born into a desperate life with few, if any, advantages, can overcome their situation and through raw determination and self-belief achieve what others said was impossible.

Both these young men share a similar history of suffering persecution in their respective countries then being forced to flee for their safety. They found themselves in a foreign land in South Africa in search for a better future and a safe place to live.

Born in a family of seven, David, 24, is from Kivu in eastern DRC and has a story that is filled with adversity, perseverance and hope. His parents and siblings were killed when he was just eight years old during a war that broke out in their village. All alone, he was taken in and raised by his school teacher.

The political situation in his country forced him to flee as his life was

at risk because he had now joined an opposing political party during the 2011 elections…. “I feared for my life and l knew l had to leave the country fast” said David. He fled to Burundi, then Tanzania, but still did not feel safe there and continued running as far away from his country as possible until he reached South Africa in June 2012.

Mersha, 27, was brought up by a single mother in Addis Ababa. Life was never easy for him as he had to assist his mother to fend for the family… In 2009 during the elections he was arrested for being a supporter of an opposition party. His mother was also arrested and tortured by police because of his activism in politics. He fled to South Africa in June 2010.

As refugees in South Africa, David and Mersha have been faced with many challenges, from being arrested by police, going hungry for lack of food, to shortage of accomodation. For David, it was a tough journey since he knew no one in South Africa and had to find ways to survive. He found himself in trouble with the law for not possessing proper documents upon entry to South Africa. He was arrested at the border and was taken to a centre for detention of undocumented migrants just outside Johannesburg

for six months until he was assisted by Lawyers for Human Rights to obtain documents. He did not have a proper place to stay, no clothes, food or anything to call his own. “I still had hope and dreams that l was going to pull through”, he recalls.

He was referred to UNHCR’s partner organization, Refugee Aid Organisation (RAO), which assisted him with three months accommodation and food. According to David, this was the first time he ever had decent accommodation in a very long time.

He was also referred to Jesuit Refugee Services (JRS), another partner of UNHCR, and was then able to attend business classes. He completed his classes successfully, and received a grant to begin selling women’s hair products in November 2012. These grants were made possible in large part thanks to a contribution UNHCR received from the Government of Brazil aimed at improving the livelihoods of refugees and asylum-seekers in South Africa.

Mersha was also faced with a terrible situation. Having reached South Africa, after a disagreement with his initial host family, he was left homeless on the streets of Pretoria. While on the streets, he did not eat properly and suffered

greatly during the cold winter nights. At one point, he tells how he was nearly killed by a group of men who attacked him. The incident left him severely traumatized. He sought support from his church, and the Bishop there referred him to JRS and RAO.

RAO provided him with food and accommodation and assisted him to get counselling…. He also attended the JRS business classes. In December 2012, he obtained his grant and started running his small business, selling women’s accessories and other small items in order to make a decent living. “JRS and RAO, pushed me and encouraged me to be what l am today,” said Mersha.

Both David and Mersha are now running successful small businesses despite everything that they have been through. Now, life seems to be looking much brighter for them compared to the past. Mersha says he owes his cheerfulness to hope for a dignified life as he sees his small business growing. Mersha has recently opened another small shop where he is selling women’s hair products and wishes to grow even bigger. “UNHCR is changing our lives for better, it is good work they’re doing”, says Mersha, smiling as he sets out his merchandise in his shop.

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