RefuAid

RefuAid works with host communities, governments and non-profit organisations to pursue alternatives to camp- centric policies. RefuAid involves both the refugee and host communities at the earliest possible stage, to build linkages to provide needed services on a platform for cohesion and development. The RefuAid team have spent extensive time working with refugee communities living in camps. Housing, employment and access to local services are consistently the most requested opportunities. Refugee camps can be an essential part of a humanitarian response in an emergency, however, a reliance on camp-centric policy in a protracted refugee crisis can have a devastating impact on the future development of affected communities. Living in camps can foster dependency and weaken the ability of people to manage their own lives causing further trauma and creating a barrier for possible solutions. Refugee camps over a protracted period distort host nation economies and can have a devastating impact on the local environment. Enabling host communities to integrate and accommodate for refugees to reside in the community peacefully supports the ability for refugees to regain responsibility for their livelihood, family and role within the wider community. Refugees bring skills, expertise and assets as well as qualities of perseverance and adaptability as a result of their journey. Refugees who are given the tools to redevelop their livelihoods and independence will be far better placed for future development than if they had spent years’ dependent on humanitarian assistance. RefuAid builds upon existing infrastructure within host communities and financially invests in the expansion of pre-existing services such as education and healthcare in a sustainable and efficient approach. This avoids duplication, is cost-effective and removes the creation and investment in parallel structures for refugee and host communities.