Together We Stand

[ 16 ] and empowering rural women. Mission East’s livelihoods and SHG programme has helped change traditional perceptions about women’s social and productive roles in Afghan society. By giving them a shared platform to mobilize, congregate and share information, and improving their access to community- based finance, the programme has helped to empower women such as Majabin to improve their own and their households’ lives and livelihoods. In Burundi, Red een Kind (Help a Child) also uses a group approach to increase the socioeconomic potential, and there- fore the resilience, of vulnerable people. Burundi has a long history of conflict and fragility caused by ethnic tensions, aggravated by poverty, scarcity of land and population growth. Lack of social cohesion and social contract is a root cause of this. In response, Red een Kind and local partners have implemented an integrated multi-year programme to strengthen social resilience through establishing community structures in Kirundu, Rutana and Bururi provinces. Red een Kind promoted the inclusion of young people in this programme because an estimated 60 per cent of the popula- tion in Burundi is below the age of 25, and job opportunities for youth are extremely limited. To facilitate an inclusive design and promote ownership and sustainability, the programme began with a participatory integrated community-development assessment. This identi- fied vulnerable groups, including persons with disabilities, so their positioning and participation in all phases of the programme cycle could be ensured. Based on the assessment, an integrated community action plan was developed with representatives of different groups in the community. A more refined version — based on the Burundian context — of the SHG approach was applied and community members (men, women and youth) were brought together in groups whose members shared specific self-defined characteristics with respect to their socioeconomic status, contributing to better internal bonding. Community leaders and parents helped to identify youth drop-outs, and youth groups were formed with a focus on vocational training and employment opportunities. A community action plan was implemented with the SHGs, facilitated by integrated capacity-building interventions geared towards socioeconomic development. Working together in groups boosted participants’ socioeconomic potential as they gained access to services and facilities that were formerly unavailable to them. Of particular significance was the way in which working together reinforced community cohesion and participation in an environment where lack of mutual trust is a major barrier to development and a root cause for instability. The community groups functioned as a platform for discussion and dialogue, building trust and cooperation. Against the backdrop of the turmoil in 2015 evidence shows that this programme stimulated community cohe- sion and resilience. Comparison with other communities in the target area showed considerably less migration to Rwanda among those who were organized in SHGs than among those who were not. Inclusive approaches towards humanitarian and resilience programming are transforming the lives of people around the world. The above examples show how participation, local community ownership and group approaches can ensure that programmes include and empower those who would otherwise be marginalized. Persons with disabilities, ethnic minorities, youth and women are not simply groups of people. They are individuals such as Majabin and Ja Seng Pu, who until now had been either knowingly or unknowingly excluded from humanitarian and resilience programming. Such exclusion takes place despite existing legal obligations and frameworks such as the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and the Convention on the Rights of the Child, which emphasize that the inclusion of these individuals should not be an optional feature of humanitar- ian and resilience programming. International frameworks give rights-based approaches to inclusive participation because all persons have the right to benefit from humani- tarian work. Therefore, the EU-CORD network hopes that the World Humanitarian Summit leads to a more inclusive humanitarian community. Improving the resilience of families Medair works to improve the resilience of refugee families in Jordan through cash-based coverage of urgent health costs and care related to pregnancy. When Heba, a Syrian refugee living in Jordan, was near the end of her first pregnancy, she needed emergency care and was rushed to a nearby hospital. Despite the risk to herself and the baby, the hospital refused to treat her because the delivery she needed didn’t match its terms and conditions, and the couple couldn’t pay the fees. Heba’s husband, Qasem, took her to a different hospital which agreed to provide the needed care for a price. Qasem was joyful when his new baby girl arrived. “I could have lost them both,” he said. “But when I saw that they were healthy, I started jumping for joy.” Qasem collected money from neighbours and family members for the hospital fees, but he couldn’t collect all the money needed and he gave the hospital his government identification papers to hold until he paid off his balance. Through Medair’s cash-for-health project Qasem was able to pay the fees and get his papers back. “I will also buy Heba good food and winter clothes, and get a heater for the baby,” said Qasem. Even though they continue to live as refugees, Heba and Qasem are now in a stronger position to meet their immediate needs as well as start building a better future for their children. Baby ‘Sham’, which means Syria, is the first born in Medair’s cash-for-health project in Mafraq, Jordan Image: Medair - Weam Daibas T ogether W e S tand