“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,” says Fareed, who fled from Baghdad in 2017 because of growing intolerance and racism.
Fareed is part of our extra food-voucher list of beneficiaries, which is part of our wider emergency-assistance program. The families on the list change every month, with each family receiving their food vouchers every four to six months.
By assessing the vulnerability of refugees who register for the emergency-assistance programs, CRP is able to identify the families who are the most in need. The most vulnerable go on our monthly list. But there are still many, many families who are struggling to get by. The families comprised in the extra food voucher distributions still face many hardships, but may not be entitled to register for the monthly food vouchers, like Fareed.
CRP’s extra food-voucher distribution will include beneficiaries that require savings for other purposes, like Fareed. Refugees have many bills to pay, like rent, school supplies, electricity, medication, and even surgeries. Receiving a food voucher from CRP helps divert funds that month to those areas.
One way we decide who goes on our monthly list and who goes on our extra food-voucher list (besides how much money we have for food vouchers) is whether the refugees already receive assistance from other organizations such as Caritas. This form of assistance may still be irregular, thus CRP’s extra food-voucher distribution will complement other assistance and allow them to receive aid on a more regular basis.
“I came here because Daesh destroyed my house and burned everything, but I cannot work in Amman. Having 8 members in the family, the extra food voucher allows us to meet the basic needs of the household, and to have a budget for other commitments,” says We’aam, who came to pick up a food voucher at CRP recently.
Having a very large family is another reason why someone might qualify for extra assistance from CRP. Standard assistance from other NGOs might not cover their needs.
Before we add families to either list, they come to register at CRP, and then we conduct rigorous home assessments. We have set criteria that scores each family’s situation, and helps us determine which list they go on, or if they go on any list at all.
Using this basic needs approach, we are able to give assistance to wider communities and populations of refugees located in Amman, as well as one that suits their living standards.
Refugees such as Fareed and We’aam have a chance to become independent, and to regain control over their lives. Thanks to CRP, they have an opportunity to choose what they would like to spend money on, rather than waking up and trying to survive.
CRP works to provide refugees with sustainable life opportunities, ones that give refugees a chance to build their lives again.
Contributing to our food-voucher program—either the monthly or extra list—helps family stay healthy, and reduces stress and negative coping mechanisms like child labor, marriage, or begging.
For every $1000 we raise between now and May 13th, a group of donors will give us $1000, up to $8000. All funds raised will help feed families at CRP like Fareed’s and We’aam’s. Donate here.
