Welcome to Rescue Aid — a conversation blog run by the International Rescue Committee on Medium about reforming humanitarian aid delivery.

Thank you for your interest in becoming a volunteer or intern with the IRC in Phoenix! Offering your time and talents enriches the mission and scope of our efforts, empowering those we serve to more effectively rebuild their lives in Arizona. Whether in working directly with refugees or providing support behind the scenes, your contributions are valuable and appreciated by our staff and those we impact.

In partnership with the IKEA Foundation, the International Rescue Committee (IRC) launched Refugees in East Africa: Boosting Urban Innovations for Livelihoods Development (Re:Build) in 2021. The initiative targets 20,000 refugees and host community members to help them sustainably reach economic self-reliance and social cohesion. From 2022-2023, a three-armed randomized controlled trial (RCT) tested the effectiveness of mentorship on economic well-being and social cohesion on 1,570 of the Re:Build clients. All clients received a cash grant to start or improve a small business, i.e., a micro-enterprise. The program paired one-third of the youth with experienced entrepreneurs who served as business mentors. Another third received business mentorship and engaged in perspective-sharing exercises to build trust and social cohesion. The Best Use of Resources (BUR) team measured the cost-effectiveness of improved economic outcomes among the treatment arms evaluated through the RCT. The cash-only treatment costs €731 per client, while mentorship treatment arms cost €1,133. Most expenses went to program supplies and activities for all treatment arms. In contrast, mentee support costs drove additional costs required for the mentorship treatment arms, which covered transport and mentor stipends. Of the total €1,623,629 spent on the project, 10% of the project costs went to HQ and internal cost recovery. Impact evaluation results for the randomized controlled trial will be available in May of 2024, at which time we will update this brief to complete the cost-effectiveness analysis results.

On March 19, the IRC in Atlanta held its first ever high school graduation for 13 hard-working students in our Connect 2 Success (C2S) program—one of the only programs in the U.S. dedicated exclusively to supporting out-of-school refugee youth ages 16 to 24 to pursue their education and career goals.

In 2022 IRC Seattle started a sewing program called New Americans Artisan Collective to promote women’s empowerment through handicrafts. The inaugural class was launched in the fall, comprised entirely of refugee women from Afghanistan. On December 16th, the program proudly celebrated as the first cohort of six women graduated.

The policy brief titled 'Bridging the Early Childhood Development Gap' outlines a collaborative initiative by the Jordanian Ministry of Health and the International Rescue Committee (IRC) to bridge the early childhood development gap in Jordan, emphasizing the importance of responsive caregiving for children's holistic growth. Through the Ahlan Simsim program, the effort targets enhancing healthcare workers' abilities to support children aged 0 to 5 and their caregivers, with a special focus on communities in need, including refugees.

The policy brief titled 'Bridging the Early Childhood Development Gap' outlines a collaborative initiative by the Jordanian Ministry of Health and the International Rescue Committee (IRC) to bridge the early childhood development gap in Jordan, emphasizing the importance of responsive caregiving for children's holistic growth. Through the Ahlan Simsim program, the effort targets enhancing healthcare workers' abilities to support children aged 0 to 5 and their caregivers, with a special focus on communities in need, including refugees.

The IRC's Client Voice and Choice initiative and Ground Truth Solutions are piloting an approach to better understand and strengthen how humanitarian assistance incorporates the preferences, aspirations, and expectations of the people at the focus of aid. This document details the methodology and findings of the pilot examining the Women’s Protection & Empowerment (WPE) and Water, Sanitation & Hygiene (WASH) services being delivered in camps serving refugees in northern Greece.

Natalia and José traveled thousands of miles, sleeping rough on the streets, determined to reach a safe place to raise their children.