Proposal for family budgeting�

Neirab Rehabilitation Plan Phase I: Social Development in Ein El Tal Proposal for family budgeting February 2006 Table of Contents. Introduction 1. Results of the Survey 1.1 Economic issues 1.2 Gender issues 1.3 Conclusions and recommendations 2. Existing frames 2.1 Solidarity framework in the community 2.2 UNRWA Relief and Social services programme 3. Proposals 4. Contacts 5. Annexe (details about Sunduq Ain Ghazal ) Introduction The United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) for Palestine Refugees has embarked on an integrated rehabilitation/development project in the North of Syria in the camps of Neirab and Ein el Tal called the Neirab Rehabilitation Project, in response to bad housing conditions and increasing population in Neirab Camp. The project is based on a sustainable livelihood approach linking improvement of infrastructures with social development. The first phase of this project aims at reducing the population density in Neirab by the voluntary movement of 300 families to the nearby camp of Ein el Tal and at improving living conditions in Ein el Tal. The overall objective of the project is to achieve sustainable improvement in the refugee community's ability to pursue their livelihoods. Ultimately, UNRWA intends for the Rehabilitation Project to break down the structure of dependency that has long characterized the relationship between many of the residents of the Camps and UNRWA by supporting and encouraging community participation through Camp committees and community-based organizations (CBOs) in the development of their own activities UNRWA conducted a Livelihood Survey, an Asset Mapping Exercise and a Gender Analysis in the Camp to provide greater insight into current livelihood systems and the availability and quality of services. The research raised the issue of economic stress, due to unemployment, and low income ; there is no real coping strategy and families massively rely on credit. However some community assets and social frame help families to face difficulties. The research showed also a main concern about women participation. In this context UNRWA is thinking about ways to improve women’s empowerment, i.e. “to develop women’s ability to collectively and individually take control over their own lives, identify their needs, set their own agendas and demand support from their communities and the state to see that their interests are responded to." 1 The approach should encompass both the productive role, the reproductive role and community role of women. It appeared that women were responsible for the financial managing of the house. Looking forward to improve women’s mastering on the household security, this report will try to draw out some concrete proposals. It is based on the results of the Livelihood Surveys conducted in 2005, and on individual meetings with the local community. 1 UNDP, Learning and information pack, gender analysis, January 2000, p.68 1. Results of the Survey and conclusions 1.1 Economic issues Work The results of the Livelihood Survey showed that, for economic assets, refugees are primarily dependent on access to employment/wage earnings. But there is a high rate of unemployment and under-employment : 36% of males and 72% of females able to work have no job; this rate is higher than the rate for Syrian nationals. There is a significant perception that there is a lack of access to employment. There is more access to employment for men than women. This is due to restrictions imposed on women (mobility, expectations of reproductive role, time constraints, safety) coupled with the lack of female employment opportunities in the immediate vicinity i.e. in the camp. An employment-worker has since been employed by UNRWA to help reaching the employment market. Specific solutions should be found for women, like domestic business. Income and expenditures In the survey, the average income of refugees from the camp and the average expenditures appeared to be far below the average amount for Syria, and below the 2 $ day poverty line . Indeed refugee respondents show HH incomes per month of 12,016 SYP per month for male HH and 11,167 SYP for female HH. To be noted is the monthly income for those new residents from Neirab having only an average income of only 5056 SYP per month. Average Syrian income from wages in 2003-4 for urban poor was 12,899 SYP per month and 26,206 SYP for non poor. Average expenditure per capita for Syria North Eastern region in 2003/4 was. Expenditure figures per capita per month for Ein el Tal is 2753 SYP for Female HH and 2006 SYP for male HH. Both these figures are below the Syrian average expenditure (in Syria North-Eastern region it was of 3775 SYP per month2 in 2003/4. Female HH have a higher expenditure per month than income. Average monthly income for Female HH is 11,837 SYP (227$ based on exchange rate of 52SYP per $1) and 11,032 SYP for Male HH (212 $ based on exchange rate of 52 SYP per $!). This shows approximately a 1.75$ per day per capita expenditure for female HH and 1.28$ per day per capita expenditure for male HH. HH are dependent on supplementary forms of remittance (particularly female HH), and on debts ; debt is created through the taking of loans (formal and informal), buying on credit and borrowing from family and friends. There is rampant reliance on credit for purchasing goods and services. 