The US government has awarded a US$25,000 grant to assist refugees and host communities in Zambia’s largest refugee camp to improve their livelihoods by developing their entrepreneurial skills, the US embassy said on Thursday.
Made available through the Department of State’s Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration, the grant is targeted at residents of Meheba refugee camp and their host communities in North Western Province’s Kalumbila district.
The camp is the largest refugee settlement in Zambia, with approximately 23,700 refugees from Angola, Burundi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda and Somalia – and more than 5,000 skilled workers in need of job opportunities.
“This grant, awarded through the Julia Taft Refugee Fund to non-profit organization Caritas Czech Republic Zambia, will enable the organization to leverage its existing expertise and infrastructure to promote linkages with the private sector in developing entrepreneurial skills for refugees and in creating internship and job opportunities that strengthen livelihoods,” the embassy said.
The project will focus on developing skills in tailoring and other trades and equip beneficiaries with important new skills in marketing and managing a small business.
The Julia Taft Refugee Fund was named in honour of former US Assistant Secretary of State for Population, Refugees and Migration Julia Taft in recognition of her tireless work to improve the lives of refugees around the world.
JN/APA