SECRETARIAT - 150 route de Ferney, P.O. Box 2100, 1211 Geneva 2, Switzerland - TEL: +41 22 791 6033 - FAX: +41 22 791 6506 www.actalliance.org Rapid Response Fund Payment Request No. 11-2012 Funds Sent To: World Council of Churches Armenia Inter-Church Charitable Round Table Foundation (ART) Amount Sent: 39,143 USD Date: 9 November, 2012 Details of Response Emergency: Rapid Support to Syrian Refugees in Armenia Date of Emergency: 08 November, 2012 (ongoing) ACT Requesting Member(s): World Council of Churches Armenia Inter-Church Charitable Round Table Foundation (ART) I. NARRATIVE SUMMARY DETAILS OF THE EMERGENCY Thousands of Syrian refugees are pouring into neighbouring countries as the fight between Syrian Government forces and rebel groups intensifies. The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights reported massive human rights violations in Syria committed by both, the Government forces as well as the rebel groups. As a consequence of the ongoing clashes, more than 1,2 million Syrians have been displaced from their homes over the past 18 months and 360,000 refugees are seeking protection outside the country (OCHA 2 Nov. 2012) putting an increasing strain on the governments and host communities. The Armenian community in Syria could not stand the devastations of the war either and the number of Armenian victims in Syria is increasing day by day. As of 31 October, more than 40 families mourn lives of relatives and are left without the breadwinner in Aleppo. Over 100 families are waiting in the airport of the city of Ghamshly to fly to Armenia. The Armenian Church St. Hakob in Aleppo was burned down which increased the atmosphere of fear and distress among the Armenian community. About 7,000 Syrian Armenians fled to Armenia (the number is still increasing) and more than 590 families have been registered in the Ministry of Diaspora of the Republic of Armenia as “families in need”. Among them, 90 families have filed refugee claims with the responsible state authorities, but in the majority of cases the arriving Syrian Armenians do not register by any entity as they consider Armenia their home country. Most of the families consist of 4-6 people. An estimated 80-90% of Syrian Armenians found shelter in Yerevan and its vicinity while the rest live in the regions. Rapid Support to Syrian Refugees, RRF 11-2012 2 Most refugees have arrived with limited means, not enough to cover basic needs. These who could at first rely on savings or support from host families are now increasingly in need of assistance. The situation is particularly dire for these who just recently escaped Syria to save their lives. ACTIONS TO DATE, AND EMERGENCY NEEDS The situation of Syrian refugees in Armenia is worsening despite some assistance provided by the Government and other service providers. Ministries and international organizations are involved in assessments and are trying to find shelter for refugees. The Ministry of Diaspora of the Republic of Armenia established “Center for Coordination of Syrian Problems” to coordinate response programmes among the humanitarian actors. ART in close cooperation with the RA Ministry of Diaspora and the “Center for Coordination of Syrian Problems” has done an initial needs assessment of refugee families in Armenia. The Ministry of Diaspora has also provided the results of its needs assessment which included 540 Syrian Armenian families. The result shows the immediate need for: Nutrition and food security Sanitary care and personal hygiene Housing ( and utility costs) Survival at winter time, warm clothing and blankets Employment and secured living Psycho-social support In coordination with other service providers, ART is planning to address food security for refugees by providing food packages for a month to the most vulnerable families. In addition, ACT Alliance Armenia Forum is currently planning to donate limited first aid and hygiene kits to the refugees. PROPOSED EMERGENCY RESPONSE OVERALL GOAL: To protect livelihood of 100 most vulnerable Syrian refugees in Armenia. OBJECTIVE(S) OF THE EMERGENCY RESPONSE: 1. To ensure minimum living conditions are met by providing food baskets to 100 families (appr. 570 individuals) over a period of one month. 2. To increase coping mechanisms of Syrian refugees in Armenia by addressing their psycho-social needs. PROPOSED ASSISTANCE: The relief project supported through RRF funding will be implemented in close collaboration by ART, UMCOR-Armenia, and the Araratyan Patriarchal Diocese. Clergy will assist with pastoral care and counseling (if needed, other Dioceses will also be asked for support). Activities of the proposal will include: Re: Objective 1. Provision of Food The most vulnerable families will be identified and 1st use essentials provided for one month time. The minimum food basket in Armenia is 30,000 AMD, which means approximately 73 USD per person/month. To secure nutrition of 100 families it is calculated that a food package per family per day costs 5,000 AMD, which makes 150,000AMD per month. In total one month support to 100 families is 15,000,000 AMD, equal to about 37,000 