71% of households are without any savings; the greater proportion of the households with better educated heads holds greater savings. It is particularly the poorer households who lack savings. Due to lack of savings, people have no other coping mechanism than using loans, or selling saved assets in times of financial difficulty, for example dowry gold, for women. The 2 Laithy, H & Abu-Ismail, K., Poverty in Syria: 1996-2004: Diagnosis and Pro-Poor Policy Considerations United National Development Programme,p.30 selling of gold as a coping strategy is an important indicator of increasing vulnerability and directly contributes to women’s vulnerable economic position in society. Therefore, most of households are unsecured. The asset-mapping survey underlined the main issue of financial stress as a threat on the livelihoods of the households. 1.2 Gender issues The gender issue is one of the most important (and sensitive) issue of the social development project. The Livelihood Survey revealed a strong difference between men and women, concerning access to public space, work and free time. Stereotypes are omnipresent, and stress on the moral, traditional role of women, who are responsible for domestic issues. There is a clear division of tasks in the households : men having the productive role and women ensuring the reproductive role. FGD revealed that the responsibility of the differing economic roles for women and men brings different anxieties with the men having the responsibility to ensure sufficient economic assets are available, whilst control over expenditure of household income and meeting basic needs with this income is primarily the women’s responsibility. The Livelihood Survey showed also that most vulnerable groups were women-headed households. Divorced or widowed women are particularly exposed to poverty, especially if they don’t have their family to support them and don’t have a job of their own. Unmarried or divorced women usually live in their parent’s households and depend on them for the pursuing of livelihood ; they are exposed to more social control and their mobility can be reduced for this reason. Only few women take part to community activities. However the social network constituted by family and neighbours is very important for women and con be an asset for their involvement in the community activities. 1.3. Conclusions and recommendations Gender issues appeared as a main issue of the whole project, and should be taken into account in the planning of all activities. The project should achieve at breaking down dependency from women and support women community organisations. All recommendations drawn out of the Livelihood Survey include a specific targeting on women issues. As concerning economics, UNRWA should introduce savings schemes to households, and especially develop a strategy for engaging women from poorer households in such savings programmes as well as other vulnerable groups (such as female-headed households, households with ill members or with many unemployment household members). Savings are important as they provide households with a cushion against economic shocks and threats to livelihood security. It is, however, important to consider that these savings schemes may not be accessible to the most vulnerable households which are purchasing a great deal on credit each month and unable to contribute to savings. Reaching poorer households and women in particular should be a key target of microfinance activities. Micro-finance, such as credit for business development, activities must also take into consideration the risk associated with extending financial assistance to women and households who may be unable to repay debt. The Livelihood Survey showed a great concern about the unability to master house expenditures in the difficult economic context, and at the same time great importance of social capital. The Sustainable Livelihood Approach recommends to develop the project on the existing assets of the society, to ensure community participation and sustainability of the development project. In this perspective, further researches have been conducted in Ein El Tal camp to get a better understanding of the community economic and social frames. 2. Existing frames To face economic stress, households can access to financial help from multiple sources. There are many community assets which play a crucial role in supporting families in times of need. In case of financial stress, people can rely on institutional frames (mainly UNRWA) and on their social assets (family, neighbours and community-based organisations). If there is high expectations and a sense of dependence on UNRWA services on the part of community members, there is also a great acknowledgment of the importance of social capital. 