RefugePoint’s 2019 Annual Report
Sasha Chanoff:
Founder and Executive Director
your support helped change lives.
Refugee numbers have reached unprecedented levels. So has the average amount of time before some can return home—over 20 years now. Their needs dramatically outpace available aid. Xenophobia tragically and wrongly vilifies refugees.
Where do we find inspiration amidst the growing disparities and inequities? We’ve turned to the refugees we serve for that answer. We are pleased to present their successes here, and the pathways to safety and stability that we’ve helped to build with your support.
Thank you for helping us to make this possible. You enabled us to reach unaccompanied and separated children, refugees from LGBTIQ communities, single mothers, and others who were marginalized and desperate. You helped to turn their lives around. Join us as we celebrate the accomplishments of refugees who inspire us with their fortitude, creativity, and perseverance against the odds.
If you’d prefer to read the full report in PDF format, you may download the report here.
"Refugees represent the greatest untapped resource in the world, in terms of resilience, inspiration, capacity, and entrepreneurship."
Sasha Chanoff, speaking to heads of state, ministers, and other international leaders at the first-ever Global Refugee Forum in Geneva, Switzerland, in December 2019.
Meet Favor
"My goal is to become a truck driver. When I was young, I used to sit by the roadside and watch cars driving by. I was intrigued by the big trucks, and that is when I fell in love with driving. I began to dream of taking myself to driving school one day. But to achieve that big goal, I must achieve the little goals first. If I keep working hard at my business, eventually, I'll be able to enroll myself in driving school."
In July 2019, after completing RefugePoint's business training and receiving a $400 grant, Favor bought a sewing machine and opened her own tailoring shop.
"When customers walk into my shop, they can buy fabric, and then I measure it out for them based on what they want to make. I also sell them shoes to complete their look. I'm able to make additional money by offering different products and services. That sets me apart from other tailors in my area."
Favor's business profits have enabled her to pay rent for her business premises and to care for her grandfather. "I am so glad that we have food on the table and warm clothes to wear. Those are the goals that I've achieved so far."
Mission
We find lasting solutions for the world’s most at-risk refugees and support the humanitarian community to do the same. We do that through resettlement, complementary pathways, and self-reliance.
Resettlement
Helping permanently relocate refugees to safe countries where they can rebuild their lives. Meet Bizinde and Aline.
complementary pathways
Helping refugees access legal pathways, aside from resettlement, to become established in a safe third country, such as relocation for employment, education, and family reunification. Meet Tesfay.
self-reliance
Stabilizing refugees in the countries to which they have fled and helping them regain the ability to meet their own essential needs. Meet Rosine and France.
Resettlement
Providing lasting solutions for the most at-risk refugees is our core mission and, in 2019, we had our second most successful year in the history of our resettlement program.
In 2019, We helped 11,766 refugees to access resettlement and complementary pathways.
While some countries closed their doors on refugees, others compensated by increasing their resettlement capacity. Approximately 8,000 more refugees were resettled in 2019 than in the previous year.
Despite the small growth in global resettlement, the tumultuous global political climate, characterized by increased xenophobia and nationalism, continued to pose an obstacle for finding resettlement places for those refugees most in need.
"You are like a family to us. We have lacked nothing under your care, and we could not leave without coming to say thank you."
Bizinde, a RefugePoint client, presenting a certificate of appreciation to RefugePoint staff in Nairobi before his resettlement departure to Australia in July 2019.
Bizinde & aline
Bizinde and Solange fled from the Democratic Republic of Congo in 2014 and lived as refugees in Nairobi, Kenya, with their children and Bizinde's sister, Aline. In July 2019, they were resettled to Australia. Before their departure, Bizinde and Aline visited the RefugePoint office in Nairobi to deliver their heartfelt thanks to the staff for the assistance they received (photo above).
In 2018, when Bizinde and his family began receiving RefugePoint services, their lives changed dramatically. In addition to food and rent support, Aline was able to access the mental health counseling that she needed to process her husband's murder.
Bizinde completed livelihoods training and received a $200 grant, which he used to launch a successful business exporting dried fish. His profits enabled him to pay rent and purchase food and baby formula. When Solange developed complications during her pregnancy with twins, their RefugePoint case manager, Catherine, ensured that she received proper medical attention. Bizinde and Solange attribute the fact that the twins survived birth, and are now healthy, to Catherine’s support.
Before his departure, Bizinde told us the business training and experience he received in Nairobi made him feel confident that he had something that he could build on to provide for the family at their new home in Australia. Now a licensed pastor, Bizinde runs a church with 100 members, 80% of whom are refugees, including two former RefugePoint clients. Bizinde is currently enrolled in college studying community development, and Solange is studying to earn a certificate in special needs.
Complementary pathways
RefugePoint led two new initiatives this year: one to assist unaccompanied and separated children to reunite with their parents and families, and another to help refugees immigrate to Canada through existing economic migration programs.
