Monthly Update July 2021 Bangladesh: Sustainable Reintegration and Improved Migration Governance (Prottasha) Project Overview SPECIFIC OBJECTIVE 01 Duration: 60 Months Irregular migrants returning to Bangladesh are sustainably reintegrated OVERALL OBJECTIVE (April 2017—April 2022) Contributing to the SPECIFIC OBJECTIVE 02 Funded by: The European Union sustainable reintegration of Lead Ministries: The Ministry of returnees and the progressive The capacities of the Government of Bangladesh and other migration achievement of Goal 10.7 to Expatriates Welfare and Overseas actors are strengthened to manage migration at central and local levels facilitate orderly, safe, regular and to ensure reintegration of irregular migrants Employment (MoEWOE) and The and responsible migration and Ministry of Foreign Aairs (MoFA) mobility of people, including Implementing Partner: BRAC through the implementation SPECIFIC OBJECTIVE of planned and well-managed 03 Service Coverage: 64 Districts of policies Returnees, potential migrants, families and community are empowered to Bangladesh make informed decisions about migration and adopt regular, safe, orderly Number of Primary Beneciaries and responsible migration behaviours including remittance management Reached: 2,289 Sustainable Reintegration TOTAL ASSISTANCE PROVIDED TO DATE (31 JULY) * The overall number of unique project beneciary is not equal to the total of the - gures as some beneciaries received a combination of social, psychosocial, and economic assistance and are SOCIAL PSYCHOSOCIAL ECONOMIC therefore counted multiple times. 88 (87 Men; 1 Women) 692 (689 Men; 10 Women) 1,387 (1,363 Men; 24 Women) Returnees Proled and Screened Beneciaries receiving Total Immediate Assistance July Cumulative July Cumulative Total Immediate Assistance (M: 299; W: 09) EU 22 1,451 00 308 Non-EU 2 838 Total Assistance Received 00 554 (M: 531; W: 23) Total Number 24 2,289 (M: 24/2,235; W: 00/53) Beneciaries receiving Economic Reintegration Support July Cumulative Beneciaries receiving Psycho-social Support Completed Reintegration Plans 73 2,175 (M: 2125; W: 50) July Cumulative Received In-kind Support 19 867 (M: 850; W: 17) Enrolled 16 824 (M: 811; W: 13) Referred for Skills Training 00 110 (M: 108; W: 02) Completed 67 692 (M: 682; W: 10) Received Skill Training (M: 249; W: 06) Referred for Trauma Counselling 00 12 (M: 10; W: 00) 40 255 Received Medical Treatment 06 46 (M: 45; W: 01) Referred for Economic Reintegration Support 00 163 (M: 161; W: 02) Received Economic Reintegration Support 00 04 (M: 04) Information Center Services (M: 260; W: 1) July Cumulative Enrolled in Community Enterprise 00 261 Men 04 313 Social Reintegration Support Women 03 152 July Cumulative Total Calls Received 07 465 Workshops 00 588 Hotline Services IPT Shows 00 1,878 July Cumulative DCC Meetings 00 64 Men 102 2,202 Women 06 166 Video Shows 00 3,162 Total Calls Received 108 2,368 Referred for Social Reintegration Support 00 56 This Project is led by Funded by Implemented by In Partnership with Government of the the European Union IOM BRAC People's Republic of Bangladesh Contact Us: [email protected] 1 Monthly Update July 2021 Prottasha project supports Halder’s reintegration into society "I was forced to return to Bangladesh from France in 2017 as I was an irregular migrant and did not have a legal work permit. My family was disappointed in me because I returned empty handed. I was almost on the edge of depression, but the Prottasha Project provided me a chance to reconcile with my family and assisted me with establishing a business venture. I am grateful to the Prottasha project for the much needed assistance in getting my life back on track. I am positive that the project will benet many other returnees like me." Shimul Halder, a Bangladeshi migrant, originally from Tongibari Upazila in Munshiganj district, received an education up to the eighth grade only. Like many other Bangladeshi migrants, Halder thought of going abroad expecting a better income and life so that he could overcome his nancial hardships. Halder was swayed by a middlemen and he contracted the middleman paying him BDT 1,200,000 (EUR 12,085) to send him to Europe. He managed his migration cost by selling his brother’s shop. Shimul Halder, at rst, migrated to Italy expecting to change his fortune in 2011. But his dreams were soon shattered when he discovered that his Shimul Halder receiving the cheque from the salary was far less compared to what he was originally promised by the Prottasha project sta. @Prottasha 2020 sub-agent. He could barely cover his minimum expenses in Italy. Then he decided to move to France following a short stint in Italy. Unfortunately, life in France was not as smooth as he had expected. He went through so many hurdles in France as he could not manage to nd a better job. Halder used to work as a seasonal worker, selling owers, working as a street hawker in Paris, and then nally ended up getting a job at a restaurant. Halder’s