Building sustainable livelihoods for women affected by conflict

Contact details

Submitted by: Eero Janson, Director of Estonian Refugee Council (MTÜ Pagulasabi)

Email: [email protected]

Website: https://www.pagulasabi.ee/en

Social: https://www.facebook.com/pagulasabi

Introduction to the project 

Country

Ukraine

Duration

September 2016 - Ongoing

Current funding until the summer of 2020.

Description

The long-term project that supports building sustainable livelihoods for vulnerable women affected by conflict in eastern Ukraine through comprehensive training and cash grant programming.

Project aims 

The goal of the multi-year programme was to support vulnerable women living in eastern Ukraine in building sustainable livelihoods through self-employment and skills development.

Resources used 

The programme reached out to vulnerable yet motivated women living in displacement or near the conflict area and supported them in developing their exiting technical skills and entrepreneurial skills to become self-employed with the goal of sustaining themselves and their families. Beneficiaries were provided with comprehensive training, mentorship and conditional cash grants for developing their micro- or small businesses.

Main activities of the Good Practice

Objective 1: The programme eases the pressures on host countries through supporting IDPs and people living in and around conflict areas to enhance sustainable livelihoods and self-reliance and participating productively in the local economy.

Objective 2: The programme enhances refugee self-reliance through increased livelihoods opportunities in and around conflict areas. In specific, it targets and supports some of the most vulnerable groups, especially women in precarious situations.

Partners

Estonian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (donor)

Challenges and how they were overcome

Building sustainable livelihoods in conflict areas has several risks associated to it, including changing security conditions, difficulties with access, as well as protection related issues.

Changing conditions necessitated flexibility in the programme, such as providing mentorship through online means if access was difficult to less secure areas. Protection related issues (such as attention to gender-based violence (GBV)) were mainstreamed in the programme design.

Results of the Good Practice 

• More than doubling of household incomes of participants in the programme (based on 2018 impact assessment of 100 beneficiaries).
• High satisfaction with the programme and increased feeling of motivation among participants (based on systematic feedback from beneficiaries).

Next steps 

The programme launched in 2016 and is currently ongoing in Donetsk, Luhansk, and Zaporizhzhia oblasts.