UNHCR / R.

ARNOLD

Encouraging
50
Self-Reliance
UNHCR Global Appeal 2010-2011

T
hey may flee their homes
with barely the clothes on
their backs, but displaced
people always carry within
them something of
considerable value: their knowledge,
skills and experience. A few of the more
fortunate ones manage to bring along
precious productive assets, such as tools,
livestock or money. But no matter how
much or how little they arrive with,
Afghan returnee women
learn bee-keeping, enabling
them to make a living.
most displaced people have the potential
to become self-reliant in their places of
refuge. For its part, UNHCR recognizes
that one of the most effective ways of
protecting refugees, asylum-seekers and
the internally displaced is by helping
them to help themselves. Through its
educational and livelihood assistance
programmes, it encourages the
displaced to stay productive, seize new
opportunities and shape their own
futures.
This emphasis on self-relianceis critical
if thedisplacedareto maintain asenseof
purposeanddignity.Becoming self-reliant
can also fosterapositiverelationshipwith
hostcommunities, as theinteraction
between thetwo groups often spurs new
social, economicandcultural opportunities.
Furthermore, when displacedpeople
becomeself-reliant, thecosts of assistance
andprotection diminish andthepath to
durablesolutions is madesmoother.
Protecting and developing people’s
resources and skills is the core
component of UNHCR’s livelihood
programmes. Training in vocational or
entrepreneurial skills, for example,
helps to transform the period of
displacement into an opportunity for
self-improvement rather than a time in
limbo. Such programmes also help
young people who are out of school to
make productive use of their time.
UNHCR provides livelihood
opportunities for displaced people in more
than 70 per cent of its operations and
across a variety of settings ranging from
camps and informal rural settlements to
urban centres. Livelihood programmes are
promoted from the onset of an emergency,
through the displacement period, and into
the implementation phase of a durable
solution.
To be successful, interventions to
create and sustain livelihoods need to be
tailored to the skills and assets within a
population; refugees do not form a
homogeneous group in terms of
economic resources and status.
Additionally, livelihood programmes
must respond to market opportunities
both in the place of displacement and
where durable solutions are likely to be
found.
UNHCR’s livelihood activities cover
a range of sectors, and include:
l Facilitating access to microfinance
through mechanisms for savings,
money transfers and loans. These
help stabilize household cash flows
and provide seed money for small
businesses.
l Trainingtostrengthenskillsand
entrepreneurshipinareassuchas
infrastructureconstructionand
maintenance,equipmentinstallation,
electricalorvehiclerepairs,animal
husbandry,healthandeducation,
child-careandothercommunityservices,
aswellasmanufacturingandretail.
l Vocational and technical training,
including courses in information
technology and communications
(ITC), through formal institutes and
non-formal classes.
l Access to business support services,
such as training in how to run and
own businesses.
l Training, equipment and start-up
grants that support the sustainable
use of natural resources, for example
in gardening, agriculture, animal
husbandry, fish-farming,
bee-keeping, harvesting of timber or
other forest products, brick-making
and quarrying.
l Cash or food-for-work for the
construction of infrastructure in
reintegration or camp settings.
l Financial and in-kind assistance in
emergency situations to help secure
household assets, prevent the
depletion of household savings, and
prevent the emergency sale of assets
in early days of displacement to cover
the costs of travel and of setting up in
a new location.
l Career guidance and employment
support, including the sponsoring of
apprenticeships.
l Facilitating access to legal services
relating to employment, work
permits and business registration.
Livelihood interventions are
delivered through partners with the
necessary expertise and local knowledge
to provide services over the long term.
In this regard, the Office works closely
with the private sector, development
organizations and national institutions.
UNHCR Global Appeal 2010-2011 51
Encouraging Self-Reliance
› Livelihood strategies for
protracted and urban situations
It is currently estimated that 50 per cent
of the population of concern to UNHCR
will move to urban centres for security
reasons and to take advantage of the
opportunities and amenities that cities
offer. In 2009, UNHCR began to boost
its programming capacity in complex
urban and protracted refugee situations.
