In September 2016, UNHCR in coordination with the Tabah Foundation launched its Zakat initiative aiming to raise much needed funds for the most vulnerable refugees in the region. All collected Zakat funds in 2016 and 2017 were dedicated to UNHCR’s cash assistance programme in Jordan under which approximately 32,000 refugee families are enrolled.
The amounts in the tables below were received by UNHCR from the Zakat initiative in 2016/ 2017 and transferred to the cash assistance programme in Jordan on a monthly basis. Zakat funds were received by 14,775 Syrian refugee families (approximately 73,875 individuals).
| AMOUNT RECEIVED | AMOUNT DISTRIBUTED | FAMILIES BENEFITED | |
| SEPTEMBER | $20,902.39 | ||
| OCTOBER | $2,079.97 | $20,902.39 | 119 |
| NOVEMBER | $3,031.87 | $2,079.97 | 12 |
| DECEMBER | $96.25 | $3,031.87 | 17 |
| TOTAL | $ 26,110.48 | $ 26,014.23 | **148 |
| AMOUNT RECEIVED | AMOUNT DISTRIBUTED | FAMILIES BENEFITED | |
| JANUARY | $13,716.27 | $96.25 | 0.5 |
| FEBRUARY | $11,489.06 | $13,716.27 | 78 |
| MARCH | $8,972.24 | $11,489.06 | 66 |
| APRIL | $8,699.35 | $8,972.24 | 51.5 |
| MAY | $299,519.75 | $8,699.35 | 50 |
| JUNE | $688,645.33 | $299,519.75 | 1,711 |
| JULY | $1,382,118.15 | $688,645.33 | 3,935 |
| AUGUST | $27,220.55 | $1,382,118.15 | 7,898 |
| SEPTEMBER | $53,935.68 | $27,220.55 | 155 |
| OCTOBER | $10,512.21 | $53,935.68 | 308 |
| NOVEMBER | $24,264.78 | $10,512.21 | 60 |
| DECEMBER | $30,716.64 | $54,981.42* | 314 |
| TOTAL | $ 2,559,810.01 | $ 2,559,906.26 |
** 14,627 |
*Zakat received in November and December was distributed in December.
**Assuming a unique family is receiving Zakat funds each month.
2018
After piloting the programme in Jordan, all collected Zakat funds in 2018 are dedicated to UNHCR’s cash assistance programme in Jordan and Lebanon (starting May 2018) under which we now have approximately 60,000 refugee families enrolled.
The amounts in the tables below were received by UNHCR from the Zakat initiative in the first quarter of 2018 and transferred to the cash assistance programme in Jordan on a monthly basis. Zakat funds were received by 524 Syrian refugee families (approximately 2,620 individuals).
| AMOUNT RECEIVED | AMOUNT DISTRIBUTED | FAMILIES BENEFITED | |
| JANUARY | $22,346.07 | ||
| FEBRUARY | $19,553.70 | $22,346.07 | 124 |
| MARCH | $52,609.69 | $19,553.70 | 108 |
| APRIL | $52,609.69 | 292 | |
| TOTAL | $ 94,509.46 | $ 94,509.46 | 524 |
Impact
Zakat funds have enabled beneficiaries to cover essential costs of living for one month, such as rent, debt repayment, utilities, medical care for children, clothing, school fees and food. It also helped refugees to improve their social networks by allowing them to repay loans borrowed from family, neighbours, and landlords; therefore, reducing household and community tensions. Vulnerable families are often headed by women who often face cultural, legal and childcare-related obstacles in finding work. Cash assistance helps prevent thousands of refugees from facing severe hardship and resorting to desperate survival strategies – such as pulling children out of school, child labour and begging, survival sex, early marriage or returning to war zones.
Implementation
In Jordan, refugees access the funds by scanning their irises at ATM machines and thanks to this innovative programme, there are no bank cards or pin numbers to remember. Instead, refugees simply use their irises as a form of identification which provides an instant, cost-effective and fraud-proof methodology to directly support vulnerable families. In Lebanon, refugees can access cash through bank cards at ATM machines throughout the country.
UNHCR monitors cash recipients, assessing their vulnerabilities and quality of living and following up with the families through home visits.
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