Provision of integrated protection services to enhance the resiliency of the most vulnerable communities in Daraa, Aleppo and Raqaa (Priority 2) This project aims to respond to the gaps, identified both by the Protection Sector   and by COOPI Need Assessments and reflecting the Humanitarian Needs Overview 2022 (HNO), in the provision of integrated Protection services in locations under severity scales 4 and 5: Nawa (Daraa), Sabka (Raqaa), Atareb and Daret Izza (Aleppo). Based on six years of expertise in the provision of humanitarian assistance in Syria, the proposed intervention is a continuity of COOPI Protection strategy, rooted in a combination of prevention and resilience services to enhance community-based protection mechanisms, with awareness sessions on CP, GBV, EORE, recreational activities, specialized physical, hearing and speech therapy services, victim assistance and case management, in Raqaa, Daraa and Aleppo Governorates. In Daraa and Raqaa, COOPI will strengthen its presence and granted access by adding to the range of activities provided through past SHF  -funded projects access to specialized individual services for the people in need. By this means and after having ensured the acceptance of the population and gained knowledge on the cultural-geographical specificities of the areas through awareness and in-kind distribution, COOPI will ensure a smooth implementation of live-savings activities, reducing the barriers for the most affected population to reach quality integrated assistance. In Atareb and Daret Azza, new locations in high need targeted by this proposal, COOPI has granted access by conducting two rounds of assessments, one in January 2022 and the other in June / July 2022. The Protection team based in Aleppo for two years has gained strong technical and operational knowledge on the provision of protection services in particularly hard-to-reach and sensitive areas. With their help, a dialogue was opened with the community representatives and the population there, giving COOPI strong confidence in the relevance and the likelihood of the proposed interventions to be be well received and in line with the needs highlighted. Thus, COOPI intends to provide through this allocation integrated services (prevention amp live-saving activities), in addition to the establishment of a community centre in Atareb. This innovation will allow COOPI to start its project directly rooted in the community, providing a safe space for beneficiaries and strengthening social cohesion.

The proposed action will focus on IDP, returnees and affected host population, children, female-headed households, women, and adolescent girls, PLwD, people with chronical diseases and elderlies who are the most exposed to protection risks and affected by the lack of services and are particularly vulnerable due to cultural and physical barriers and absence of job opportunities hampering their dignified access to basic services and primary needs and being disproportionately impacted by the deteriorating economic situation and protection environment. Vulnerabilities linked to gender, age, disabilities, displacement and social status continue to generate protection needs and risks, with women and girls facing compounded forms of violence and lack of access to livelihood opportunities and economic power. Boys, adolescents, and adult men also face specific vulnerabilities as they account for the vast majority of victims of explosive ordnance. The proposed activity will apply a gender-sensitive approach and active participation of communities will be promoted through careful selection of the most vulnerable beneficiaries.

This intervention will be implemented under the umbrella of MoSAL, which with the good relation established both in Damascus and in the proposed Governorates, will allow COOPI to smoothly and in a timely manner deliver assistance in the locations.