2.1 solidarity framework in the community 2.2.1: Saving Groups Although only few people have savings, there are existing saving frameworks in the community. Those households with savings overwhelmingly place their savings in Jamaiyat , a saving group (86%). People join to save money in a common box and can have a certain amount of money each in turn ; these informal savings groups do not charge interest and will continue as long as there are adequate numbers of people in the group. The saving group can be made among neighbours, friends, work colleagues, usually of 10 people (5 to 20, according to the importance of the group) and be of different importance concerning the capital saved. These groups are reported to be the source of financing the house for young men and an important way to manage the house for women. In women’s saving groups, just as in GGL, most of the money goes toward household improvements such as additions and / or purchasing appliances such as refrigerators and stoves. Women indicated however, that most women from average and better-off households are those participating in Savings Groups as to join these Savings Groups women need to have some regular form of income. This prohibits poor households from participating. 2.2.2: Family Box The family-box is one of the most common coping scheme available for people. Called “sunduq”, it is a joint liability organised on family kinship, but usually extended to a group of families related by their place of origin in Palestine. They rely on social relationship and confidence between the members. There are 3 important joint-family-boxes in Ein El Tal: Ain Ghazal (135 members), Tarshiha (40 members), Zib (50 members)3. They were funded between 1978 and 1998. The family-boxes extended since they had been created but only people having origins from the place in Palestine can have access to it. Each member pays a monthly instalment, and receive help according to defined conditions. All family-boxes provide financial help for funerals, marriage, medical need (about 20 – 25 % of operation cost) ; the family-box can provide symbolic aid for students. The family box provides a kind of social insurance for the household-members of each participant. The big ones, like Ain Ghazal4, can also serve as organisation for collective savings and cooperative to buy heating oil, furniture etc.. Monthly instalments vary from 50 SP to 100 SP. The head of the family pays the instalment. There are only few female-headed households in those family-boxes. Usually women are not counted as members of the box, they are included in the household : the HH of their husband; the husband of their father or son if they are divorced or widowed. The family-boxes are run by a committee usually composed of the head of the funding families, or composed of elected members representatives for the families. The committee established rules for the family-box, and holds regular meetings. All family boxes have a yearly meeting of all their members to take decisions on the budget. Women don’t take part to decisions in these organisations. They can only have a social role, as visiting sick and elderly women. 2.2.3: community-based charities A number of community-based charities provide some form of support to financially insecure families in Ein el Tal. These charities typically offer food, small amounts of money and materials such as school supplies for children. Overall, respondents indicated that these organisations are not very active, have limited abilities (e.g. management and financial) and are irregular in their provisioning. Most assistance is offered by these charities during Ramadan or when there is a funeral or a marriage. Different kinds of charities :  Palestinian Charity Organisation ( Jama’ya khayrié falastinié) – annexe  Social aid from political organisations (Hamas, Fatah, Jihad..)  Religious network ( Mosque Committee)  Safety net provided by family groups ( sunduq : see above) The Palestinian Charity (Jama’ya khayrié falastinié ) is an organisation funded in 1959. It is organized at the level of the Aleppo governorate by a central comity of 7 members elected among 50 permanent members, every 2 years. The total number of people volunteering for the Jama’yat is about 600. The central committee refers to 3 local committees in Aleppo, Neirab and Ein El Tal. There is no link with others Palestinian Charities in the country (Hama, Damascus..) but there is a cooperation between the different charities in Aleppo.The Jama’ya functions with authorization and control of the Ministry of Social Affairs but is independent for its budget and activities. Funds are provided by individuals or by private companies in Syria (90% of donors are Syrian) ; theses funds are raised mainly through personal relations. The government provides 3 4 some of the members of these boxes live in Neirab or in Aleppo. See annex for details about Ain Ghazal Box. also few funds but mainly serve as an intermediate between different jama’ya. The budget was about 3 millions SP for 20055 (2 million SP in cash, + 1 million in goods) The committee of Ein El Tal is made of 7 members (including one woman), selected among educated people in each neighbourhood ; the president of the committee is elected every 2 years. Social relations play a great role in this assistance frame. The charity supports 300 families in Neirab, 100 in Ein El Tal and 100 in Aleppo. It distributes aid in food (sugar, beans, flour…), other in-kind (oil, stationary for children, clothes), cash for medicines, for students ( 500£/month for university students in science only ; 10 of them in Ein El Tal). Beneficiaries are selected after a research made by the members of the committee