To educate refugees in Meheba about their rights and to facilitate the access of services that fit their needs and rights.
Meheba Refugee Settlement is a 14,000-person, 720-square-kilometer community in which some refugees have lived for over 30 years. As Meheba was developed as a long-term settlement, rather than a camp, direct services have steadily decreased due to the expectation that residents would become established and able to care for their own needs. This process of withdrawal by many of the original aid organizations has left many Meheba refugees without reliable knowledge regarding their rights or the appropriate measures to take when faced with challenges such as domestic violence, obtaining legal rights, and accessing food distribution. Through its all-refugee outreach staff, the FORGE Refugee Advocacy Initiative (RAI) acts as a bridge between refugees and their rights to services - facilitating the flow of information throughout the Meheba community. This project has helped dozens of vulnerable refugees access food rations, confront domestic abuse, and realize their rights as refugees.
To develop the skills, knowledge and confidence of refugee women by providing a safe space for women to work together, create, learn and expand their horizons.
The strength and leadership that female refugees provide bolsters their homes and communities on a daily basis. Working with FORGE, Angolan refugee Jacqui B. established the Meheba Women’s Center in 2005 to encourage and support women in the Meheba community. To this end, Jacqui B and the staff of the Meheba Women’s Center, in conjunction with FORGE, have created a place for women to pursue vocational training, workshops on their gender-specific rights, and informal counseling services to address cases of rape and domestic abuse. Today, the Meheba Women's Center, managed entirely by refugee women, is a vibrant and bustling cornerstone of the Meheba Community.
To reduce poverty and develop the skills of entrepreneurs living in Meheba through business education and microlending.
Due to legal restrictions, formal employment is not permitted for refugees in Zambia. This leaves many refugees dependent on rations and handouts in order to meet their daily needs, and fails to tap into the entrepreneurial spirit so prevalent within the camps. FORGE’s Microlending Project addresses this problem by recognizing the resourcefulness and creativity evident in many of Meheba’s residents and supporting their drive to utilize informal business opportunities. The FORGE Microlending Project provides small loans of $150 to give individuals the chance to become self-sufficient and to support their families. The Project also offers business education classes to assist refugees in building successful ventures, as well as locally-tailored support through refugee micro-loan officers. Through this combination of monetary assistance and education, most loanees have realized profits over 100%. Loan by loan, the lending project steadily reduces poverty, increases food security, alleviates dependence on international aid, and allows individuals affected by war to regain control over their lives.
To promote reading, learning, and enrichment through library resources.
On any given day, you can enter a Meheba Friendly Library to find dozens of adults and students reading novels, studying computer engineering, and educating themselves in history, leadership, and current events. Before the Meheba Friendly Libraries, the refugees of Meheba had no way to access any type of books. Now, the Settlement is home to the largest library in a refugee camp anywhere in the world. Since the inception of the first Meheba Friendly Library in 2004, FORGE and the all-refugee library staff have expanded their original program to create a network of 5 libraries in Meheba that house a combined total of over 20,000 books. Hailed as ‘a miracle in the middle of the bush’ by the UN refugee agency, the libraries are open to all 14,000 members of the Meheba community and their outstretched network makes access to information and self-improvement possible for all.
To improve access to medical care and health education in one of the most populated refugee communities in Meheba Settlement, which has not had a working clinic for more than five years.
Geographically, Block G in Meheba Refugee Settlement finds itself at a drastic disadvantage in terms of receiving health services. Located at the back of the camp and far from any clinics, the refugees of Block G feel isolated and underserved when it comes to medical attention. When FORGE brought this community together to determine what they needed, the answer was clear: an opportunity for healthier lives. After an extensive needs assessment the refugee project leader explains that, "the findings showed clearly that the population of all ages and classes suffered pain of lack of medical services." Thus they designed the FORGE Health Service project, which will enable patients who can’t make it to the nearest clinic get basic medicines, allow pregnant women to get delivery assistance by trained midwives; and give children access to the care that they need. This project will help all 2200 people in this block to live longer and healthier lives.
To expand opportunities for adult literacy and learning through courses in computer technology, English and musical instruments.
