Restorative, Essential, and Comprehensive assistance for Vulnerable populations to Enhance Resiliency (RECOVER) Third Quarterly Report April 1 – June 30, 2017 Funded by USAID/Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA)

Country Contact Headquarters Contact Program Summary: Award Number: AID- OFDA-A-16-00050 Start Date: October 1, 2016 End Date: September 30, 2017 Report Date: July 31, 2017 Total New Award: $24,291,687

Mercy Corps – North Quarter 1: AID- OFDA-A-16-00050 1

ABBREVIATIONS

AOG – Armed Opposition Group AIU – Access and Information Unit BCP – Border Crossing Point GoS – Government of Syria IDP – Internally Displaced Person IED – Improvised Explosive Device INGO – International Non-Governmental Organization ISIS – Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (also known as ISIL/IS) LC – Local Council M&E – Monitoring and Evaluation NFI – Non-Food Item NGO – Non-Governmental Organization OFDA – Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance PDM – Post Distribution Monitoring PSS – Psychosocial Support RuAF – Russian Air Force SDF – Syrian Defense Forces RVD - Registration, Verification, and Distribution TRC – Turkish Red Crescent YPG – People’s Protection Unit (A Kurdish armed group)

Mercy Corps – North Syria Quarter 3: AID- OFDA-A-16-00050 2 I. Program Overview Until the revocation of Mercy Corps’ NGO status in , on February 21, 2017, Mercy Corps had been implementing cross border programming from Turkey to northern Syria since 2012, providing multi-sector, lifesaving and holistic assistance (NFIs, WASH, Protection, Shelter, Food Security and Livelihoods) to over 3.9 million individuals. After the revocation, management of all programs implement in Northern Syria transitioned temporarily to Kosovo, and are now permanently managed from Mercy Corps’ regional office in Amman, Jordan (for more details, see Context section below.)

Through the Restorative, Essential, and Comprehensive Assistance to Vulnerable Populations to Enhance Resiliency (RECOVER) Program, Mercy Corps aims to reach an estimated 40,110 unique IDP and host community households (240,660 individuals1) in (including Kobani), Idleb and Governorates over the 12-month program. Mercy Corps believes a multi-sector approach increases efficiency of aid delivery and supports local communities, thereby enabling Mercy Corps to address the basic humanitarian needs of the most vulnerable and newly displaced families in an adaptive manner, while also enhancing the capacity of communities to cope with the stress of war and recover from loss of basic services and income.

Goal: To meet immediate humanitarian needs and enhance the adaptive capacity of vulnerable Syrian communities.

Objective 1: Improve access to essential hygiene and non-food item (NFI) materials for 18,550 IDP and host community households2 (111,300 individuals) affected by the conflict in Syria through distribution of in-kind commodities and vouchers in northern Syria.

Objective 2: Increase access to water and sanitation facilities and improve hygiene awareness for conflict-affected households in northern Syria, targeting an estimated 20,000 households (120,000 individuals) in Aleppo (excluding Kobani), Idleb and Hama, and an estimated 10,830 households3 (64,980 individuals) in Kobani.

Objective 3: Promote psychosocial well-being for conflict affected children and youth through regular facilitation of recreational activities and trainings, targeting 12,129 IDP individuals in Aleppo and Idleb governorates.

Objective 4: Improve access to secure and habitable shelter for recently displaced households in northern Syria, targeting 3,160 IDP households (18,960 IDP individuals) in Aleppo and Idleb governorates.

Objective 5: Enhancing food security and restoring productive agricultural livelihoods for vulnerable households in northern Syria, targeting 6,000 IDP and host community households (36,000 IDP individuals) in Aleppo and Idleb governorates.

Key activities include the provision of in-kind and voucher NFI kits (e.g. new arrival, hygiene, 2-in-1 kits, etc.), distribution of tents, restoration of water and sanitation supply systems, hygiene promotion, psychosocial activities, provision of clean water, and provision of seeds and complementary assistance to restore productive agriculture.

1 Based on a family size of six. 2 Number of unique beneficiary households based on the number of beneficiaries receiving regular hygiene kits (12,250 HHs over 6 distribution rounds) in addition to beneficiaries receiving the one-off a 2-in-1 hygiene kits (6,300 HHs). 3 Includes returnees

Mercy Corps – North Syria Quarter 3: AID- OFDA-A-16-00050 3 II. Context Update on Mercy Corps Revocation in Turkey4: Following the written notification from the Turkish Ministry of Interior (MOI), Bureau of Associations on February 21, 2017 informing us that our legal representation status as an NGO in Turkey was revoked, Mercy Corps continued moving forward with closing our registration and all of our Turkey offices during this quarter in order to comply with the MOI’s request. The contracts of the key team members working on HQ service contracts were extended until the end of June 2017 to finish Mercy Corps’ commitments and liquidation in Turkey, and to afford Mercy Corps adequate time to scale-up sufficient human resources in Amman, Jordan. Expatriate staff, who were based in Pristina, Kosovo during the transition phase after the revocation in February, were relocated to Amman during this quarter. Updates on program implications by geography for this quarter are as follows:

Idleb and Western and Southern Rural Aleppo: Mercy Corps will continue direct implementation of WASH activities and emergency assistance (NFI and RTE) for the remainder of the modification period. Direct implementation of Protection activities will continue until the end of the grant. Direct implementation of Shelter activities will continue through July 2017 and discontinue after fulfillment of all current commitments. All Agriculture activities have concluded under this award.

Northern Corridor: Due to increased political pressure and safety concerns for staff, partners and beneficiaries, Mercy Corps has initiated closeout of all program activities in the Northern Corridor of Syria (, Mare, Aghtarin and Suran Sub-districts). In coordination with the clusters and other local actors, Mercy Corps concluded handover activities to ensure continuity of services to beneficiaries in the Northern Corridor as much as possible in May 2017.

