Ensuring Healthy Early Childhood Development and Sustainable Livelihoods for Youth
“We hope the Resourcing Refugee Leadership Initiative will change the way we talk about refugees forever. No longer can refugees be viewed as passive recipients of aid, but rather, as strategists and innovators driving solutions for our communities. Our coalition invites donors, allies, and other refugee leaders around the world to join them in shifting funding and power to refugee communities.”
– Sana Mustafa
Sana Mustafa, director of partnerships and engagement at Asylum Access, is a representation, inclusion, and human rights activist. After fleeing the Syrian regime, Mustafa was determined to address the hardships that come with forced displacement and exclusion. Mustafa has also launched two prominent refugee-led networks to enable effective and sustainable refugee policy: The Network For Refugee Voices and the Global Refugee-led Network.
Photo courtesy of Asylum Access.
Challenge and Context
More than 80 million people worldwide have been displaced from their homes. Over 26 million of them are refugees, forced to flee their countries because of violence or persecution.
Although the circumstances that lead to displacement are often traumatic and tragic, refugees themselves have tremendous resilience and perseverance. They contribute economically and socially to the communities where they are hosted. They have hope for the future and strive to rebuild their lives.
As Dany Bahar, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, points out, “Accepting refugees is a win for the receiving country and the communities that host them. By providing them with the right to work, to health, and to education, refugees can start productive lives in their host countries. The faster they can integrate into the labor force, the faster they can become productive members of society.”
“Our inclusive advocacy efforts aim to engage refugees, funders, and policymakers on local, national, and global levels to properly resource refugee-led solutions that often rely on volunteers and unstable funds to deliver critical life-saving services.“
– Lublanc Prieto
Lublanc Prieto, president and founding member of Refugiados Unidos, is a Venezuelan refugee, lawyer, human rights activist, and expert on migration and refugee issues. She has played a major role in launching campaigns throughout Latin American serving refugee communities, specifically strengthening the rights of Venezuelans in Colombia.
Photo courtesy of Refugiados Unidos.
What We Do: Invest in Early Childhood Development and Youth Livelihoods
We are currently in a discovery phase to identify the most effective and evidence-based approaches to supporting the lives and livelihoods of children and families, exploring learning from refugees and host communities within Colombia, Ecuador, Ethiopia and Uganda.
Our strategy seeks to reduce inequities, build trust and respect for differences, and amplify the voices of refugees and displaced persons within the sector. We will support refugees and others who have been forcibly displaced, as well as the communities hosting them, including programs and research that foster healthy development of young children and sustainable livelihoods for youth and families.
We will continue to support disaster prevention and response in the U.S. and around the world. Learn more about this work here.