UNHCR MISSION VISIT

by rekha@sulopa.in | Mar 28, 2019 | Uncategorized

UNHCR MISSION VISIT

Location: Chandeni -1, Chandeni-2, Ward No: 7

Date:15-03-19

The mission consisted of

• Pema Tenzin, US Embassy representative
• Walter Sanchez, Head – Durable Solutions, UNHCR
• Dolan Mukherjee, Sr. Project Coordinator, FTF-I

The Mission was received at Nuh Bus-stop by Mr. RandhirSingh, Community Counsellor and Mr. VineetBhagoji, Project Coordinator from the Believe India (BI) Team.  The Visit commenced at around 9 am. Mr. Vineet from the BI team welcomed the Representatives from the mission and gave them a brief introduction about the project activities in Mewat.  The mission was then taken to visit the vegetable shop of Mr. Kamal Hussain who received loan under the re- Bank scheme. Mr. Walter and Mr. Pema Interacted with Mr. Kamal Hussain and asked several questions. Mr. Walter was impressed with the fact that the concerned POC has bought a motorbike for his use and suggested that he should get a carriage fixed at the back to get vegetables from the market. Mr. Pema interacted with Kamal in Hindi and asked him questions related to his clientele and family composition and education of his children. Later the mission visited the micro enterprise of Ms. RohimaKhatoon who runs a breakfast and snacks outlet, Mr. Hifzul Rahman and Mr. Md. Hussain who run a grocery store and a chicken shop respectively. All the 3 enterprises are on Chandani main road. Ms.RohimaKhatoon was not keeping well, so we had to interact with her husband who was assisting Ms. Khatoon to run the business. Mr. Tenzin asked a similar set of Questions to all the 3 entrepreneurs regarding their clientele, Family composition and education of their children and their relations with the local communities. Mr. Walter asked the question about the progress made by the concerned POCs after the intervention made by Implementing partners in terms of the new purchases for their households and the change it has bought in their lifestyles. One more question Mr. Sanchez stressed on was where and how will the POC invest his profits in order to expand his business. They appreciated the progress made by the POCs. The mission then visited the community in Chandani and took stock of the housing also had a brief interaction with the Chairman of the Community. Mr. Pema also visited the house of Mr. Hifzul Rahman and inspected the Bathrooms as well with due permission from the POCs. The BI team later escorted the mission to the Chandani center to interact with the trainees who were learning to stitch. During the interaction, Mr. Walter asked if the women had worked on any hand skill prior to migration and encouraged them to make some embroidery designs native to Burma for showcasing in the future. Ms. Dolan from FTF-I took the initiative to make the women in the center feel comfortable and conversed in Bengali with them. Her efforts made it easier for the POCs at the center to open up and answer all the questions posed to them easily. The mission then visited the grocery store of Mr. Noor Islam where a similar set of the question was posed to him by the visitors. The Mission also interacted with the POCs Placed in the Tanneries and understood the placement model from the beneficiaries themselves. Mr. Walter also suggested that discussion should be started with the employer to further benefit the placed refugees in terms of social security but at the same time acknowledged and appreciated the fact that the placed POCs were earning more than the local population working in the tannery. The mission then visited the community playground where the POCs reminded Mr. Sanchez of his promise of getting them a football. The POCs then showcased their national game “Pache” and Mr. Walter joined the POCs and showcased his athletic and football skills. During the game was going on Mr. Pema interacted Ms. Dolan and inquired that like the Congolese group and the Somalian groups, does Rohingya community have a potential to set up a food group. Ms. Dolan informed Mr. Pema that the POCs have the potential but the main component of their food is usually meat and often beef which will be a no go with the Indian community so space has not been explored. The Visit came to an end with the visit to the BI office cum training center in Ward No. 7 where the mission met the POC from the Ajida group, howeve,r only one POC was working because it was a Friday and the other 4 POCs left to offer their Friday prayer. The Visit ended at 15:30 hours. Mr. Sanchez suggested that the implementation partners should explore and submit an proposal for training the skilled youth from the rohingya community to become a football trainer and get them certified by an external agency. Mr. Pema also suggested that UNHCR and its partners should start a dialogues with travel agencies to explorethe inclusion of POC Community (Jaipur) visits in their itinerary anda shop should be set up to sell the products made by refugees.