fbpx

Basic-Needs Assistance

“Every once in a while, our neighbors offer us a little food, but it’s embarrassing for me when I take it.” — Umm Khaled, CRP Beneficiary

It is hard to sleep with an empty stomach, difficult to make friends when you know each night brings the cold. Collateral Repair Project knows that the first step in building a good life is to fulfill your basic needs. For this reason, our Basic-Needs Assistance Program provides necessities to refugee families in our community.

The bulk of our Basic-Needs Assistance Program goes towards our monthly food-voucher distribution. After assessing the needs of refugees who sign up, Collateral Repair Project conducts home visits and chooses the families who need the most help. These families receive monthly food vouchers, with the amount scaled to the size of the family.

By providing food vouchers, Collateral Repair Project gives refugees some independence and a feeling of control, as they can choose their own groceries. Going grocery shopping gives families a sense of stability and routine as well. Families who receive food vouchers say that they feel more dignity, as they won’t have to resort to begging in order to eat.

“I have some financial support from my family in Iraq, but I need to spend most of it on medical treatment. The extra food-voucher distribution allows me to save this money, and still buy some food at the same time.” — Fareed, Iraqi Refugee

As well as the monthly food vouchers, Collateral Repair Project also gives out extra food vouchers. The list of beneficiaries receiving these vouchers changes every month, with each family receiving one every four to six months. These are families who need help but may not be eligible for the monthly vouchers. There are also one-time, emergency vouchers.

CRP’s Basic-Needs Assistance Program isn’t limited to food. It also includes seasonal assistance. During winter months, the temperature drops severely and nights grow long. Collateral Repair Project distributes winter clothes, blankets, heaters, and heating fuel. In the summer, Collateral Repair Project distributes electric fans to stave off the heat.

Learn more about our Basic-Needs Assistance Program by watching our videos about this initiative.

 

Want to help support our Basic-Needs Assistance Program? Donate here!

Learn More

Learning and Thriving at Daycare!

Educational programs at CRP’s Daycare help refugee children learn important skills for their future and introduce healthy living habits for their daily well-being.

The Difference YOU Have Made

We want to thank all of you, our donors, for your generous gifts during our campaign. We were able to raise a substantial amount of money for our beneficiaries, and we will put it to good use in 2019!

Challenges Elderly Refugees Face in Jordan

“I’m 60, although I don’t look like my age,” laughs Kareem, who came to Jordan in 2011 after having fled the war in Yemen. “But here, when you are over 35, people think that there is no use for you anymore,” he says. Many refugees in Jordan live in precarious financial situations. Elderly refugees often […]

Food Vouchers Are About More than Just Survival

Receiving a food voucher means that a family can feel at ease for some time because they know that they will have enough food to get by. But apart from that, food carries a lot of cultural meaning. Read more about the significance of food vouchers for refugees here. . .

A Place for Neglected Communities to Heal and Grow

CRP’s new downtown center opened recently to provide a safe space for neglected refugee communities. Read more to learn what kind of classes beneficiaries are most excited about!

A Faster Approach to Assessing Need

Read how a self-programmed app, developed with guidance from our partners at the Mennonite Central Committee (MCC), helps us assess refugees’ nutritional needs. . .

Huda & Waseem: Faces of CRP’s New Center

Meet the two young professionals who will be running CRP’s new downtown center focused on supporting the Sudanese, Somali and Yemeni communities.

Meeting Basic Needs in Hashemi Shamali

“If it wasn’t for the food vouchers, I couldn’t manage in my day-to-day life,” says Fareed, whose family receives food vouchers from CRP. “The food voucher filled a large gap in our nutrition. We rely on it.”

New App Revamps Back-to-School Registration at CRP

Each year, we assist hundreds of families in sending their children back to school. Back-to-School vouchers provide children with necessary school supplies like backpacks, uniforms, and textbooks, all of which are often financially inaccessible to refugee families.

Extra Food Vouchers Distributed at CRP

CRP’s extra food-voucher distribution will include beneficiaries that require savings for other purposes. Refugees have many bills to pay, like rent, school supplies, electricity, medication, and even surgeries.