Reuniting separated children with their loved ones.
In 2019, RefugePoint, in collaboration with UNHCR and the International Refugee Assistance Project, launched a new initiative, the Family Reunification Pilot Project, to help reunite unaccompanied and separated children with their family members in safe third countries.
The Central Mediterranean Route to Europe, widely known for human traffickers and smugglers, is among the most dangerous places on earth for refugee children. Unaccompanied and separated minors from Eritrea, Somalia, Central African Republic, South Sudan, and Sudan, attempting to get to Europe through Libya by crossing the Mediterranean Sea, are often kidnapped by traffickers, held in detention centers, and face exploitation and abuse. Many of these children, aware of the dangers they face, are motivated by the prospect of joining a family member, typically a parent, abroad.
We are currently piloting the project in Egypt, Ethiopia, Libya, and Sudan, where we have deployed Family Reunification Experts to six target locations along the Central Mediterranean Route across the North and Horn of Africa. Our staff, who have specialized backgrounds in child protection, work to identify unaccompanied and separated children, ensure their safety, and facilitate family reunification.
meet tesfay
In 2017, Tesfay*, at age 15, was forced to flee his home in Eritrea, and began his trek towards the Mediterranean Sea, alone. Throughout his journey, like so many unaccompanied and separated children, Tesfay was kidnapped and subjected to mistreatment and torture. Tesfay attempted to cross the Mediterranean Sea, hoping to seek safety in Europe. His attempt failed. He was captured and held in a detention center in Tripoli, Libya, a place where torture and abuse were used to extort money from the family members of those being detained.
UNHCR and RefugePoint staff worked together to help Tesfay escape detention and reunite with his brother.
In September 2019, at age 17, after having been separated for more than 10 years, Tesfay finally reunited with his brother and began a new life in safety. *Name changed to protect identity.
"Thank you for giving me my dignity back by being able to present a more accurate reflection of who I am as a person."
A refugee who was offered a job through the Economic Mobility Pathways Project speaks about his job interview experience with a Canadian employer, Glen Haven Manor. He and 85% of the candidates interviewed received job offers and are now completing English language tests and other Canadian immigration requirements.
Refugees help to fill critical labor shortages
This year, we celebrated a significant milestone in a groundbreaking partnership that has created labor mobility opportunities for refugees.
Since 2018, RefugePoint and its partners— including Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, Talent Beyond Boundaries, the Pictou County Regional Enterprise Network (PCREN), Glen Haven Manor, UNHCR, and five Canadian provinces and territories—have implemented the Economic Mobility Pathways Project (EMPP). The project aims to test whether qualified refugees living in Kenya and the Middle East can access immigration to Canada through existing economic migration programs. RefugePoint is supporting the identification of qualified and experienced refugees in Kenya and connecting them with employers in Canada facing labor market shortages.
In November 2019, representatives from the PCREN and Glen Haven Manor, the third-largest long-term care facility in Nova Scotia, traveled to Kenya to interview a pool of refugee candidates identified by RefugePoint to fill vacancies for continuing care assistant positions. Based on the high-caliber skills and experience of the candidates, Glen Haven issued job offers to 85% of the candidates they interviewed in Nairobi and Dadaab refugee camp. These candidates are now completing Canadian provincial and federal economic immigration requirements.
Through this pathway, refugees will gain the opportunity to rebuild their lives as permanent residents of Canada. Local communities will also benefit by filling critical gaps in areas with labor shortages. An important aspect of the EMPP is demonstrating that qualified refugees can access and successfully progress through regular economic immigration pathways while meeting the same requirements and criteria that are in place for all other economic immigrants.
self-reliance
Most refugees desperately want the opportunity to provide for themselves and their families, to work, use their skills, and make decisions about their finances, lives, and futures. They want to be self-reliant.
self-reliance success
In 2019, RefugePoint's Urban Refugee Protection Program (URPP) in Nairobi, Kenya, supported 1,835 core clients, provided medical care to 1,858 clients, education assistance to 558 clients, counseling to 442 clients, and food assistance to 1,341 clients. The URPP launched several new initiatives in 2019, including an initiative to support early childhood education, which reached 100 children.
For many refugees, the biggest struggle in starting a small business is the lack of initial start-up capital. We have learned that an effective way to help our clients is to provide a small cash grant, typically $200, which clients use to start or expand a business—serving as a pathway to self-reliance. In January, we celebrated a significant milestone; the livelihoods team (photo above) helped its 1,000th refugee client to establish or expand a business!
