Context

Roughly 3 million Afghans live in Iran. Approximately 1 million of these are recognised as refugees and the most vulnerable of all remain women and children. In most cases, they do not have access to education and social care, thereby their ability to be gainfully employed is reduced. In order to help this 'forgotten' group of people, the initiative builds on an earlier EU funded exercise that aims at providing vocational training in marketable skills for a total of 8 months, thereafter supporting the reintegration of graduated trainees for an additional two months. It ensures that in the end all beneficiaries have permanent shelter, all children attend school, and at least one bread-earner per family has a permanent job and enough income to sustain the family.

Objectives

• The initiative aims at being involved in the identification of the most vulnerable in Iran, guiding repatriation to Afghanistan, identification of 'forgotten cases' in Herat Province, providing temporary shelter and vocational training, to the final steps of reunification with families and supported reintegration in communities.

• The main portion of the assistance will go towards supporting children and youth, either unaccompanied or left with only a deprived mother and single women or widows.

Impact

• While the goal was to assist 1600 individuals, already in the first 12 months of 2010, EU partner 'HELP' reported having provided support and training to a total of 2014 individuals of which 1177 were women and 837 men.