How to Stretch a Food Voucher

On Monday, July 3rd we accompanied one of our beneficiaries, Sameer, as he used his food voucher to go shopping for himself and his family. Because refugees in Jordan are not allowed to work, Sameer faces food insecurity and has to mainly rely on CRP’s monthly food vouchers.

The Bedrock of CRP’s Work

We often highlight our psychosocial support programming. But the Emergency Assistance Program remains the bedrock of CRP’s work, since it’s impossible to fully engage in CRP’s programs if your basic needs are not being met.

CRP Extends Reach to Aid Sudanese Refugees

Yesterday CRP staff visited a local grocery store in the neighborhood of Jufa, home to a large population of Sudanese refugees, to distribute food vouchers.

Eid al-Adha Food Distributions

Eid al-Adha is a holiday celebrating  the end of Hajj, where Muslims complete one of the Five Pillars of Islam by traveling to Mecca and following in the steps of the Prophet Mohammed.

Drastic Food Aid Cuts

The first week of September has been one of new hardships and continuing misery for many Syrian refugees who reside in Jordan — one-third of all Syrian refugees in the Middle Eastern region lost their food aid. 

Adding Families to the Food Voucher Program

The families in our community represent a diversity of experience. By going on regular home visits, we have the opportunity to learn about their lives, their needs, and the challenges they have faced.

Month of Giving: CRP’s Ramadan Food Distributions

Though the month of Ramadan is wrapping up, CRP’s distributions continue to support our community. Ramadan is a time for family, celebration, and giving and our distributions during the month reflected the spirit of the holiday!

Monthly Food Voucher Program Helping More New Families

This past month, we added a number of families to our monthly food voucher program. One of those families is Wasfi and Hiba’s family of five.

Ramadan Distributions

Most urban refugees no longer receive food aid. They also cannot legally work in Jordan, so paying rent and putting food on the table is a huge challenge. This is especially difficult for families during Ramadan.

From Iraq to Jordan

We have added three families to our expanding food voucher program this month. These families, like all the victims of violent conflict we serve, live in extreme poverty as they await the next step.

Emergency Assistance for New Families

Home visits are integral because they allow us to better understand the needs of our community and respond quickly. This week we visited Hashem, Lubna, and their six young children in their home.

Our Growing Food Voucher Program

CRP added two new families to our Food Voucher Program this week. The first is a family of three from Iraq who are living in a small apartment with a collapsing, leaky ceiling and no furniture.

Preparing for a Harsh Amman Winter

Amman’s very cold winters are always of great concern for CRP and the refugee community we serve. This time of year, we devote much of our time to ensuring families can survive the brutal cold.

Heat and Fuel for a Cold Winter

Many of our families have heaters but are unable to purchase fuel to power them, so we have made it a priority to provide families with fuel vouchers in the coming months.

Food (In)security in Jordan

With the situation becoming more precarious by the day, families from Iraq and Syria are fleeing in droves to neighboring Jordan in search of safety and security.

How Food Cuts are Affecting our Community

Enormous cuts to the United Nations’ food program for refugees will greatly increase the emergency food assistance CRP will need to provide refugees in the immediate term.

Record Food Distributions for Eid al-Adha

CRP kicked off October and the holiday season with six straight days of food giveaways. A total of 802 families made up of 3,145 people received food stuff from us during this time!

Summer of Hope

The festive month of Ramadan is all about giving, and our team has been working extra hard to expand our regular distributions in the spirit of the holiday.

Summer Food Drive—Help us collect food to help refugees this summer!

Ramadan is a time of community and coming together, and we want to make sure all of the families we serve have adequate provisions this summer.

Dental Hygiene Education and Distribution

At a recent kids activity, in addition to the normal games and arts and crafts we were able to have an educational session about teeth care.

Blanket, Clothing and Shoes Distribution

We gave out our final winter distribution today to Syrian, Iraqi and Jordanian families. This latest distribution included 65 blankets, 150 pairs of boots and shoes and 80 clothing packets for children.

CRP Distributes Food Vouchers Before Expected Snowstorm

We’re distributing food vouchers today, right before an expected snowstorm that is anticipated to close the city down for a few days.