Ain al Arab (Kobani and Menbij): Effective May 1, 2017, Mercy Corps North East Syria (based in Erbil, Iraq) assumed responsibility for all activities in Kobani and Menbij under a separate OFDA award. Mercy Corps will no longer operate in these areas under the RECOVER award.

Mercy Corps will continue to participate in several forums in Turkey to formally coordinate assistance in North Syria. We will continue to receive and share regular communication via the cluster’s mailing lists, contribute to marketplace monitoring and physically attend meetings as possible, arranging for remote participation as needed.

Security Update: Although conflict intensity across Western and Southern Aleppo rural has remained significantly low in May and June 2017, which is related to the joint agreement between the Governments of Russia (GoR), , and Turkey on May 5 at the negotiations in Astana, stipulating the establishment of four ‘de-escalation’ zones in Syria, throughout April 2017, several towns and villages in western rural Aleppo were targeted by intense Government of Syria airstrikes, including Daret Azza, Atareb sub-districts. These attacks accompanied intense clashes west of Aleppo city between the GoS, its aligned forces and AOGs. GoS forces reportedly sought to advance towards Rashedeen area, western side of the city, and to advance west of the Az-Zahraa housing compound in western Aleppo city in an attempt to cut the road between Haritan Sub-District and western rural Aleppo. Therefore, Mercy Corps suspended its operations in the town of Daret Azza on 18 April 2017 for one day.

Between April 19 and 24, GoS and aligned forces continued their attempts to advance towards town, Haritan Sub-District. On April 19, GoS forces launched an offensive to recapture and isolate the opposition-held pocket north of Aleppo city, including the towns of Haritan, Andan, Hayyan, Kafr Hamra and Maaret Elartiq. GoS forces’ offensive was launched near the opposition-

4 This is reflected in a modification letter submitted to OFDA on April 12

Mercy Corps – North Syria Quarter 3: AID- OFDA-A-16-00050 4 held Tamura village, three km north of Anadan town located over a strategic hill. GoS forces also attempted to advance again near the Az-Zahraa housing compound in western Aleppo city in a likely attempt to cut the road between Haritan Sub-District and western rural Aleppo. These offensives were supported by airstrikes on the majority of towns and villages in the western rural Aleppo. Therefore, Mercy Corps extended the suspension of its operations in Haritan, Anadan, and Kafr Hamra Villages during this quarter.

Additionally, due to continued security issues, Mercy Corps’ activities continue to be suspended in Ekdah, Kafr Ghan, Baraghideh, Tal Hussein, Jarez, Kafrshush, Ferziyeh, Brisha and Yahmul. In addition, the suspension of operations in the towns and villages of Tal Refaat, Deir Jmal, , , Sheikh Issa as well as Hayyan and Byanun villages have continued since February 1, 2016.

Markets and living conditions: All over Mercy Corps’ catchment area, markets are functional and vendors are able to increase their capacity to meet demand. Goods continued to move throughout Mercy Corps’ catchment area, though not regularly. Basic goods are mostly coming from Turkey, which were negatively impacted by the high exchange rate, while fuel and carburant are generally being provided through ISIS-SDF-AOG frontlines from eastern (manually refined fuel) and southern (industrially refined fuel) Syria. In North Syria, frontlines now represent de facto boundaries, which are controlled by different groups. Inconsistent management of crossing points means commercial goods are sometimes taxed twice, by AOGs and SDF. Recurring road closures affect the prices of basic items and construction related materials.

In Atareb area, the price of bread had increased by 40% during the reporting period because of the absence of the NGOs that provide inputs to ensure bread is sold at reasonable prices. One MT of flour was recorded to cost $2605, and 1 Kg of sugar recorded $0.85. Electricity is not readily available, but there were vendors during this reporting period who sold electricity by private generators, but the cost is too high in comparison to the income of families. Most of the goods - which are available in the markets - came from Turkey via Bab Al Hawa BCP and from the regime areas. One liter of Fuel was recorded to cost $0.60. Water in most of the villages was available via tanks; each tank (4,000 liters) costs $6.00.

In the southern countryside, prices are stable (USD) and as follows fir 1kg/1lt: Rice $0.72; Sugar $0.68; Flour $0.26; Oil $0.90; Bulgur $0.31; Obesity oil $1.10; Fuel $0.72; Gasoline $0.81; and Gas cylinder $12.72. During this reporting period, the USD exchange rate was 550.

Idleb southern rural: regarding the markets in April, vendors were afraid to provide goods due to continuous shelling. People in the area were also afraid to go to the main markets for the same reason. In May and June a truce was brokered, which increased both supply and demand in the markets, as vendors started to reopen and customer traffic and purchases increased. 70-80% of all goods in the markets of this area are coming from Turkey, Bab Al Hawa BCP and 20% are coming from the regime areas - from Hama northern rural. However, when either the BCP or the regime checkpoints are closed, prices are reported to increase up to 50%. Fuel, including liquid fuel, is coming from Afrin, while gas fuel is coming from regime areas. Similarly, to the good above, when these roads are closed, prices spike.

Frontlines: Regime forces are around Al Madiq castle, which is the nearest point to Idleb southern rural. Goods coming from this area are taxed 50%, while medicines are taxed 400%.

