Through two flagship programs, RefugePoint has worked in 250 locations in 52 countries.

RESETTLEMENTS PROGRAM:

This program involves permanently relocating refugees to countries that have active formal programs for resettling refugees. Although the resettlement quotas are de minimis for most host countries, the United States, Canada, and Australia have recently accepted refugee resettlement applications in modest numbers (approximately 125,000, 85,000, and 13,750 respectively). The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is responsible for managing the resettlement process on behalf of all refugees via interactions with countries that have permanent resettlement programs. As with many of the UN’s tasks, the UNHCR is overwhelmed by the magnitude of the need and under-resourced. In partial response, RP provides staff to augment UN resources in UNHCR resettlement offices across Africa, taking on case management for the most at-risk refugee applicants whom they believe still have a chance of being accepted by receiving countries.

URBAN REFUGEE PROTECTION PROGRAM:

RefugePoint’s second program provides lifesaving interventions, such as shelter, health care, and business training directly to the most vulnerable urban refugees in Nairobi. The vast majority of the 32 million refugees worldwide are living in urban settings in foreign countries where they struggle to survive and adapt. Refugees, even if registered with UNHCR, frequently find themselves in a quasi-legal status where there remains a perpetual risk of arrest, harassment, and persecution by local officials and residents. Although most people think of a refugee’s status as a transitional or temporary in nature, the reality is that most refugees remain in refugee status for decades, and frequently the condition is permanent. RefugePoint recognizes this unfortunate reality and works to help refugees integrate locally, live safely and with dignity, and learn income producing skills to put them on a path to self-reliance and sustainability.

Although the Urban Refugee Program currently exists only in Nairobi, RefugePoint believes there are opportunities to replicate and scale this program to other cities in Africa where there are high concentrations of refugees living in an urban setting.