BECOMING SELF-RELIANT CAN ALSO FOSTER A POSITIVE RELATIONSHIP WITH HOST
COMMUNITIES, AS THE INTERACTION BETWEEN THE TWO GROUPS OFTEN SPURS
NEW SOCIAL, ECONOMIC AND CULTURAL OPPORTUNITIES
To this end, the Office has developed a
better understanding of the barriers to
decent employment and economic
opportunities for refugees, and searched
for more effective means of building
their capacities for productive living.
As part of its response to protracted
and urban situations, UNHCR now
promotes the development of
multi-year strategies, departing from a
tradition of annual projects.
These efforts include:
l Conducting detailed assessments of
livelihoods among refugees and host
communities. These will provide
baseline data to track progress and
provide the rationale for a multi-year
response plan.
l Formulating multi-year strategies,
which define the interventions
required to reinforce the livelihood
options of displaced and local
communities. These provide effective
planning frameworks for all
humanitarian and development
actors in the area, not just UNHCR.
l Creating expert positions to help
implement the strategies and
mobilize funding. Currently, most
field offices do not have the capacity
to implement comprehensive
self-reliance strategies – at least three
out of five operations require
additional staff.
l Providing seed funding to kick-start
interventions and showcase initial
impact to strengthen fund-raising
efforts.
52 UNHCR Global Appeal 2010-2011
Since 2008, these approaches have
been applied in Armenia, Bangladesh,
Burundi, Egypt, Gambia, India, Jordan,
Malaysia, Senegal, eastern Sudan,
Yemen and Zimbabwe. To respond to
the challenges facing populations of
concern in urban areas and in protracted
refugee situations, and to accelerate the
achievement of durable solutions
through self-reliance strategies,
additional financial and human
resources are needed for at least five
operations per year from 2010 onwards.
› Refugee women’s economic
self-reliance
The ability of displaced women to
improve their lives and the lives of their
children, families and communities is
often constrained by legal restrictions,
physical and psychological trauma,
social stigma, lack of financial resources,
child care responsibilities and other
challenges.
UNHCR seeks to address these
challenges through its Women Leading
for Livelihoods programme (WLL),
which encourages the economic
independence and self-reliance of
refugee women. This is done through a
wide range of initiatives in areas such as
computer literacy, language skills,
vocational training, innovative farming
and marketing techniques, and basic
finance. The initiatives also cover group
savings and loan schemes, access to
business centres and coaching, and the
provision of child care.
The Office also encourages men, as
husbands, brothers, fathers or
community leaders, to promote women’s
rights and economic self-reliance. All
projects aim for a positive impact on the
household and the community at large.
Since 2008, WLL projects have been
funded in Bangladesh, Brazil, the
Democratic Republic of the Congo,
Georgia, India, Kenya, Morocco and
Serbia. UNHCR is seeking to expand to
15 new projects in 12 countries across
Africa, Asia, Europe and Latin America.
› Access to microfinance
Access to formal financial services can
improve the lives of displaced people by
allowing them to diversify their income
sources, meet basic needs and cope with
emergencies. While the availability of
such financial services does not
guarantee increased income, it can
reduce the dependence on frequent
loans at high interest rates, and help
safeguard precious savings. It can also
prevent emergency sales of household
assets in times of need.
Despite the obvious benefits that it
delivers in displacement scenarios,
microfinance is not available in all
refugee operations. In some cases,
host-government policies may prevent
refugees from gaining access to financial
institutions. In others, UNHCR and its
operational partners lack expertise in
the provision of microfinance.
Other reasons for the lack of
microfinance include the isolation of
camps or refugee settlements and
restrictions on movement. Finally, many
microfinance projects are limited to the
provision of loans, leaving out the wider
benefits to be gained from providing
facilities for savings and transfers.
To overcome these limitations,
UNHCR is developing a global
partnership with the Grameen Trust.
The Trust’s projects follow a
three-pronged approach known as
“Build, Operate and Transfer,” “Build,
Operate and Own,” and “Build, Operate
and Manage.” This approach is tailored
for use in areas affected by conflict and
natural disasters, as well as in remote
locations with no microfinance facilities.