I. Performance Summary

5 All prices are USD.

Mercy Corps – North Syria Quarter 3: AID- OFDA-A-16-00050 5 Revised LOP Target April – June 2017 Total progress Total % progress Total Number of Total Number of Total Number of target vs. actuals Sector IDP IDP IDP Individual IDP Individual Individuals Individuals individual individual individuals s individuals s s s NFI 123,006 86,104 0 0 100,707 47,505 82% 55% WASH 435,783 291,020 85,997 67,959 117,013 86,502 27% 30% Protection 6,260 6,260 4,639 4,639 5,653 5,653 90% 90% Shelter 8,502 8,502 71 71 71 71 1% 1% Agricultur 48,364 3,251 134% 30% e 36,000 10,800 0 0 TOTAL 609,551 402,686 90,707 72,669 271,808 142,982 75% 83%

Logistics Support and Relief Commodities/NFIs

Disaggregation Baseline Revised April - Total % Performance Indicator Value LOP June progress progress Target 2017 v targets Outcome 1: Improve access to essential hygiene and NFI items for IDP and host community households in northern Syria Indicator 1.1: Total number of people receiving NFIs, by sex and Overall Total 0 123,006 0 100,707 82% type6 Indicator 1.2: Percentage of households that are satisfied with the quantity and quality of the NFI Total 0 80% 76% 81% 101% items received Output 1.1: 41,800 in-kind kits (new arrival, hygiene, 2-in-1, winter clothing, new born and elderly) to be provided to IDPs and host/returnees

Indicator 1.1.1: Total number and Total number 0 36,190 0 10,500 29% per item USD cost of NFIs 7 (1) Total Hygiene kits – distributed, by type 0 0 number (2) Total Other NFIs* - 0 10,500 number (3) Total Tarpaulins – 0 0 number Output 1.2: 38,500 vouchers (new arrival, hygiene, and winter clothing) to be provided to IDPs and host/returnees Indicator 1.2.1: Total number and Total number per item USD value of 0 3,042 0 2,042 67% cash/vouchers distributed for NFIs, by type8 *Includes New Arrival and Winter Clothing Kits

New Arrival Kits: Seasonally appropriate new arrival kits aim to fulfill the needs of recently displaced individuals and households during the cold season or when people need to leave to other places without carrying essential items. No distributions of new arrival kits took place within this reporting period

These new arrival kits will be procured through the NFI pipeline developed by OFDA and IOM. IOM and Mercy Corps have held a number of discussions to develop SOPs that outline the modalities and requirements necessary to ensure procurement and transportation to partner warehouses in North Syria. Throughout the reporting period, Mercy Corps also held a number of conversations with other implementing partners to gauge the possibility of engaging other INGOs to provide support in

6 Refer to OFDA, Objective 1, sub-sector "Non-Food Items", Indicator 3 7 Refer to OFDA, Objective 1, sub-sector "Non-Food Items", Indicator 1 8 Refer to OFDA, Objective 1, sub-sector "Non-Food Items", Indicator 2

Mercy Corps – North Syria Quarter 3: AID- OFDA-A-16-00050 6 accessing the pipeline considering Mercy Corps’ current registration status in Turkey. Consultations have concluded and Mercy Corps and IOM have agreed to modified SOPs that provide access to the NFI pipeline and Mercy Corps will accept final responsibility for the kits upon receipt at the Syrian warehouse and will subsequently take possession and distribute according to the identified beneficiaries. Access to the NFI pipeline continues to allow Mercy Corps to reach vulnerable populations throughout the targeted sub-districts.

Winter Clothing Kits: No distribution of winter clothes whether in kind or voucher took place within this reporting period. However, over the life of the award, Mercy Corps distributed the 7,500 kits as planned targeting Azaz, Mare, Zarbeh, Tall Ed Dama, Abul Thohur, Kafr Nobol, Maaret An Noman, Daret Azza and sub-districts. The distributions targeted both host community and IDPs applying the appropriate criteria.

Vouchers: Within this reported period, distribution of vouchers stopped as a result of the revocation. Mercy Corps has researched a variety of voucher-development options, including the selected modality of printing vouchers inside Syria. In support of this new methodology, Mercy Corps has developed Voucher SOPs to guide the design and rollout of the new vouchers, which will begin in August. Developed in Amman, the design file will be shared, as a protected pdf file, with the selected vendor who will print sequentially numbered vouchers. Design and identifying marks will be changed for each voucher distribution and Mercy Corps has outlined protocols and procedures to mitigate against duplication and to ensure they are redeemed appropriately.

WASH

Performance Indicator Disaggregation Baseline Revised April - Total % Value LOP June progress progress Target 2017 v targets Outcome 2: Increase access to water and sanitation facilities and improve hygiene awareness for conflict affected households in northern Syria Indicator 2.1: Total number of people directly benefiting from Total 0 435,783 85,997 117,013 27% WASH program activities Indicator 2.2: Percentage change in hygiene knowledge, attitude and 25% Total percentage 28% N/A N/A N/A practices for a healthier lifestyles change among targeted households Indicator 2.3: Number of sites with no evidence of defecation in public Total number 0 50 38 38 76% areas9 Indicator 2.4: Number of communal solid waste disposal sites created and Total number 0 11 3 5 45% operational10 Output 2.1: Hygiene promotion sessions and activities to be provided to IDPs and host communities. Indicator 2.1.1: Number of people receiving direct hygiene promotion (excluding mass media campaigns Total number 0 17,000 14,288 16,341 96% and without double-counting)11 Indicator 2.1.2: Number of awareness sessions and activities conducted for IDPs and host Total number 0 8,130 2,436 7,498 92% communities

9 Refer to OFDA, Objective 2, sub-sector "Hygiene Promotion", Indicator 2 10 Refer to OFDA, Objective 2, sub-sector "Environmental Health", Indicator 2 11 Refer to OFDA, Objective 2, sub-sector "Hygiene Promotion", Indicator 1

Mercy Corps – North Syria Quarter 3: AID- OFDA-A-16-00050 7 Indicator 2.1.3: Number of trainings and mentoring provided to community volunteers on becoming Total number 0 15 8 8 17% hygiene promotion agents in their communities Output 2.2: Availability of adequate, reliable and safe water to IDPs and host communities. Indicator 2.2.1: Number of people directly benefiting from the water Overall total number 0 229,262 0 12,432 5% supply infrastructure program12 Indicator 2.2.2: Number of liters of water used per person per day for drinking, cooking, hygiene and Total number 24.3 24 24 24 100% laundry13 Indicator 2.2.3: Number of the water network (rehabilitation/installation) Total number 0 13 0 5 38% projects completed

