EMERGENCY RECOVERY & RESPONSE

We’re at our best when the worst happens.

In FY16, CRS provide timely, quality, dignified emergency support in 55 countries. Our global footprint has grown to include Greece, Macedonia and Ecuador. Serving the most vulnerable in our world requires the utmost flexibility to scale up and adapt programming in a changing, fluid landscape. Thanks to the dedication of our local partners, and the unwavering presence of Caritas and the local Catholic Church, we can respond at a moment’s notice.

Refugees rebuild their lives—and a local economy

When responding to a humanitarian emergency, providing people with immediate, safe shelter is paramount. But no situation is alike. After Typhoon Haiyan struck the Philippines, the repair and rebuilding of homes was appropriate. For Syrian refugees living in the urban cities of Jordan, rental support in the form of cash grants is a better solution.

To be effective, CRS emergency shelter teams look at the unique needs of the affected population as well as the communities around them. For example, Athens, Greece became the epicenter of Europe’s refugee crisis in 2015. The city received 200,000 refugees and migrants in addition to the 700,000 that entered the country in 2014. Most were passing through to make their way to countries like Germany and Sweden, but their options shifted in March when the Balkan states closed their borders. About 60,000 refugees remained in Greece, living in overcrowded camps. Most refugees were physically and emotionally drained, having fled intense conflict or poverty.

“The refugee problem in Greece came at a time that a country is suffering,” says Martha Giannacopoulou, CRS architect in Athens. “Thirty percent of buildings have been vacant or abandoned due to the collapsed economy. So, we said, Okay, let's start looking at these buildings, at a city that is in need.”

The vacant buildings represented critical living space, but they needed significant upgrades. CRS and Caritas worked in partnership with UNHCR to convert dozens of vacant buildings into temporary housing. Our architects reached out to the building owners and offered upgrades and repair, in addition to rent at market rate. The refugees staying in the shelters stay 2 to 3 months, on average, as they are in the process of transiting to a country of asylum in the European Union.

As one building owner described it, “It is a win-win.” Money is injected into the economy, abandoned buildings are brought back to life, and vulnerable families have a safe place to rest as they prepare for their next step.

“It's the first time after so long that I feel like I'm a human being,” says Tilal Restmo of Aleppo, Syria, now in the CRS-supported apartment with his wife and 6 children as they prepare to move to Lithuania, which granted them asylum. “I pray to God what we’ve been through never happens to any other human being. Hopefully, Lithuania will be a new beginning for us, a good life. This is what we hope for. Nothing more.”

The T-Shelter keeps families together.

The Iraq emergency response reached a critical moment when 85,000 people fled after the battle for Fallujah. Stranded in informal settlements in Amiriyat Al Fallujah, displaced families were in treacherous living conditions, reachable by a bridge that was only open 4 hours a day. Explosions in the surrounding area made the location extremely insecure for humanitarian organizations.

CRS partners Caritas Iraq and the Sunni Endowment teamed up to provide emergency support for tens of thousands of people. The Sunni Endowment is the representative of the Sunni Muslim component of Iraq’s multi-religious, ethnic and tribal fabric. Their interfaith partnership is particularly significant in a conflict rooted in ethnic and religious tensions.

The CRS/Caritas Iraqi teams designed a transitional shelter, or T-Shelter, made of locally-available wood to keep families warm in the winter and cool in the summer. The doors and windows have locks, providing safety to families who have been living in fear. The shelter comes with the option of a partition and is on a raised concrete slab, which keeps the floor dry in the wet, muddy conditions. The shelter can also be disassembled so families can take it with them when they return back to their towns, providing temporary shelter while they rebuild their lives. CRS/Caritas Iraq provided shelters to 270 families and are building hundreds more, in addition to developing water and sanitation systems in the camp.

“Even though we have no house, our home is when our family is together. Before, there was no tent that could hold all of us. This shelter allows us to be together. We are dry, we have a door that we can lock and feel safe,” says Rasmia, 62, with her daughter and grandchildren.