on their living condition ; the organisation made a questionnaire for 250 poor families in Ein El Tal, identified as poor by the members of the Charity, as they are members of the community as well. After the research, 100 families are selected as beneficiaries. This choice is revised each year, and there is a waiting list of 20 families. Beneficiaries are mostly families including disabled or seriously ill people, widows with non-working children, families with many children and a low income… SHC are eligible to the help of the jama’yé because UNRWA rations are not sufficient. There is no particular stress on women vulnerability in the jama’yé which focuses on illness and disabled cases. The role of women in the Palestinian Charity is very limited. There is one woman in the Ein El Tal committee (none in the others)6, and women are asked to do visits to female beneficiaries. But their role as decision-makers is not obvious. 2.1 UNRWA relief and social services program 2.1.1 Social services : the Woman Programme Centre The Women Programme Centre (WPC) depends on UNRWA’s Relief and Social Services. It was opened in1992 and it is run by 3 volunteers of the Camp community. It offers services for child care (nursery, kindergarten), tutorial courses for students, trainings (computer, hairdresser, sewing) and conferences. It also runs the Group Guaranteed Loan (GGL) programme. However many women complain that these activities are not sufficient and don’t address enough women’s needs. The volunteers running the centre should be elected. 2.1.2 : assistance UNRWA’s “Relief and social services” provide help through food assistance and cash assistance for poor families identified as “Special hardship Cases” (SHC). It is the primary provider for assistance, followed by the Government of Syria and by charity organisations. A prime responsibility of the UNRWA Relief Programme is to assist the camp’s most vulnerable families through several sub-programmes including food aid, cash assistance and in-kind assistance to enable households to meet their basic needs. The provision of such services constitutes a central element of strategies for achieving sustainable livelihoods. 5 There is a huge increasing of the budget since few years: only 1 million Sp in 2004 and 400 000 in 2003. 6 Zeinab Ibrahim, who is also volunteer for the WPC. According to the asset-mapping 22% of households received food rations during year 2004 and UNRWA was again the primary provider (81%). Of those households that received food assistance, 17% were headed by females. Only 10% of households received financial assistance during the last year and, again, UNWRA was the dominant provider of this assistance (74%). Overall, UNWRA provides the bulk of medical, food, and financial resources to the camps followed by the Government of Syria. 2.1.3 Poverty Alleviation Programme and Loan Schemes - Micro-credit programme In 1987, UNRWA implemented a micro-credit scheme to support poor families (SHC) to start a business and become financially independent. Called “Self-support project”, this program consisted in micro-credits given to SHC to start business, in place of the regular assistance. The credit was a gift (from 10 000 to 15 000 SP), at the beginning, then became a loan(about 50 000 to 70 000). About 20 businesses were supported in this program (horticulture, sewing, blacksmith..). Each business were followed up (accountability, help to reach market etc), but the follow up did not exceed 2 years and many businesses stopped after this period. In the same time, a program of “cooperative production units” was implemented to support women’s work : 5 cooperative production units opened (3 in Neirab: embroidery, sewing, tricot – the last one for disabled people ; 2 in Ein El Tal : embroidery, tricot). These projects failed also, competition being particularly hard for textile. Many recommendations were given to make the project successful : the business loan should be available to anybody, and not to SHC who would use the capital for daily needs. Business projects should be selected in a better way, according to the skills of the applicants, and to the opportunities of the market. A training on management, marketing and accountability should be provided to the selected applicants. On the other side, UNRWA should guarantee a sufficient funding of the project. - loans : Except the GGL, the only kind of loan available from UNRWA is Housing Emprovement Loan. The amount is of 150 000 SP and it is available under certain conditions of guarantee. - Group Guaranteed Loan Each group is composed of 5 women (who usually know each other but can’t be from the same family) who mutually guarantee the paying of the loan (50 000 SP i.e: 10 000 SP for each member, and 5% interests). The system is based on personal relations and confidence between the members of the group. The GGL is run in Ein El Tal by an executive committee composed of the 3 volunteers of the WPC7. There is about 40 groups in Ein El Tal, i.e. 200 women beneficiaries of the programme. There is a committee of the beneficiaries, composed of women of each neighbourhood. They meet every Sunday and visit the other women participating to GGL, to see how they benefit from the loan, if they have difficulties to pay back etc. This