Indicator 2.2.4: Number of people benefiting from water trucking Total number 0 85,000 85,997 89,627 105%

Output 2.3: Operational sanitation and solid waste management infrastructures at household level. Indicator 2.3.1: Number of people directly benefiting from the sanitation Overall total number 0 167,795 0 51,710 31% infrastructure program14 Indicator 2.3.2: Average number of 20 per people per functioning toilet Total number 0 function 20 20 100% ing toilet Indicator 2.3.3: Number of people benefiting from solid waste Overall total number 0 38,726 12,595 95,669 247% management and drainage activities15 Indicator 2.3.4: Number of sanitation and solid waste management Total number 0 6 0 4 67% infrastructure projects completed

Mercy Corps WASH activities under the OFDA-funded RECOVER program focus on infrastructure (e.g. water supply rehabilitation, sewer rehabilitation, water tank installation and latrine construction, equipment supply, etc.), and WASH services (e.g. water trucking, waste collection, water tank and latrine maintenance, running cost support, and water quality testing) and hygiene promotion.

The transition of the WASH team from to Amman took place during the reporting period. A WASH Program Manager, Senior WASH Officer and WASH Officer were recruited and started in the Amman office on the 20th June, with handover provided by staff in Gaziantep as well as a Regional WASH Advisor who bridged the three- week gap between Program Managers in June.

Assessments: Technical assessments were conducted for water and sanitation infrastructure, and reported in the previous quarter. This process saw the prioritization of water infrastructure projects over sanitation projects, and safer locations over more unstable sites. During this reporting period Mercy Corps engineers have finalized designs of planned projects and prioritized projects based on the number of beneficiaries that will be served, the cost per beneficiary ratio, as well as the duration of implementation that will be required to complete the work. These projects have been passed to the procurement department to start the process for collecting bids from contractors inside Syria. To date 6 contractors have been chosen and those projects should start, pending security, in the week beginning 30th July. The selection of contractors for remaining projects is on-going. The list of all projects has been shared with OFDA upon request.

12 Refer to OFDA, Objective 2, sub-sector "Water supply Infrastructure", Indicator 1 13 Refer to OFDA, Objective 2, sub-sector "Water supply Infrastructure", Indicator 2 14 Refer to OFDA, Objective 2, sub-sector "Sanitation Infrastructure", Indicator 1 15 Refer to OFDA, Objective 2, sub-sector "Environmental Health", Indicator 1

Mercy Corps – North Syria Quarter 3: AID- OFDA-A-16-00050 8 Other Activities: During April and May Mercy Corps continued to conduct garbage collection in New Ekdah, Kamona, Raha and Osmania camps, tents around Bab Al Nour camp, 22 collective shelters in A'zaz city, Othmania, Shemareen, Shamarekh, Tatiah, Tlil Al Sham and Arada villages. In addition, desludging was conducted at five (5) sites inside Atareb and . These activities were put on hold at the end of May, with activities planned to be resumed at the start of July. Activities in June were delayed due to on-going negotiations with the vendors regarding the extension of their agreements

Mercy Corps handed over WASH programming responsibility for Kobane and Menbij to the North East Syria team based in Derek, Syria.

As of 13th May, Mercy Corps handed over responsibility for water trucking to 7,646 households in the Northern Corridor to Islamic Relief (6,173 households in 13 locations) and World Vision (1,468 households in 27 locations). Mercy Corps continued with water trucking in 93 separate locations throughout the reporting period, including camps, hosting villages and protection sites (child friendly spaces): 19 in Atareb District, 49 in Deret Azza, 17 in Tall Ed Daman and 9 in Zerbah. At its peak 85,997 individuals were supported through this activity. They received an average of 24 l/c/d with 116,495 m3 of water distributed over the three- month period. WASH monitors used tablets of NaDCC to chlorinate water tankers to achieve a minimum Free Residual Chlorine (FRC) of 0.2mg/l at the point of delivery. Protection

Revised April – Total % Performance Disaggregation of unique beneficiaries Baseline 16 LOP June progress progress v Indicator (youth and adolescents) Value Target 2017 (cumulative) targets Outcome 3: Promote psychosocial well-being for conflict affected children and youth through regular facilitation of recreational activities and trainings Indicator 3.1: Male Male Female Female Number of male (15- (5-14 (5-14 (15-18 and female youth 18 years) years) years) reached through years) 0 5,900 4,263 5,637 96% program 17 2,333 2,415 376 513 activities Indicator 3.2: Male Female Percentage of parents reporting 25% 24% N/A N/A N/A improved well- change N/A N/A being among their 18 children Indicator 3.3: Percentage of Male Female targeted children reporting an 10% improvement in 32% N/A N/A N/A change their sense of N/A N/A safety and well- being at the close 19 of the program Output 3.1: Availability of safe, accessible, staffed and participant-driven safe space for (1) children and adolescents, (2) youth, and (3) women and girls.

