Socio-Economic Inclusion of Refugee via Livelihoods and Community-Cultural Initiatives

"I advocate and appreciate the collaboration between RECE and my congregation because of the team led of the initiative (Emmanuel SEVIDZEM), who have voluntarily served with us and other congregation during our mission to provide humanitarian aids to Cameroonian refugees in Nigeria"

- Sr. Mary N. - Franciscan Sister

The project is implemented by the Refugee Empowerment Centre (RECE) in Nigeria. It began in 2020 and is currently ongoing.

Refugees are often confused and even frustrated as they found themselves into new communities with different policies and cultures that hinders their community integration through self-sustainable economic activities.

The project aims to empower refugees and provide them access to resources and services using holistic approaches.

Main activities of the Good Practice

1. Skill Empowerment with Vocational Guidance and Counseling Support Service
2. Mutual Cooperative Services with Financial Education Support Service
3. Capacity Building with Community Development Support Services
4. ICT Hub with Digital Resource Support Service like Online School for Refugees etc.
5. Emergency and Care Unit with Housing, Startup Kits, Health Screening, Counseling etc.

Elements which helped facilitate the implementation of the good practice

Global Compact on Refugee policy.

Partners involved

• Tertiary Sisters of St. Francis
• Chambers Family World Resource US

What challenges were encountered in delivering the project and how were they overcome?

Challenges

As a refugee-led-initiatives, we are having great challenge in legalising the initiative into a non-profit organisation; also, we are have difficulties in finding potential sponsors; very very little from stakeholders involved in refugees affairs; another great challenge is that of management budget and professional personnel.

How they were overcome

We do market our refugee made products from our beads making, tailoring, bag making department to sustain the initiative. Our ICT Hub and beauty-cosmetic departments equally offer low services to the public to raise funds in sustaining the initiative.

Results of the Good Practice

Despite all the challenges we are still the only and leading refugee-led-initiative providing livelihood and community-cultural integration of refugees in this local government in Taraba State of Nigeria as:

• Hundred of benefited from our Saving/Loan scheme for their small businesses
• Many have skills and are now operating their small businesses
• Commune activities like refugee-community cleanup and sporting activities have help to build a cordial relation between host and refugee communities

In what way does the good practice meet one or more of the four objectives of the Global Compact on Refugees?

Objective 1: Ease the pressures on host countries

We empower refugees with skills and ability to become self-reliant offering/marketing their services and / or products.

Objective 2: Enhance refugee self-reliance

We not only trained and support them with startup kits; we equally open up placement opportunities to refugees in person and online, ensuring them to be self-reliance.

"I remember when I was notified and invited for the first initiative by some of these refugees in supporting their mates who are into small business... I look at it as a child's play, but today I see standardized operations in their broad activities bases on holistic approach"

- Isreal N. - Desk Officer, LEMA - Sard.LGA

Next steps

We urgently need to register the initiative as legal entity under non-profit organisations; these might help us secure potential sponsors/donors to help us move forward with our initiative as well as extending to other communities.

Are there areas in which support would be required to continue and/or scale up your good practice?

YES, our concept is 50% as funds and global collaboration is needed to help us move forward.