Recognizing that mental health and well-being are critical components of a refugee's journey toward self-reliance, RefugePoint launched a Mental Health and Psychosocial Support program in 2019. The goal of the program is to commit to organizational structuring, program planning, and implementation, which are culturally responsive, trauma-informed, and resilience-based in both the approach to working with clients and in the treatment of staff.
meet rosine & france
"I always wanted to study, but I didn't have the means. As a single mother of three, my priorities took a back seat. I was most concerned with putting food on the table. When I expressed my hopes and needs to my case manager, she told me that there might be a way for RefugePoint to assist me. That gave me hope. After a long time, I finally had some hope.
"I've always had a passion for fashion and design, and when I was asked what I would like to study, tailoring was the first thing that came to mind. Mr. Kimani (RefugePoint's Education Officer) asked me to identify someone in my neighborhood with a good tailoring business who'd be willing to train me. I was already friends with France, and when I asked her, she was more than willing to take me on as her student," Rosine* told us. Rosine is part of RefugePoint's Apprenticeship and Vocational Skills Program.
Her tutor, France*, had also received a small business grant from RefugePoint, which enabled her to establish a tailoring business with three sewing machines.
In addition to training Rosine, France also trains other refugees referred to her by different agencies. "I take pride in running my own business and being able to support and train others. I know this work is good, and when you do it, you always have enough to cover rent and food. As a tailor, you can take care of yourself, and that is my hope for everyone I train." *Names changed to protect identity.
organizational highlights
BOARD VISIT TO UNHCR
In April, RefugePoint assembled a delegation of Board Directors and other partners to visit the UNHCR Headquarter Office in Geneva. The delegation included: Ed Shapiro, Amy Slaughter, Keith Ennis, Sasha Chanoff, Barrie Landry, Sarah Gauger, Vilas Dhar, Julia Dhar, Laurie Franz, George Lehner, Dan Draper, Roger Swartz, and Sofia Kouvelaki.
NAIVASHA TRAINING
In May, RefugePoint's Resettlement and Child Protection Experts and members of our Boston and Nairobi teams gathered in Naivasha, Kenya, for a weeklong training. In 2019, RefugePoint not only had the largest team of Experts (53) in our history, but also the largest RefugePoint staff in history (115). The training was crucial to strengthening internal cohesion and connectivity, honing skills, and sharing best practices.
ATCR & NGO CONSULTATIONS
In July, we participated in the Annual Tripartite Consultations on Resettlement (ATCR) as well as the Annual Nongovernmental Organization (NGO) Consultations, in Geneva, Switzerland. At the ATCR, we led a session regarding the urgent resettlement needs of unaccompanied and separated refugee children. RefugePoint's Family Reunification Pilot Project and the Economic Mobility Pathways Project received much attention. At the Consultations, we co-hosted a session on refugee self-reliance and economic inclusion that was standing-room only.
Mental Health Forum
In October, RefugePoint was one of a small number of nonprofit organizations that participated in the World Health Organization's (WHO) Global Mental Health Forum in Geneva. At the Forum, participants discussed country progress on WHO's Mental Health Action Plan. RefugePoint also participated in the Bernard Van Leer Foundation's "Caring for the Caregiving Mind" convening, where mental health experts engaged in field building and advocacy work to support the mental health of caregivers.
Gathering in Jordan
RefugePoint strives to advance refugee self-reliance around the world through our leadership of the Refugee Self-Reliance Initiative (RSRI). The RSRI, co-led with the Women's Refugee Commission, is a coalition of more than 25 partners that promotes opportunities for refugees to become self-reliant and achieve a better quality of life. In October, RSRI partners gathered in Amman, Jordan, to celebrate the Initiative's achievements over the past four years, and to collectively chart its path forward.
global refugee forum
In addition to directly helping thousands of refugees through resettlement, complementary pathways, and self-reliance, we also had the opportunity to influence policy and decision-makers to drive large-scale change. In December, we participated in the first-ever Global Refugee Forum, held in Geneva, Switzerland. See more below.
Photo: RefugePoint’s Executive Director, Sasha Chanoff (right), and Director of International Programs, Martin Anderson (left), had the pleasure of speaking with Filippo Grandi (center), the UN High Commissioner for Refugees at the Global Refugee Forum in December 2019.
global refugee forum
In December, we participated in the first-ever Global Refugee Forum, held in Geneva, Switzerland.
Leaders from governments, businesses, civil society, international organizations, and refugee-led organizations gathered to review progress toward the objectives of the Global Compact on Refugees. Participants pledged further collective action to bolster the international response to refugee situations.
In partnership with Focusing Philanthropy, we pledged to increase the number of refugees benefiting from resettlement and complementary pathways in Africa and the Middle East. We also pledged to help ensure that resettlement and complementary pathways are available to the at-risk refugees who need them most, such as unaccompanied and separated children.