16 This is not exhaustive of total protection beneficiaries, as some adults (18+) are also reached by these activities. Further, the disaggregation listed here is reflective of the cumulative progress. 17 Refer to OFDA, Objective 3, sub-sector "PSS", Indicator 3 18 Refer to OFDA, Objective 3, sub-sector "PSS", Indicator 2 19 Refer to OFDA, Objective 3, sub-sector "Child Protection", Indicator 2

Mercy Corps – North Syria Quarter 3: AID- OFDA-A-16-00050 9 Indicator 3.1.1: CFS YEP WGC Number of new and existing functional safe 20 0 26 26 26 100% spaces where 21 4 1 protection activities are implemented. Indicator 3.1.2: Number of Male Female recruited and trained community 0 122 79 127 104% volunteers and facilitators to run 62 65 the activities Output 3.2: Availability of and access to PSS, recreational activities, life skills program, informal and vocational education activities for (1) children and adolescents, (2) youth, (3) women and girls, and (4) parents/caregivers Indicator 3.2.1: Number of people Male Female received life skills trainings, informal 0 1,774 873 1,556 88% and vocational educational 443 1,113 activities Indicator 3.2.2: Children Number of Youth and Women children and 15-18 adolescents and girls adolescents, years women and girls, 5-14 old and youth 0 6,260 4,639 5,653 90% participating in the Psychosocial Support (PSS) 4,404 889 360 activities, per beneficiary type Indicator 3.2.3: Number of Male Female parents/caregivers participating in the 0 290 264 264 91% Psychosocial Support (PSS) 46 218 sessions Output 3.3: Provision of trainings on child protection and GBV prevention & response to support community-based protection mechanisms Indicator 3.3.1: Number of people Male Female trained in 0 170 13 13 8% psychosocial 21 7 6 support, by sex Indicator 3.3.2: Number of people Male Female trained in child protection (refer to OFDA, Objective 0 85 13 13 15% 3, sub-sector "Child 7 6 Protection", Indicator 1) Indicator 3.3.3: Number of people Male Female 0 0 0 0 0%

20 Mercy Corps reported 36 sites in Q1, however, that total was incorrect. The Q2 and total progress outcomes have been corrected to reflect the actual number of sites. 21 Refer to OFDA, Objective 3, sub-sector "PSS", Indicator 1

Mercy Corps – North Syria Quarter 3: AID- OFDA-A-16-00050 10 trained in GBV prevention and 0 0 response

Overall, the provision of psychosocial support (PSS) activities continued across Mercy Corps’ activity sites, reaching 4,639 males and females during this quarter, including 3,666 between the ages of 5-14 and 597 between 15-18 years old. The PSS team continued to implement activities in 16 collective settlements in A’zaz, Atareb, Daret Azza and Al Dana sub-districts. However, as of May 15, Mercy Corps transitioned out of Azaz. Activities then continued in 11 communities in Atareb, Daret Azza, and Al Dana sub-districts for the remainder of the reporting period – and will continue through the end of the grant.

Child-friendly spaces: Child-friendly Spaces (CFS) receive IDP children between 5-14 years, especially those suffering from aggressiveness, isolation or psychological distress. In addition, those who do not receive education can benefit from informal education sessions in addition to the literacy and numeracy sessions. Parents attend the parenting sessions; these can be the parents of CFS attendees or any other IDP parent in the Protection operation areas. The following materials were distributed this quarter for activities in all Mercy Corps’ CFS: 40 consumable kits in Azaz district, 58 consumable kits in Qah, Daret Azza and Atareb districts, 50 durable materials kits in Azaz district and 70 durable materials kits in Qah, Atareb and Daret Azza.

In Azaz, Mercy Corps worked with the CP Sub-cluster to identify an organization who could take over daily management of the CFS activities. As a result, Mercy Corps proceeded with the transition of all supported CFS in Azaz to Global Communities during this reporting period. Global Communities regularly met with the relevant authorities in Turkey to obtain the necessary approvals. However, as of June 30, approval from the associated authorities was not yet received. Formal activities in these sites have been suspended during this transition period.

In the Western Rural of Aleppo, exhibitions were organized for different activities including handicrafts using available materials such as flowers. In addition, there were organized activities such as theatre, music and sports. Benefits noticed among participants included reduced signs of stress and increase in confidence among children. Further, awareness sessions were conducted by a nursing institute graduate volunteer focusing on first aid and how to respond in case of an emergency. New rounds of parent awareness sessions were conducted, covering topics such as the importance of remaining in school, reducing children’s exposure to violence, and personal hygiene. Mercy Corps’ Protection Team in Al-arman housing cluster conducted focus group discussions (FGD) sessions on the importance of education and related challenges. The attendees showed great interest in the topic and spoke about the critical need for temporary solutions until they are able to access schools again.

Participation in the CFS has decreased as a result of the hot weather. Due to the inability to continue with procurement of tents and caravans from Turkey, the teams in Daret Azza and Atareb are looking for other potential options in Azar, Mawared, Aqbia and Mahaba housing clusters to find the safest environment to conduct CFS activities.

In Al Dana, the Protection team focused on visiting children who are unable to travel to the center due to physical impairments. The CFS team is offering them physical help to come to the PSS sites as well as providing them and their caregivers with information on relevant services in the area and referrals.

In total, 8 volunteers to facilitate activities for CFS in Atareb and Daret Azza were recruited this reporting period and received training on Child Protection Minimum Standards and PSS. The recruitment process for non-formal education facilitators is still ongoing.

Youth Empowerment Centers & Women and Girls Center (WGC): In Azaz and Al Dana sub-districts, IDP adolescents and youth from age 15 years onwards were able to attend YEP centers while women and girls participated in activities at the WGC in Al Dana.

Mercy Corps – North Syria Quarter 3: AID- OFDA-A-16-00050 11

The Idleb YEP conducted an event for people with special needs where 23 people attended. The content of the event mainly included activities such as competitions, prizes, theatre and songs. Further, a new cohort for the life skills sessions began in mid-May, which seeks to develop skills such as communication skills. At the end of the life skills course, youth participants will be able to start planning a community project based on community needs. The youth team also organized a soccer league in order to motivate youth to socialize in a healthy way and introduce them to the YEP if they were not yet participating in activities there.

For the YEP in Azaz, camp management requested to utilize the space for other purposes once activities implemented by Mercy Corps come to a close. On May 14, all activities at the center ended, and a closeout event was organized to acknowledge the dedication of all staff, volunteers, and participants who contributed to the success of the center.

