Urgent livelihoods to support highly vulnerable returnees in order for them to have means (cash/livelihoods) to acquire basic needs in Al-Qaim districts in Anbar through CfW.

NOTE: as there is no category for returnees in the system we have selected others for the direct beneficiaries but the project will target mainly the returnees. As the crisis in Iraq carries on into its third year, and with the steady increase in the return of displaced people to their cities, social tensions continue to rise, particularly in areas in which communities face economic or social hardship, and in which properties and the infrastructure has mostly effected and damaged. Displacement and its subsequent economic repercussions upon communities during the return of IDPs directly contribute to conflict between the communities. Debt is growing among communities, creating greater reliance on a diminishing social protection floor.

Livelihoods needs often lead to social tension erupting in conflict. Over 2 million people are expected to be prone to social conflict. 

Access to livelihoods is the most pressing issue for both IDP’s intending to return and returnees as stated in the Integrated Location Assessment II (IOM). It provides much needed support to facilitate returns and, for very vulnerable returnees, means to be able to transit from assisted aid to recovery in order to avoid second displacement.

In Anbar and Salah ad-din provinces ALMORTAQA has succeeded in developing early livelihood opportunities for the extremely vulnerable IDP categories during the last and upcoming years with generous support from OCHA-EL cluster, UNDP and some other donors, the benefited groups of this project were able to cover the basic living needs of their families, which resulted in reducing the tensions among the displaced families and their hosting communities in different manners. 

ALMORTAQA is proposed a short-term project to provide urgent livelihoods to support highly vulnerable returnees in order for them to have means (cash/livelihoods) to acquire basic needs in Al-Qaim districts in Anbar through CfW to maintain the self-resilience of people who have already returned to their home and/ or people who are still displaced but need support to return and enable them to cope with the impact of crisis at their cities within Anbar province (mainly Al-Qaim district) through immediate access to income for vulnerable families and social awareness especially in areas with high risks of tensions within the proposed locations.

Through this project ALMORTAQA seeks to enhance the humanitarian response by working with other clusters to increase their scope and impact, ALMORTAQA will consult with Education and WASH clusters to conduct joint efforts for the benefits of the targeted communities through CFW initiatives such as basic renovation for the community facilities mainly for 8 schools and kindergartens, including their WASH facilities, that serve the effected communities. Also through temporary employment of vulnerable women to conduct protection awareness on Children and women rights, hygiene promotion and doing some sort of rapid needs assessment and dropout identification and students registration/re-enrollment to identify the needs of the affected population.

We will initiate temporary employment activities for the extremely vulnerable categories for one month (20 days) per each person, such temporary employments will assist in restoring the most useful facilities within the community gatherings as well as to assist and help in the renovation of damaged schools. Women will be consulted to identify meaningful C4W activities like identify dropout students, provide hygiene promotion and planting seedlings activities in schools.