Refugee Employment and Skills Initiative: Building Solutions for Somali Refugees in a Fragile Protracted Displacement Scenario (RESI Dadaab II)

    Overview

    Summary

    RESI deploys innovative ways to address self-reliance and economic resilience in protracted humanitarian situations. The RESI Dadaab project will provide support to entrepreneurship and business development for income generation to address the rapid phasing out of humanitarian assistance in the Dadaab camps and support Somali refugees to be able to maintain their well-being in the immediate future, including by supporting returnees in Somalia. 

    The Area Based Livelihoods Initiative –Garissa (ABLI-G) is a three (3)-year project  funded by the European Union (EU) Trust Fund for Stability and Addressing the Root Causes of Irregular Migration and Displaced Persons in Africa (EUTF). The project aims to further promote an enabling environment for income generation in terms of access to formal and informal business opportunities and freedom of movement, finance, market linkages, and more. ABLI - G aligns closely to the work done already under RESI and is a continuation of the work being done to develop the digital services and artisanal value chains in Dadaab and Garissa County. 

    Recipients

    Partners

    Sustainable Development Goals

    This project contributes to the following Sustainable Development Goals, as defined by the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

    Context

    Economic opportunities for refugees and their hosts 

    The International Trade Centre’s Refugee Employment and Skills Initiative (RESI) provides innovative, trade-led and market-based solutions to create jobs and generate income for refugees and the communities where they live.  

    RESI works with refugees and their host communities in Gaza, Kenya, and Somalia in the areas of online freelancing and home décor. These areas provide viable paying jobs for people in unstable conditions who may be subject to such security challenges as movement restrictions and repatriation.  

    We provide training and mentorships and through our private and public partnerships, link the unique skills of the different communities to market needs for specific services and products.  

    RESI is ITC’s first direct implementation in refugee camps. Through collaboration with partners like the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC), RESI is a great example of what humanitarian-development cooperation can achieve. 

     

    Now I feel like part of the glowing stars of the globe. I feel a sense of belonging to a world that I once felt very disconnected from. We are not fitted to be refugees forever. We might not be privileged as others. But we should not sleep and wait for miracles to happen. We should stop depending on others and find a purpose in life.
    Now I feel like part of the glowing stars of the globe. I feel a sense of belonging to a world that I once felt very disconnected from. We are not fitted to be refugees forever. We might not be privileged as others. But we should not sleep and wait for miracles to happen. We should stop depending on others and find a purpose in life.
    Osman Abdullahi Osman
    Online Freelancer, Dadaab Collective
    I will never forget the feeling I had. Earning $5,000 is something that I could never have imagined, even in my wildest dreams.
    I will never forget the feeling I had. Earning $5,000 is something that I could never have imagined, even in my wildest dreams.
    Hanan Abu Zaid
    Online Freelancer and Founder of Will Benefit Marketing Agency
    I have gained new skills and confidence. This will help me get more jobs and earn money, which on the other hand will help me raise my family in a comfortable manner. At least, we will not starve if one day the camp will close. I know I can be able to live anywhere knowing I have skills to earn money.
    I have gained new skills and confidence. This will help me get more jobs and earn money, which on the other hand will help me raise my family in a comfortable manner. At least, we will not starve if one day the camp will close. I know I can be able to live anywhere knowing I have skills to earn money.
    Martha Ali
    Online Freelancer, Kakuma Refugee Camp
    Before RESI, I had problems with graphic skills and video production. I understood the tools but was never comfortable enough to go after gigs and work at it professionally. I also did not understand how one can use social media for marketing or do business that generates money.
    Before RESI, I had problems with graphic skills and video production. I understood the tools but was never comfortable enough to go after gigs and work at it professionally. I also did not understand how one can use social media for marketing or do business that generates money.
    Mohamed Omer
    Online Freelancer Hargeisa

    Resources

    RESI is a great example of what humanitarian-development cooperation can achieve.
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    ITC contact

    Jakub
    Michalak
    Email
    jmichalak [at] intracen.org