As for WGC in Al Dana (), Mercy Corps coordinated with the GBV Sub-cluster to identify an organization with the capacity to take over management of the center. Throughout the reporting period, Mercy Corps and Global Communities worked together to prepare for the handover of the WGC’s management. Mercy Corps transitioned out of the center as of June 30, with Global Communities set to take over daily management as of July 1.

This quarter, 3 facilitators for the YEP in Idlib were recruited and received training on Child Protection Minimum Standards and PSS.

Shelter

Performance Disaggregation Baselin Total % Revise April - Indicator e Value progress progres d LOP June s v Target 2017 targets Outcome 4: Improve access to secure and habitable shelter for recently displaced households in northern Syria Indicator 4.1: Male Female Male Femal Number of (collectiv (collectiv (tents e households in the e e ) (tents) program area centers) centers) 0 1,417 71 71 5% receiving emergency/transitio - - - - nal shelter Indicator 4.2: Tents Collective Centers Percentage of HHs reporting improved 125 0 80% 100% 100% shelter living % - - conditions as a result of support. Indicator 4.3: Percentage of total Tents Collective Centers affected population in the program area 0 1.7% 0.09% 0.09% 5% receiving emergency/transitio - - nal shelter assistance22 Indicator 4.4: Total $25,00 $17,91 USD amount and Total USD 0 17,915 72% 0 5 percentage of approved project budget for 1,333 emergency/transitio Total % 7.5% 100% 100% % nal shelter spent on goods and services

22 Refer to OFDA, Objective 4, sub-sector "Emergency/Transitional Shelter", Indicator 3

Mercy Corps – North Syria Quarter 3: AID- OFDA-A-16-00050 12 produced in the affected host country economy23 Output 4.1: 1,400 Installed emergency / transitional shelter. Indicator 4.1.1: Number of Male Female households in the program area 0 1,400 0 0 0% receiving - - emergency/transitio nal shelter24 Indicator 4.1.2: Number of Male Female households in the program area receiving 0 1,400 0 0 0% emergency/transitio nal shelter pursuant - - to Sphere Project standards and FOG guidelines25 Output 4.2: Rehabilitation of public buildings used as informal collective shelters by IDPs. Indicator 4.2.1: Number of public buildings Total number 0 2 2 2 100% rehabilitated to improve shelter conditions of IDPs

Shelter Rehabilitation: After the revocation in late February, Mercy Corps handed over - in coordination with the cluster - all activities in the northern corridor, including the collective shelter site in Aghtarin. As of this quarter, two sites have been rehabilitated: one in Madaya (8 households, 33 individuals) and the other in Al Tawjih Al-Tarbawi (6 households, 38 individuals). The rehabilitation of these two sites was completed on June 20th.

Tents: The 1,400 tents are still being held in TRC’s warehouses in Killis and Hatay. (852 in Killis, 548 in Hatay). Negotiations with Turkish authorities to release and distribute these tents are ongoing. During this reporting period, needs assessment were conducted in case the tents were released. Criteria for tent beneficiaries were finalized. Mercy Corps’ M&E team finalized the registration, verification and distribution (RVD) form for tents with the support of the Program team. Mercy Corps’ field team was trained by Mercy Corps’ Shelter Officer and M&E Coordinator to ensure that they fully understand the criteria and the RVD form before collecting information on needs. Tent needs were collected and verified by Mercy Corps’ M&E team in Atareb area only. Needs assessments in other areas will be conducted once it is confirmed that the tents will be released from TRC’s warehouses.

Agriculture

Performance Indicator Disaggregation Baseline LOP April - Total % Value Target June progress progress 2017 v targets Outcome 5: Enhancing food security and restoring productive agricultural livelihoods for vulnerable households in northern Syria Indicator 5.1: Projected Total percentage 2.8 increase in number of months of months 25% N/A N/A N/A food self-sufficiency due to change distributed seed systems/

23 Refer to OFDA, Objective 4, sub-sector "Emergency/Transitional Shelter", Indicator 4 24 Refer to OFDA, Objective 4, sub-sector "Emergency/Transitional Shelter", Indicator 1 25 Refer to OFDA, Objective 4, sub-sector "Emergency/Transitional Shelter", Indicator 2

Mercy Corps – North Syria Quarter 3: AID- OFDA-A-16-00050 13 agricultural input for beneficiary households26 Indicator 5.2: Number of people Total number 0 benefiting from seed systems / 36,000 0 48,364 134% agricultural input activities27 Indicator 5.3: Number of people Total number 0 trained in pest and disease 1,000 912 1,822 182% prevention / control practices28 Indicator 5.4: Number of people Total 0 trained on seed harvesting and 1,000 167 167 17% saving (specific vegetables only) Output 5.1: Increase food availability and quality in the targeted area through subsidizing farmers with high quality agricultural inputs (seeds, fertilizer). Indicator 5.1.1: Number of Total number 0 farmers received high quality 5,000 0 5,85529 117% agricultural inputs Indicator 5.1.2: % of the Total percentage 0 farmers reporting increased 60% N/A N/A N/A availability and quality of food as a result of agriculture inputs Output 5.2: Increase availability of food for non-farmer households through provision of winter and summer kitchen garden kits. 31 Indicator 5.2.1: Number of non- Total number 0 30 6,000 6,000 farmer HHs received kitchen ind. ind. 0 100% (1,000 garden kits (1,000 HH) HH) Indicator 5.2.2: % of non- Total percentage 0 farmer HHs reporting increased 50% N/A N/A N/A availability of food as a result of provision of kitchen garden kits

Winter Kitchen Gardens: During this reporting period (Q3), Mercy Corps’ agriculture field team conducted 167 field visits where farmers’ plots were visited to see the achieved progress with respect to the winter kitchen gardens. The visits covered the following areas: Daret Azza (56 visits), Atarib (67) in , and (44) in Abul Thohur sub-district in . The purpose of these field visits was to educate the gardeners on the best practices to extend the life of winter gardens. In addition, the agriculture team trained the gardeners on how to harvest and save the seeds from their vegetables in order to use them next season.

