Winterization intervention in support of vulnerable Syrian and Jordanian households living in urban and rural areas in Irbid, Amman, Madaba, Karak, Tafileh and Ma'an Governorates The project will provide, in a targeted and equitable manner, the most vulnerable Syrian and Jordanian families in urban and rural areas (including Informal Tented Settlements - ITS), with adequate resources to mitigate the impact of winter harsh conditions, thus enhancing their safety, health and dignity. INTERSOS will achieve this by implementing winterization cash assistance as the core activity, while also mitigating the impact of harsh weather conditions with emergency distribution of winterization kits.

INTERSOS has been implementing emergency winterization activities in Jordan since 2013, with the support of UNICEF, OCHA and ECHO, and has developed substantial capacity and expertise in identifying winterization needs and gaps in a timely manner, before responding through cash assistance, NFIs distribution and emergency interventions during harsh weather conditions. 

Since 2013, INTERSOS has been an active member of the Basic Needs Working Group and the Task Forces on Winterization, Harsh Weather Contingency and ITS. Continued active participation in these important groups/forums will allow INTERSOS to achieve good coordination with relevant stakeholders and full adherence to nationally agreed standard operating procedures (SOPs).

INTERSOS has a proven capacity to operate effectively in both host community and ITS settings, and has conducted extensive assessments of ITS needs and locations as part of recent projects, including previous JHF funded projects. The proposed project will form an important part of INTERSOS existing assistance program in the North (Irbid), Centre (Amman and Madaba), and South (Karak, Tafileh and Ma’an).

The identification of project beneficiaries will be guided by the criteria established by the Vulnerability Assessment Framework (VAF), while the assistance provided will be in line with the guidelines approved by the Winterization Task Force, led by UNHCR. INTERSOS is contributing to the work of the Harsh Weather Contingency Task Force, and will be able to fully apply lessons learned from the past years winterization interventions and agreed-upon SOPs.

834 vulnerable HHs in six (6) governorates will receive winterization unconditional cash provided through ATM cards, or through cash in-hand when necessary. Emergency distributions will take place within 48 hours of an emergency call, according to INTERSOS SOPs. Emergency winterization kits will be distributed for up to 200 vulnerable HHs, in order to ensure a timely response to the needs.

Beneficiaries will also be provided with informative leaflets to explain the process of the distribution, and how to access feedback and complaint mechanisms.

INTERSOS expects that 82% of the targeted HHs (approx. 697 HHs) will be from Irbid, Amman and Madaba governorates with a further 18% (approx. 150 HHs) from Karak, Ma’an and Tafilah governorates. 70% of the total beneficiaries (592 HHs) will be selected from among Syrian refugees and 30% (255 HHs) from among vulnerable Jordanian populations.

The project will build upon programs currently implemented by INTERSOS in the selected areas of operation, including a collaboration with World Vision on a winterization project which foresees NFIs and emergency distributions in support of the most vulnerable individuals and families.

INTERSOS is committed to appropriate cost sharing between the proposed intervention and ongoing programs in terms of logistical support, human resources and administrative costs, as well as to create synergies for the identification and the referral of extremely vulnerable cases.

Disabilities, minorities, age and gender are mainstreamed in INTERSOS program and activities, and will be taken into consideration throughout this proposed intervention. Mitigation measures, including internal tools, for potential protection concerns are already in place, while INTERSOS guarantees full accountability of the Organization itself, of the project and of staff involved.