With the knowledge that their future prospects hinge upon their level of skill and education, many refugee teenagers and adults actively seek out opportunities to advanced themselves while in the camp. Led by a multi-talented refugee staff, the Meheba Adult Skills project is the only service in Meheba Refugee Settlement that specifically targets the needs of adult advancement. The programs offered at this center include instruction in computer technology, English language education, and music theory and practice. These classes exist to enable adults to be productive during their time in exile and successfully prepare themselves for integration into the workforce.
To provide early childhood and adult literacy education in a community with a high percentage of young children and low literacy rates.
Early childhood education in Block F of Meheba Refugee Settlement is practically nonexistent. With the nearest school over a two hour walk from this community, few of its children have had the opportunity to attend preschool, starting them off at an educational disadvantage very early in their lives. Because of these restrictions, the leaders of Block F have planned and are now proudly establishing the Mwangaza Education Centers, a network of services in the camp that will promote early learning through preschools and continued learning through adult education classes. As the name of the center, “Mwangaza” (“light”), suggests, this project represents hope and possibilities for a brighter future for these refugees.
To provide preschool education and creative opportunities to
children ages 3-5 living in the Meheba Refugee Settlement.
Although they come from many different countries and represent many different ethnic groups, the common experience of war seems to have united the refugees of Meheba in the belief that educating their children is the key to a better future. Educational science reinforces this belief, proving that children who build a solid educational foundation early in life are more likely to succeed in subsequent years of school. Building upon this commitment to education, FORGE has established two community preschools in Meheba: Kunachi (the Swahili word for 'illumination') and Dufatanye (the Rwandan word for 'togetherness'). Together, the refugee-staffed Meheba Preschools serve over 200 students, who gather daily to sing educational songs, learn basic reading, writing, and math skills, and practice critical life skills like personal responsibility, sharing, and working collaboratively in a group. In a community that otherwise lacks books and basic educational materials, these preschools offer the only structured educational stimulus that most children under six ever receive.
To provide the opportunity of secondary education to talented refugee youth who cannot afford the cost of school.
Believing strongly in the power of education to advance communities, FORGE provides scholarships to promising individuals to attend secondary school. By allow young refugees to increase their personal prospects and horizons, these scholars help to build community vitality and provide hope for the future. The Meheba Scholarship Fund provides educational scholarships to refugee youth who are promising students but are otherwise unable to afford schooling. Scholarships cover the cost of tuition, books, pens, uniforms, transportation to and from school, and a small amount of pocket money for miscellaneous expenses. The small investment in the education of these promising individuals will continue to pay off over the course of their lifetimes.
To develop a reliable system to deliver seeds to farmers so that they may begin cultivating at the appropriate time, and to organize a successful market for the community to buy and sell goods.
Block H in Meheba Refugee Settlement is composed mainly of farmers. In trying to support themselves and their families, these farmers depend on a reliable output from their crops. However, they have struggled in the past to obtain the seeds they need on time, resulting in disastrous losses in food supply and income. Further, even the crops they managed to produce were difficult to sell, as there has been no market near Block H. Given these challenges, the Block H community was determined to develop a project that both delivers seeds to farmers on time and ensures that they have a viable place to sell their goods. This project, one of the first planned and executed entirely by the refugees themselves, promises to increase the livelihood of Block H farmers while supplying other citizens of Block H with healthy, fresh foods to supplement their diets.
To provide computer education and trainings in peace and non-violence.
As refugees are often the innocent victims of nations torn apart by war, peace education is both a highly sought after and highly respected curriculum within the camps in which FORGE works. Including such skills as non-violent communication, constructive collaborative, conflict resolution, and mediation, the peace component of the project teaches valuable tools that can be used to build community stability both within the camps and, eventually, within their home countries. While peace education provides the framework for a better future, scholars are quick to note that the lasting stability cannot be reached when individuals and communities have nothing to lose. Thus, the computer aspect of the project helps refugees to gain the skills that will build the economic opportunities that lay at the root of social stability. Realizing that the world has become increasingly reliant on technology for growth and expansion, refugees know that gaining a solid understanding of computer technology gives them an important tool for the establishment of a successful future. Computer skills can allow refugees to contribute to the rebuilding of their lives and countries by successfully gaining employment and by sharing the lessons that they have learned within the camp.