committee is also in 7 responsible of the programme for UNRWA: Hassan Ahmed charge of making enquiry about the new applicants to ensure they would be able to pay back the loan. The loans are used to do works in the house, to buy electric machine for house (fridge, washing machine), gifts for Aid, pay back other loans. The amount of the loan is not sufficient for high expenditures, for example to start a business. That’s why a new project of business loans is on study . A loan of about 50 000 SP will be given individually to women to help them to open their own business. Trainings for business skills (marketing, accountability…) might be useful for that project. Proposals The further investigations stressed the conclusions of asset-mapping, showing that women were very vulnerable and dependant, and excluded of most of the community assets. Vulnerable women depend on their family to survive, as we see that women were excluded from most of family boxes. However lot of potentialities could be supported. the WPC has a great role to play in supporting women’s involvement in the community activities and in raising awareness about gender issues. The services of the WPC should be improved, through meetings with the committee running the WPC, the RSS and the Project team. Activities for women should be offered in the centre. Community-based organisations such as jama’yé are a great asset that should be available for women. The project could improve women’s role in these organisations, on a neighborhood basis for example. But the limit is that these community organisations rely on confidence and close relationship between the members. GGL seems to be a successful programme and an opportunity to raise awareness of women about managing issues, saving schemes and to support them to have productive activities. The meetings of GGL could be an opportunity to propose trainings on financial managing of the house, on existing saving schemes (community saving schemes, banks: there is a lack of information about available saving accounts in the bank: daftar taqwfir.), and on business skills that could help women to have a better control on their resources. - - Contacts People met : - sunduq Ain Ghazal : Abdullah Abbas - Sunduq Tarshiha : Mahmoud Sabri Abu Hashem - Sunduq Zib : Abdel Hadi Daoud (Mukhtar) - Palestinian Charity : Hussein Ibrahim - Women Program Center > Zeinab (f), working there for 12 years ; Boutheina (f), since10 years (?) ; Khaldun (m), since 1999. They depend on Relief and Social Services (Mohammed Chreih) in the UNRWA. - Women active in the community :  Ahlam Mohsen  Sawsan Lailé (member of GGL committee) Annexe « Sunduq Ain Ghazal » Sunduq Ain-Ghazal is a joint-liability organized on a family-relationship base and joining families from Ain-Ghazal in Palestine. It was funded in 1987 by few families and is now composed of 135 members (1 member/ HH). The monthly instalments are 50 SP, but vary according to the income of the family8. The sunduq provides in exchange different kinds of economic services: - cooperative for buying. Each member has his turn to get the money, mainly house furniture and domestic appliances. - 500 SP / year for students (high school and university) - 200 SP/ month for young men during military service - financial aid for funerals - 3 000 SP for wedding + loan (12 000 SP without interest + 20 000 SP loan for furniture ; only for men ; if the woman gets married outside, she can’t benefit the loan) - aid for medical operations (from 1 to 25 % of total cost) Capitals come from individual instalments and benefits taken by the sunduq on bulk buyings : the sunduq buys oil (mazot) for all members, and takes 10 % commission ; idem when someone buys furniture or domestic appliances. The capitals of the sunduq is increasing since few years, thanks to good management ; its is now more than 400 000 SP. Collective buyings are also increasing. When families have financial stresses, they can have delay for paying the instalment but usually they pay back quickly. The comity running Ain Ghazal box includes 5 persons. The head-member responsible for the budget, distributed according to the written rules. The comity takes decisions for exceptional cases (mostly concerning healthcare). 8 It was not clear if each income-owner of the family had to register in the sunduq in its own name, or if the head of the family had to pay more if there were more than one income-owner in the family. Women don’t really participate to the sunduq. There are only few women-headed families taking part to the sunduq (widowed women); they have an income from their husband retirement income, or from their own activity (teacher). There is no divorced woman in the sunduq and no isolated woman without any kind of revenue9. But it should be noticed that these women might be included in the household participating to the sunduq, without being member in their own name : the member of the sunduq is the head of the family. There is no woman in the comity running the sunduq but the running committee is thinking about including women. The head-member (who is a teacher) expressed no need for training in managing or budgeting but said he sometimes has difficulties in managing relationships with people. He showed some interest in the proposal of training for CBOs.