misfortunes continued unfortunaly and which resulted in him returning to Bangladesh as he did not have legal documents to stay on in France permanently. Upon his arrival in Bangladesh, Shimul Halder wanted to start a business but was unable to do so owing to the lack of sucient capital to invest. In June 2019, he happened to see a video show organized under the Prottasha project in Tongibari Upazilla at the local Bazar of Baligaon. He came to know about the dierent services oered under the project supporting the reintegration of Bangladeshi returnees from EU countries. The Prottasha project carried out 3,162 video shows to date. Halder was initially identied as an eligible beneciary under the Prottasha project through the video show initiative, following which the Prottasha sta communicated with Halder and conducted the screening process to conrm him as a beneciary. He was then connected with the Reintegration Service Center (RSC) in Munshiganj where he was assisted with a Tailored Reintegration Plan (TRP) to access multiple services. Halder was assisted with psycho-social services provided by a counselor from the Prottasha project. The psycho-social services assisted him to communicate with his family and reduce his anxiety and stress. He began to feel comfortable, hopeful, and active again. Halder also received medical services under the Prottasha project through referral linkages. Halder also received in-kind assistance to the value of BDT 100,000 (EUR 1007) under the Prottasha project which enabled him to start his business Shimul Halder at in his shop set up with assistance in 2019. He now generates an income between approx. BDT 15,000 (EUR under the Prottasha project. @Prottasha 2020 151) and BDT 20,000 (EUR 201) per month. The Prottasha project is helping him to reintegrate into society. This Project is led by Funded by Implemented by In Partnership with Government of the the European Union IOM BRAC People's Republic of Bangladesh Contact Us: [email protected] 2 Monthly Update July 2021 Returnee Identication: A total of 58 eligible returnees were identied in July by the district supervisors and community mobilizers working in 12 districts (Brahmanbaria, Comilla, Chandpur, Feni, Gazipur, Hobiganj, Jashore, Lokkhipur, Madaripur, Moulobhibazar, Mymensingh, and Sunamganj). During the period March - July 2021, a total of 978 returnees were identied while 745 returnees were conrmed to be eligible as project beneciaries following the screening process. Volunteers in Cumilla engaging with the community to collect information of returned migrants in July. Volunteers engaged in proling returned @IOM 2021 migrants in Hobiganj. @IOM 2021 Awareness Raising Number of persons reached with messages on safe migration, reintegration and remittance management July Cumulative July Cumulative Interactive Popular Theatre (IPT) Shows 00 518,454 School Programmes 00 49,296 M: 329,001; W: 189,453 M: 22,956; W: 26,340 Financial Literacy Trainings 114 2,127 Video Shows 00 621,647 M: 1,825; W: 302 M: 523,695; W: 97,952 Tea Stall Meetings 00 26,245 Pot Songs 00 88,566 M: 25,312; W: 933 M: 52,416; W: 36,150 Increase capacity of migrants and their families on financial literacy Number of advocacy events (workshops and consulta�ve dialogues) and their awareness of available products and services: with financial service providers: July Cumulative July Cumulative Number of financial literacy engagement Number of consulta�ons and (community-based dialogues on access to financial services, 04 88 advocacy engagements: 01 30 capacity building on financial literacy) facilitated: This Project is led by Funded by Implemented by In Partnership with Government of the the European Union IOM BRAC People's Republic of Bangladesh Contact Us: [email protected] 3 Monthly Update July 2021 Monitoring and Evaluation Reintegration Sustainability Survey (RSS) and Reintegration Assistance Satisfaction Survey (RASS): The data collection through RASS and RSS was completed in July 2021. IOM and BRAC M&E teams jointly conducted the RASS and RSS across the 10 RSCs and reached 1,793 beneciaries under the RSS and 1,618 beneciaries under RASS. The aim of the RSS and RASS is to measure the sustainability of the reintegration services assistance received, as expressed by the returnees as well as the level of satisfaction as expressed by the beneciaries. Communications Number of communications products developed: 8 Number of persons reached through social media: 92,336 July Cumulative Facebook 89,929 3,798,620 Twitter 2,407 319,643 Observing World Day Against Tracking in Persons 2021: IOM launched a social media campaign to observe World Day Against Tracking in Persons 2021 to increase awareness on tracking in persons and safe migration. The Prottasha project's content on reintegration and safe migration were disseminated online which reached 75,645 people. Additionally, the campaign was also promoted through mainstream media promoting further visibility.