In Ethiopia, child protection in emergency is concerned with the safety, dignity and rights of people affected by disasters or armed conflict. Protection activities involve actions that aim to prevent or reduce the effects of abuses, stop remedial actions to help people recover and start capacity-building actions to create an environment, conducive to full respect for the rights of individuals and groups.
As an emergency response, cash voucher assistant is used to address a range of household and individual protection needs in a dignified manner, which still allows the recipients the right to decide what is best for them when all else has been stripped away. This includes cash assistance for basic needs for people with special requirements and acute vulnerabilities, single parents with multiple dependents, unaccompanied minors, persons with disabilities, survivors of violence and other categories of people deemed at heightened protection risk. For this initiatives the JF-CPiE project planned a participatory action to make the target selection process more transparent and inclusive.
This story highlights the experience of Mrs. Almaz* and her family: How the cash assistance in the Joining Forces for Child protection in Emergencies in Ethiopia, Amhara Region enabled her to fulfil her family’s needs especially education and health care costs for her children.
The story of Mrs. Almaz
Mrs. Almaz was displaced from Afar region about 450 km away. She was born and grew up in Tehuledere district, in Amhara Regional State. In 1977, due to the drought in northern Ethiopia, she left Tehuledere district and went to Afar region, Adamaitu town and started a new life washing clothes and baking bread to support her livelihood. During this time she established her own hotel and bought a public transport vehicle. However, due to the conflict, all her property was completely looted and burnt down in 2022, as she said. So, after 38 years, she returned to her hometown. Two of her children were engaged as daily laborer and the other two went to another city and are employed as domestic workers.
Mrs. Almaz says, “I am really pleased by the criteria of selection and the process of targeting. It matters a lot that the organization and the district’s recruitment and selection committee was made public. What makes this process transparent and inclusive is that the criteria was set with many partners and it also included a community hearing session for the selection of the right people for the planned initiative.’’
The JF-CPiE project in Ethiopia is supporting women like Mrs. Almaz with unconditional cash transfers to enable families to buy items they need, send children to school and access health care services. “The cash from JF-CPiE helped me buy clothes for the children and send the kids back to school. Before this support, I was worried and didn’t know what to do, but this has really helped me and my children. After I enrolled two of my children in school, they have stopped going for the exploitative daily laborer work” says Mrs. Almaz. She adds: “When I received the first round in February 2023, I was able to buy half a quintal of Teff (50 kg of lovegrass) for my family. When I received the second round of cash support, it was the time of Eid-Alfetir holiday, so I spent the holiday happily with my families by fulfilling the basic needs of the holiday. I am very happy with the support I received and it came at a time of need”.
The story of Mr. Abera
Mr. Abera* lives in the Amhara Regional State in North Wollo Zone, Gubalafto Woreda. He is married and has two children. One is 10 years old, the other is 14 years old. Before the conflict, he would rent land and grow crops to sustain his family. However, even during normal seasons, he didn’t get enough yield for him and his family every year. The conflict further complicated the already difficult situation and Mr. Abera and his family faced a tough time not being able to access basic food needs. He was unable to send their children to school and frequent health issues caused more economic, social, and psychological problems.
“It’s a miracle we are alive, I remember a time we only had a loaf of bread and water to eat for three days. Indeed I have not seen this kind of situation in my life, and I hope it will never happen again’’ says Mr. Abera.
Mr. Abera continues his story: “On January 2023, I went to the Kebele administration. There were people waiting for the Head of Women and Social Affairs, and she was coming with a group of people. I had a feeling of hope, and expectation that there would be some support because we were in desperate need. They turned out to be staff of the JF-CPiE project. They announced that the child protection project would like to support families of children with minimum cash support to enable families to cope with the difficult situation. In collaboration with local authority and representatives from community and other respective sectors, they set a criterion for selection for the recipients of the cash support based on the Amhara region cash working group’s guidelines.”
Mr. Abera received his cash support in two rounds in March & April 2023. With this, he started petty trade and generated income by sheep rearing. He bought two special breed of sheep. The sheep became pregnant and gave birth. And at the time of this interview, he said, he is expecting a net income up to 16,000 Ethiopian Birr (265 euros) from the sale of sheep.
Currently, Mr. Abera is motivated and getting back to his normal life. He said, ‘’what matters is not the amount, it is what we are receiving other than cash. The project is providing us with guidance, reducing trauma, understand the positive copying strategy and follow up beside cash support’’.
As a lesson learned, the cash voucher assistance needs to have a clear inclusive selection criterion and participatory process to ensure the right and fair participant selection. Moreover, cash support needs to be complimented by other key interventions to help people to be economically stable and thereby achieve financial independence, as well as psychosocial support, community conversation/dialogue to create a platform for the community members to come together and learn from each other. Encouraging positive copying strategies have greatly supported people who have been affected by the crises.
*Not her real name.
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 | This publication was produced with the financial support of the German Humanitarian Assistance Its contents are the sole responsibility of Joining Forces and do not necessarily reflect the views of the German Humanitarian Assistance. |