August 21, 2024 — Since 2017, the International Rescue Committee (IRC) has been supporting vulnerable young people to get back on their feet through the Resilient Futures project, funded by the Citi Foundation. In Greece, Germany, Cameroon, Nigeria, Lebanon, Jordan and Mexico, Resilient Futures supports conflict-affected urban youth to enter their local labour markets, pursue self-employment and entrepreneurship, increase their income and assets and contribute positively to local economies.
After seven years of Resilient Futures, we have not only pioneered new approaches to supporting conflict-affected people in urban settings, we have also provided a roadmap for our peers on how to create impact at scale for displaced people across the globe. To date, Resilient Futures has supported over 7,000 young people and business owners.
Today, the International Rescue Committee is pleased to announce renewed funding from the Citi Foundation of $1,800,000, enabling Resilient Futures to continue for an eighth year. Running from August 2024 – July 2025, the next phase of Resilient Futures will help to make a real difference in IRC clients’ lives, supporting tomorrow’s business owners and employees to kick-start their futures.
IRC client Huthaifa’s story is a true example of how life-changing the Resilient Futures programme can be. Huthaifa’s passion for beekeeping began in 2018, when he decided to keep three boxes on the roof of his house. With a business grant from the Resilient Futures program, Huthaifa’s aspirations to turn his passion into a business started to become reality. “As the years passed, in five years, the number of boxes grew to 80, then to 130-140,” he says. “Now every year in the spring, we develop and increase the number of beehives. In the last year and a half, about 70% to 80% of my income came from beekeeping. I spend that money on my wife, children, and the house.”
Since 2019, Huthaifa’s business has been supported by the IRC’s Resilient Futures program through grants but also access to markets to sell his products. Now, 6 years later, Huthaifa has become a mentor for other beekeepers in his community and across the world. “I have a page on Facebook. It currently has about 14,000 beekeepers from all over the world. We share experiences with each other. I want everyone to become beekeepers,” says Huthaifa, “because if bees cease to exist, life on Earth will be no more.”
“The IRC is thankful to the Citi Foundation for their continued support of Resilient Futures,” said Madlin Sadler, Chief Operating Officer at the International Rescue Committee. “By combining the IRC’s technical expertise with resources in the Citi Foundation’s global network, we’re working together to stop crisis and conflict preventing people around the world from reaching their full potential.”
“Citi and the Citi Foundation have been long-time supporters of the IRC’s vital work around the world,” said Brandee McHale, Head of Community Investing and Development at Citi and President of the Citi Foundation. “Resilient Futures, supported through the Citi Foundation’s Pathways to Progress job skills-building initiative, has demonstrated the importance of additional long-term, flexible economic recovery solutions that help individuals and families impacted by conflict rebuild for a brighter future. We look forward to this next phase.”