In partnership with the Refugee Self-Reliance Initiative (RSRI) and 14 other agencies, we pledged to reach 250,000 refugees with self-reliance programming over the next two years. We also co-hosted a spotlight session on refugee self-reliance with the RSRI and the Women's Refugee Commission. Speakers discussed what self-reliance means to refugees and how stakeholders can work together to help refugees reclaim control over their finances and futures.
the lifeline
We could not have achieved all that we did in 2019 without the integral donors who generously invested ($50,000+) in our mission to make long-term, systematic change.
5Together Foundation
AJG Foundation
The Isabel Allende Foundation
Anonymous
The Charitable Foundation
Conrad N. Hilton Foundation
ELMA Philanthropies
Elmo Foundation
Focusing Philanthropy
The Horace W. Goldsmith Foundation
Goodwin Procter Law Firm
Gussack-Stein Charitable Fund
IKEA Foundation
Imago Dei Fund
Landry Family Foundation
The Lehner Fund
Mr. and Mrs. William Lincoln
Patrick J. McGovern Foundation
Newman's Own Foundation
The Shapiro Foundation
UNHCR
With very special thanks to the following donors who showed extraordinary support ($10,000– $49,999) for our mission in 2019.
Noubar and Anna Afeyan Foundation
Roswitha and AJ Agarwal
Alchemy Foundation
Ansara Family Fund
The Apatow-Mann Family Foundation, Inc.
Arlene Foundation
Deborah and Gregory Brill
Charles and Rita Bronfman
The Christine A. Brown Fund
Campbell Foundation Fund
Gerald and Kate Chertavian Fund
The Katherine Collins Fund
Stephanie Dodson Cornell and James Cornell Family Foundation
The William H. Donner Foundation, Inc.
English Family Gift Fund
The Ettinger Foundation
Elizabeth Floor
Laurie Toll Franz Fund
Mr. and Mrs. Jonathan Gray
Michael Guttag
Mike and Sara Henry
Holzer Family Foundation
The Houssian Foundation
William P. Mayer
Susan Lowenberg and Joyce Newstat
Joan Platt
Edward Roche
Schawbel Family Fund
Select Equity Group Foundation
Stephanie and Fred Shuman Family Foundation
Sidhu Singh Family Foundation
Elizabeth and Oliver Stanton Foundation
Edward Stern and Stephanie Rein Charitable Fund
Ruben Vardanyan
Richard and Jeanne Weaver
May and Walt Family Charitable Fund
The following donors provided outstanding support ($1,000–$9,999) in 2019.
Anonymous
Armenian Heritage Tribute and Genocide Memorial Foundation
James Balkcom
Dr. Jonathan and Monique Bamel
The Benevity Community Impact Fund
Patricia Burgess
The Stephen Colbert Americone Dream Fund of Coastal Community Foundation of South Carolina
The Walt Disney Company Foundation
Melissa and Tom DiTosto
Deborah Smith Douglas
Daniel Draper
Rebecca S. Draper Fund
Merrick Furst and April Dworetz
Richard and Toni Feinbloom
John and Stacey Fisk
Joyce Fletcher
FThree Foundation
Goldman Sachs Gives
The Good Lie Fund
Janice Goodman
Guttag Family Foundation
Joy Heising
Evan Janovic
Renee and David Kaplan
Robert and Joyce Kleiner
Lauren Dias and Peter Kochansky
Sirkku Konttinen
Hendrik Kranenburg
Stacy Lennon
Lynne and Jesse Lipcon
Simon Lipskar
Morrison Family Charitable Trust
Craig Murphy
Pittsburgh Foundation
Howard and Geraldine Polinger Family Foundation
Kim and Paul Polman
Marlaina and James Recknagel
Kenneth O'Connor and Dorothy Rowe
The Susan Sarandon Charitable Foundation
Seed the Dream Foundation
The Sherwood Family Trust
Christopher Siege
Simon Family Philanthropic Foundation Inc.
Gillian Sorensen
Talent Beyond Boundaries
Christopher Trost
Charlie Walsh
Rick and Patti Wayne
Ted and Mary Wendell
William Sloane Jelin Foundation
We also thank our monthly sustainers for their consistent support and recognition that serving refugees is a complex and ongoing process.
Howard Anby
Jenny Bonham-Carter
LeeAnn Bortolussi
Matthew Engler
Jozee Kat
James E. Lassiter
Ann Lees
Kim Norbert
Craig O'Neill
Paul Onimbo
Brenda Peluso
Ken Pruitt
Peter Shirley
Natalie Thompson
Thank you to our U.S. and Kenya Board of Directors
Sheikha Ali
Sasha Chanoff, Executive Director
Stephanie Dodson
Daniel Draper, Treasurer
Elizabeth Ferris
Laurie T. Franz
Jessica Houssian
G. Barrie Landry
George Lehner, Chair
M’Imunya J. Machoki, MD
William P. Mayer
Samora Otieno, MD
Edward Shapiro
Colleen Tighe
Sandra Uwiringiyimana
financials
