The project aims to improve the access of vulnerable and marginalized groups to quality protection, mitigation and response services in Akhtarin, Azaz and Suran districts in the north of Aleppo governorate through a comprehensive approach to protection that includes identifying protection risks, providing a mitigation service, specialized and non-specialized response designed for target groups, or case referral specified to other services.
The population living in northwest Syria suffers from the deterioration of the humanitarian situation with the continued intensification of hostilities, and therefore protection risks have increased with the ongoing displacement, lack of shelter options and poor living conditions in areas of displacement, especially with regard to gender-based violence, child protection, and exposure to explosive hazards. . Overcrowding in IDP sites and temporary shelters and the lack of water, sanitation and hygiene facilities expose women, girls and children in particular to many protection risks (such as the phenomenon of separated and unaccompanied children, child labor, exploitation and violence in all its forms, in addition to child/forced marriage and sexual abuse, as well as the difficulty of securing documents Personal)
Therefore, this project is designed to enhance the resilience of the displaced, including the host community, towards these issues and pervasive risks, and intensive work in order to contribute to strengthening the prevention and mitigation of protection risks, and responding to protection needs through the provision of integrated protection services in emergency situations. In addition to achieving positive results in raising the awareness level of the population and conveying awareness to the indirect beneficiaries of the project and advocating those issues in a sustainable manner by the community.
Project Activities:
- Protection Monitoring: Protection assessors will conduct individual visits to provide general protection monitoring throughout the targeted communities in the Azaz region. This will include community level interviews with camp/host community actors as well as family level interviews. Monitoring will focus on key protection issues including mass displacement, women’s protection, child protection and other groups with special needs (elderly people and people with disabilities). The activity will be carried out in coordination with the Protection Cluster.
- Developing a map of services: One of the main components of the project includes drawing monthly maps for humanitarian services and updating that map on a monthly basis, whether services related to protection activities or not related to protection. The intent is to use the findings in service maps to support information dissemination activities as well as referral services, direct support, and program planning.
- Establishment and support of community committees: By involving Shafak, community leaders and activists affected by the conflict, two community committees were formed. Community committee members were selected from a variety of key stakeholders (eg teachers, health staff, local authorities and religious leaders) reflecting gender, age and disability. During the last period, they worked closely with the team to identify vulnerable cases, identify protection concerns in the community, and preventive measures. The community committees also participated in selecting awareness topics based on the community’s needs. Shafak has trained and supported these community committees to empower and encourage them to lead themselves and support other community needs, initiatives and campaigns. The meeting of each committee on a monthly basis is still in place to date. Each committee is made up of 10 members who express an interest in serving and supporting their community.
- Referral Services: The protection team will provide referral services internally to other projects within Shafak, or externally to other service providers when the services requested by Shafak are not provided, and the external referral will be done by the services map in the previous Activity 2. Cases will be identified mainly from surveys and home visits that will be conducted by protection assessors and through outreach activities that will be conducted by outreach and psychosocial support teams.
- Providing direct support services and managing public protection cases for men, women, boys and girls at risk, including persons with disabilities. Case management includes life-saving assistance to vulnerable people in ensuring their access to current services along with support for the special needs of public protection cases. Case management specialists will conduct regular follow-up and awareness visits to the communities to ensure that protection issues are fully addressed before cases are closed. The protection measures services will be supplemented by providing individual protection assistance or the so-called direct support for moderate and high-risk cases, including persons with disabilities. Case support fund will include but is not limited to; Transportation to other services, assistive devices (wheelchairs, hearing aids, nappies), milk for children in need, clothing, food baskets, shelter support…etc. Individual cases will be identified during project activities, as well as referrals from other actors.
- Providing legal awareness sessions to educate the target population on the importance of registering civil documents: These sessions will be delivered by trained legal staff (legal advisors) who will be sent across the target communities of the project. Activities will take place mainly within communities, as well as in facilities of other organizations and the aim is to support people who need to provide individual information on relevant legal issues, the same legal team will be mobilized to provide legal advice on. Teams will provide information on administrative due process and risks associated with not obtaining personal documents.
- Providing awareness sessions for women, men, boys and girls most in need in the project areas through mobile awareness teams specialized in protection issues and concerns. Awareness will be provided in the form of dissemination of information about available services and awareness raising sessions with specific topics related to participants such as awareness of risks, and psychosocial support , child protection, gender-based violence issues, in addition to other topics. Selected according to the risks identified in the Protection Monitoring Reports from the Protection Monitoring Teams. All sessions and messages will be aligned with the Protection Cluster and Sub-clusters as well as standard operating procedures and guidelines agreed between local and global humanitarian agencies.
- Provide scheduled psychosocial support activities to vulnerable men who have been under great stress due to crises to prevent further mental health problems. Psychosocial support activities for men aim to better reconnect men with their families and communities, strengthen social bonds and cooperation, activate positive daily lives, enhance resilience and teach positive coping mechanisms and a sense of confidence. In addition to identifying and referring male beneficiaries with psychological and mental health problems
Work areas: Aleppo Governorate – Azaz District – Sub-districts (Azaz – Soran – Akhtarin)
Number of beneficiaries: 13838 beneficiaries
This project targets males and females in an equal manner, the Shafak project follows the principle of equality between men and women. Thus, Shafak works to promote and encourage respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms for all persons without distinction of race, gender and religion.