As for the end-line survey,32 79 surveys were conducted covering the following sub-districts in Aleppo governorate: (18) Daret Azza, (35) Atarib Sub-District, and (26) Azaz sub-district. Whereas, in Idlib governorate, 15 end-line surveys were conducted in Abul Thohur sub-district.

Summer Kitchen Gardens: As a result of the revocation, the agriculture team was not able to implement the summer kitchen garden project, as planned.

Winter Crops: Within this reported period, Mercy Corps’ field team conducted in total 67 trainings with 586 farmers who had received the following winter crops in October 2016: wheat, barely, chickpea and lentil. The trainings covered the following sub-districts: 19 in Daret Azza, 27 in Atarib,

26 Refer to OFDA, Objective 4, sub-sector "Improving Agriculture Production/Food Security", Indicator 1 27 Refer to OFDA, Objective 4, sub-sector "Improving Agriculture Production/Food Security", Indicator 2 28 Refer to OFDA, Objective 4, sub-sector "Improving Agriculture Production/Food Security", Indicator 3 29 Mercy Corps’ beneficiaries had smaller land (property) than anticipated, which allowed Mercy Corps to reach more beneficiaries with the same inputs. 30 One thousand households received kitchen garden kits. 6,000 est. individuals based upon a household size of six. 31 Reached Q1 32 End-line surveys for livelihoods activities have not been finished yet as of preparation of this report.

Mercy Corps – North Syria Quarter 3: AID- OFDA-A-16-00050 14 and 21 in Abdul Thohur. These trainings aimed to prepare the farmers for the harvest and created an opportunity to discuss the post-harvest handling techniques. Topics included determining the appropriate maturity of plants, harvest timing and seed packaging and storing. Within the trainings, the field team answered the farmers’ questions regarding diseases affecting crops, disease methods and pest prevention and control. The trainings were held in small groups giving the space for the framers to share their own experiences and agricultural knowledge through group discussions.

In addition to the trainings, the agriculture field team conducted 326 field visits for 326 farmers to follow up on the winter crops harvest. During the field visits, the team supported the farmers to understand the best post-harvesting handling techniques, which will enable them to store seeds and the appropriate pesticides application to preserve the seeds. In May, unexpected rain and hailstorms affected the crop production in Daret Azza and Atarib. The team worked closely with the farmers to assess the damage and protect the remaining crops. These visits covered the following sub-districts: 107 visits in Daret Azza, 143 visits in Atarib and 76 visits in Abul Thohur. The visits aimed to follow up on the harvest progress with farmers, support them regarding the seed packaging and storing as well as monitoring any issues faced by the farmers.

As for end-line surveys, a total of 34 end-line surveys were conducted covering the following sub- districts: Azaz 12, Atarib 10, Daret Azza 6 and Abul Thohur 6.

II. Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E)

Regular price monitoring: Mercy Corps supports monthly monitoring of key markets throughout Syria, through the Cash-Based Response Technical Working Group and REACH, to make sure we understand market functionality in-country amid the fluid context that the conflict generates. This exercise records the prices and stock levels of selected food and non-food items used by local households and sold by local traders and retailers. This provides constantly updated information about price ranges and median prices for key foods, as well as other items. Mercy Corps carried out a comparison of the prices in May 2017, looking at the prices of essential goods before the revocation of our Turkish registration ended our interventions and now, to understand the impact that our interventions had before they were disrupted. Among other things, the comparison showed that the price of bread in Azaz, where we were forced to suspend flour deliveries under our complementary BREAD program funded by Food for Peace (FFP), increased 33 percent after our withdrawal, compared to stable bread prices in places where bakery support continued. Non-food items also suffered a high price increase, which are presented in the chart below. Of note, dishwashing soap had a huge price increase of 100%, while in A’zaz it reached 150% increase.

Atareb Daret Azza A'zaz Overall

150%

100% 100% 75% 75% 53% 50%49% 40% 20% 17% 25% 23% 22% 0%

Laundry powder Dish soap Toothpaste Sanitary pads -33%

Mercy Corps – North Syria Quarter 3: AID- OFDA-A-16-00050 15

Private water trucking prices has also witnessed an increase of 28% on average, while in Atareb reaching up to a 67% increase.

80%

60%

40% Water trucking 20%

0% Atareb Daret Azza A'zaz Overall

Post Distribution Monitoring (PDM): Please refer to Annex 4 for more details During this reporting period (April-June 2017), in total 636 post-distribution monitoring visits were conducted to the beneficiaries who received new arrival commodities, winter clothing commodities, and/or winter clothing vouchers. Main findings include:

• Gender of beneficiaries is 35% female respondents, 65% male respondents. • 35% of beneficiaries preferred to receive all types of assistance modalities, 28% preferred in- cash, 20% selected commodity as their preference, while 9% did not have a particular preference for one particular type of assistance, and the remaining 8% preferred voucher assistance. • Beneficiaries expressed ‘why’ cash assistance is their preference: 17% being the highest to reimburse debts, 15% to purchase hygienic items, preferences to purchase Health/medicine and household equipment were both 13%. • Satisfaction with the quantity and quality of the new arrival commodity and winter clothing commodity items is high. o Majority 85% expressed their satisfaction with the quantity of winter clothing items, while only 15% expressed that the quantity of clothes was insufficient. o Regarding new arrival kits quantity, 47% were satisfied with the quantities they have received; however, the rest noted that the mattresses and blankets were not enough. o 96% percent of respondents receiving clothes were satisfied with the quality of items distributed. • The most important unmet needs reported during the PDM are food, clean drinking water and shelter.