UNHCR is also strengthening its ties
with the International Labour
Organization (ILO). ILO provides
support to UNHCR in designing its
guidelines for microfinance, participates

in its training programme on livelihood
interventions, and provides guidance to
field operations on how to deliver
microfinance services to displaced
populations using the Grameen
approach.
The Trust will extend its services to
internally displaced people, refugees and
host communities. It will also launch
new projects in several of UNHCR’s
priority areas, particularly long-term
refugee settlements or camps, in
countries to which refugees are
returning. Areas of return that require
support and reconstruction or have no
microfinance facilities will also be
targeted. UNHCR plans to support
partnerships in five operations per year,
including planning missions,
evaluations and project start-up costs.
ACCESS TO FORMAL FINANCIAL SERVICES CAN IMPROVE THE LIVES OF DISPLACED
PEOPLE BY ALLOWING THEM TO DIVERSIFY THEIR INCOME SOURCES, MEET BASIC
NEEDS AND COPE WITH EMERGENCIES
› Access to information
technology
Community-based assessments
routinely report an increasing demand
for computer literacy, access to computer
facilities and internet connectivity.
UNHCR seeks to address these needs
through training that ranges from basic
literacy to high-level technical skill and
the ability to manage a business.
Instruction is delivered by NGO
partners and formal vocational and
technical training institutes. However,
the quality of the facilities, equipment
and training varies widely.
To respond to this growing demand,
UNHCR and some of its corporate
partners launched the Community
Technology Access (CTA) programme
in 2009. The programme provides
standardized computer classrooms for
refugees and host communities. In 2009,
it was piloted in Bangladesh and
Rwanda. The CTA model aims to
improve both educational and livelihood
opportunities for refugees and host
populations, while maximizing their
role in the delivery of ITC services for
their communities. This includes
training to manage ITC facilities and
building a cadre of technicians versed in
the maintenance and repair of
equipment. The ITC facilities are used
for educational, employment, business
and personal purposes.
The CTA centres will host classes for
school-children, young people and
adults. Other services will include
internet access and training in
entrepreneurship and how to set up
business centres. Employment services
and career counselling will also be
provided. Where possible, CTAs will
generate income to cover operating
costs. In 2010-2011, UNHCR plans to
implement 21 CTA projects in nine
countries: Argentina, Botswana,
Georgia, Mozambique, Namibia, Nepal,
Serbia, Uganda and Yemen. Projects
include provision of hardware, software,
salaries, energy, maintenance,
consumables, training and support costs.
› Global capacity
In 2008-2009, UNHCR boosted its
capacity to support livelihood
interventions by acquiring expertise at
Headquarters and in two regional
centres. These experts are helping
operations to:
l Define innovative and strategic
approaches to livelihood
programmes.
l Explore and build effective
partnerships with development and
private sectors.
Encouraging Self-Reliance
l Provide programmes with
appropriate expertise and funds.
l Strengthen and share knowledge of
livelihood issues through field
missions, training events and
networking.
In 2010-2011, additional capacity is
needed in Eastern and Southern Africa,
Asia and the Pacific, and the Middle
East. Specialized personnel are needed
in the field to conduct assessments,
design and oversee implementation of
the multi-year self-reliance strategies,
and to collaborate with other actors.
New posts will be required in protracted
situations and in large operations where
livelihood programmes will grow
significantly in line with UNHCR’s
global strategic priorities.
At the same time, short-term
livelihood expertise needs to be
deployed to assist UNHCR and its
partners with assessments or
evaluations and strategic planning, as
well as to deliver specific advice on
microfinance. UNHCR’s roster of
livelihood experts, created in 2008, has
supported deployment requests. In
addition, UNHCR will seek expertise
from ILO and international NGOs.
UNHCR conducted two regional
training sessions on livelihoods in 2009
and is planning three more in 2010.
These events build the capacity of staff
and partners to design and implement
comprehensive strategies. An
e-network of UNHCR staff whose
interests and responsibilities include
self-reliance and livelihoods was
launched in 2009 to promote the
dissemination of knowledge and good
practice. n
UNHCR Global Appeal 2010-2011 53