USD. ART plans to unite the efforts of ACT Armenia Forum members involving the latter in the administration and distribution of the food packages. Rapid Support to Syrian Refugees, RRF 11-2012 3 Re: Objective 2. Psycho-Social Support As a member of the ACT Alliance Forum, ART strives to protect, without discrimination, the rights and dignity of the individuals with whom it works during responses to emergencies. Many local and international organizations put efforts to support the refugees from Syria and do care for their material and biological needs. ART is the only organization in the field representing the Church and the one that has a network of partners trained on provision of psycho-social support to victims of emergencies. With the immediate assistance of clergy, social workers and psychologists involved as part of the network, people will be provided with psycho-social support. TARGET POPULATIONS: Project target populations are the refugees from Syria. 100 most vulnerable families were identified based on the following selection criteria: Gender and age balance Number of family members Social conditions Need for psychological support The disaggregated data below reveals a significant number of children who are in need of support. Female Male Total Age range Number Age range Number 0-6 37 0-6 40 77 6-18 95 6-18 110 205 18-60 130 18-60 120 250 60+ 15 60+ 20 35 Total 277 290 567 IMPLEMENTATION ARRANGEMENTS: ART is planning to carry out the emergency response project in cooperation with ACT Armenia Forum member UMCOR Armenia, and ECLOF. In addition, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed with the Arartyan Patriarchal Diocese which provides the framework of the collaboration. COORDINATION: ART has carried out a participatory needs assessment in coordination and cooperation with the Ministry of Diaspora, the “Center for Coordination of Syrian Problems”, and also the refugee families. These involved in the assessment have identified the most urgent needs and prioritized them. Possible contributions by ACT Armenia Forum members were determined and an alert was sent to the ACT Secretariat. The emergency response project activities were discussed within the ACT Armenia Forum and agreements were reached on roles and responsibilities in carrying out the work. An implementation plan is in place covering the purchase of the products, distribution, administration and coordination. The issue of refugees is in the center of attention of mass media in Armenia. Information about further action will be widely disseminated through local and regional media and national TV Channels, on web sites of ACT Armenia Forum members. COMMUNICATIONS: ART will be in charge for ensuring communication flow through a) preparing a list of the communications contacts; b) establishing close cooperation and communication with major stakeholders and support team members; c) providing information to media, journalists, photographers, etc; e) holding meetings between in-country communicators to generate collegiality among member organizations and sharing resources, itineraries and contacts. Rapid Support to Syrian Refugees, RRF 11-2012 4 PRINCIPLES AND STANDARDS: ACT policies and codes of conduct will be adhered by ART and other ACT Armenia Forum members. The Code of Conduct for the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement and non-Governmental Organisations in Disaster relief will guide the work of ACT. In addition, SPHERE standards will be applied when calculating food rations for the families. PLANNED IMPLEMENTATION PERIOD: The duration of the project is approximately 6 weeks from the date of funding receipt. The implementation will evolve in the following steps: 1. Preparation phase 2. Beneficiary list finalization, arrangements for and procurement of food packages – one to two weeks 3. Distribution of the packages to 100 families – 30 days 4. Provision of spiritual and psychological counselling and support – ongoing action 5. Monitoring and evaluation – on weekly basis 6. Reporting – every two weeks HUMAN RESOURCES AND ADMINISTRATION OF FUNDS: The ART executive director, programme officer, chief accountant, secretary and driver will be involved in implementing the project. In addition, ACT Armenia Forum members and ART partners, clergy representing the ART emergency network will also be engaged. ART will be responsible for the administration of the funds and will spend RRF funds on procurement and distribution of food packages to 100 refugee families. Expenses will be done according to the Armenian legislation and the requirements of the funding organization. ART programme and administrative staff will be engaged in daily management of the project implementation. ART executive director will undertake overall supervision and monitoring of the project. ART undertakes semi-annual and annual audit of its projects and reports both narrative and financial are submitted to funding partners. MONITORING AND EVALUATION: Armenia Round Table will be responsible for monitoring and evaluation of the project implementation and will encourage other ACT Forum members to join.