Handover and transition: Mercy Corps will continue to maintain the same structure and presence – regarding monitoring activities and implementation - of the teams inside Syria. The remote part of the management will not be changing from the previous approach used successfully out of Turkey – with a similar model being managed out of Jordan: middle-management staff are based out of Jordan, who will continue to manage teams inside Syria. Mercy Corps currently maintains a complete M&E field presence inside Syria in all current North Syria operational areas, with Syrian field staff directly managed by the MEL Coordination and the MEL Manager based in Jordan.

Unfortunately, in the Northern Corridor we had to close our operations and end all staff contracts. During this time, Mercy Corps maintained a high level of communications with staff, partners,

Mercy Corps – North Syria Quarter 3: AID- OFDA-A-16-00050 16 communities, and other stakeholders about the situation related to the revocation of our NGO status in Turkey, and kept them informed about the management transition and handover of program sites and activities. Mercy Corps worked diligently to ensure that all closeout activities were completed in this area, such as completing all PDMs and collecting all endline assessment data, considering that we will lose access to these areas after the full closeout.

Mercy Corps during the reporting period managed to keep critical staff in Gaziantep to enable a smooth transition and handover to the mid-management that was hired out of Jordan.

III. Challenges

Program Activities: On June 29, 2017, two armed members of the armed group Hay'at Tahrir Al- Sham (HTS) entered the Mercy Corps protection center in Jolan Camp, Bab al Hawa whilst an Eid party was being held for children. The HTS members shouted, pushing children away and fired in the air and into the equipment of the band that was playing the music. A full SER was previously submitted with further detail on this incident.

Border Crossing Points (BCP): All Turkey-Syria border crossing points (BCPs) have been closed to civilian pedestrians and private cars except for commercial and humanitarian use since March 9, 2015. Mercy Corps was unable to send commodities from Turkey to Syria during this quarter because of the revocation of its registration in Turkey on February 21st.

Revocation: The revocation of Mercy Corps’ registration in Turkey has been a major programmatic set-back especially for those activities and sectors requiring cross-border commodity transfers. As a direct result of this revocation, Mercy Corps terminated the contracts of all 270 staff members in Turkey (Turkish and Syrian) on March 14, 2017, of which a total of 90 were offered new contracts (service contracts through Mercy Corps HQ) until April 30, 2017. HQ contracts for key staff were extended through to June 30, 2017 affording Mercy Corps adequate time to scale-up sufficient human resources in Amman, Jordan. Further, Mercy Corps has initiated the following steps to ensure that vulnerable households in Syria still have access to appropriate services and support: ● In the Northern Corridor all implementation of WASH, protection, agriculture, NFI and shelter activities ended on 30 April 2017. Syrian staff contracts in the Northern Corridor ended in May following full handover and liquidation of commitments and contracts. ● WASH activities in Kobane ended on 30 April 2017 and Menbij 30 May under this award. Management of Kobane and Membiq transferred to the Mercy Corps North East Syria management team for activities to commence on 01 July 2017. ● Direct implementation will continue at the CFS in Daret Azza, Atareb, and Al Dana until the end of RECOVER. We are trying to set up partnerships for the next award. ● All NFI support in the period from May-September 2017 will continue through direct implementation through a voucher modality. We are currently in talks with OFDA to use third party procurement (IOM pipeline) to meet the needs of in-kind NFI kits. ● Shelter programming will only continue until 30 July 2017 in order to close-out current commitments. ● Agriculture activities are complete. Final trainings related to agriculture inputs were completed by 15 May 2017.

Mercy Corps submitted a modification to OFDA DC on June 23, 2017 outlining these details. As of the date of this report we are still awaiting feedback from DC.

IV. Activities Planned for Next Quarter Objective 1: Improve access to essential hygiene and NFI items for IDP and host community households in northern Syria • Continuous communication with the cluster to identify possible organizations for handover of activities in previous Mercy Corps’ catchment areas.

Mercy Corps – North Syria Quarter 3: AID- OFDA-A-16-00050 17 • Create and finalize the appropriate mechanism to print vouchers and monitor the whole process. • Initiate distribution of 1000 consumable hygiene and new arrival vouchers in Tall Ed-Daman, Zarbeh, Abul Thohur, Atareb, and Daret Azza sub-districts. There will be two distributions of 500 vouchers each.

Objective 2: Increase access to water and sanitation facilities and improve hygiene awareness for conflict-affected households in northern Syria

• Continue to provide water trucking, whilst restarting desludging and garbage collection • Expand water trucking activities and garbage collection to new sites inside Al Maraa in Idleb as identified in our cost modification proposal • Launch water and sanitation infrastructure projects across Idleb and Aleppo Governorates and hand over to Local Councils for operation and maintenance. •

Objective 3: Promote psychosocial well-being for conflict affected children and youth through regular facilitation of recreational activities and trainings

• Continuation of activities in existing CFS and YEP in Atareb, Daret Azza, and Al Dana • Finalize recruitment and provide training for facilitators to lead vocational training and informal education in Atareb, Daret Azza, and Al Dana • Depending on feedback from OFDA regarding the proposal for FY18 funding, Mercy Corps will engage with communities regarding the transition of activities to the approved modality. • Planning for transition of current CFS and YEP spaces based on approval of Mercy Corps’ proposal for new funding.

Objective 4: Improve access to secure and habitable shelter for recently displaced households in northern Syria.

• Shelter programming will only continue until 30 July 2017 in order to close-out current commitments.

Objective 5: Enhancing food security and restoring productive agricultural livelihoods for vulnerable households in northern Syria • Agriculture activities are complete as of November 2016. Final trainings related to agriculture inputs were completed by 15 May 2017.

V. Annexes

• Annex 1 – Success Stories

• Annex 2 – Photos

• Annex 3 – Security Overview

• Annex 4 – Post-distribution Monitoring Report

• Annex 5 – WASH Technical Data

Mercy Corps – North Syria Quarter 3: AID- OFDA-A-16-00050 18