Through grant funding and resources, we help refugees to achieve the change and impact they want for their communities. The majority of refugees in camps are there for decades with limited rights and freedoms or opportunities to manage their own affairs. We provide $1,000 to $10,000 to promising early-stage refugee ideas, projects, and organizations. In 2021, we are partnering with refugee initiatives in southern Chad and Malawi.
The global refugee response is entrenched in a 'top-down' system that views and treats refugees merely as recipients of aid and beneficiaries instead of problem-solvers, contributors, and leaders. Less than 0.1% of support for refugees goes to refugee-led organizations, missing a critical opportunity to invest in and build upon the resources, talents, and initiatives of refugees and help them achieve what they want for themselves and their communities, where they are.
With resources and partnership, refugees can achieve their potential and address their communities' needs and opportunities. Our team identifies promising early-stage refugee initiatives and organizations in refugee camps in sub-Saharan Africa and provides grants and resources to achieve their own goals and impact. Refugee initiatives we select can potentially impact hundreds of refugees in their community through their health, education, economic, environmental, and human rights projects.
Investing in refugee-led initiatives immediately eliminates the high administrative costs incurred by larger NGOs and builds upon local ingenuity, innovation, and practical knowledge. With direct grants, refugees benefit from the process as well as the outcomes. Refugee project leaders advance their skills, identify opportunities and create change that they choose and believe in and long-term sustainable outcomes. Through our evaluation efforts, we demonstrate what's possible when refugees lead.
This project has provided additional documentation in a PDF file (projdoc.pdf).
