From Capacity Building to Capacity Sharing — A Message from Andhira Kara Yousouf

Involving refugees from the inception phase can we ensure meaningful localisation and make sure their insights and experiences shape the programmes designed to support them.

How can we move beyond capacity building to true capacity sharing and ensure the meaningful participation of refugees?

Hear from Andhira kara Yousouf, a passionate refugee advocate and researcher, who calls for the inclusion of refugees and displaced persons throughout the entire project lifecycle, not just during data collection and implementation. She emphasises that only by involving refugees from the inception phase can we ensure meaningful localisation and make sure their insights and experiences shape the programmes designed to support them.

She emphasises that only by involving refugees from the inception phase can we ensure meaningful localisation and make sure their insights and experiences shape the programmes designed to support them.

Andhira also highlights that the perceived lack of capacity in Refugee-Led Organizations (RLOs) often reflects the donors’ and organisations’ challenges in effectively collaborating with local and community-based organisations (CBOs), rather than a genuine lack of capacity on the RLOs’ part.
These were some of the discussions we had during the event on World Refugee Day, themed “Strengthening Localisation of Protection Programming in Kenya,” held together with the @Danish Refugee Council.

The event was based on a research study conducted by Samuel Hall titled “Localisation of Protection Programming in Garissa & Turkana, Kenya,” for the Danish Refugee Council / Dansk Flygtningehjælp, supported by European Union Humanitarian Aid. The study explores opportunities to strengthen localised protection programming in Garissa and Turkana counties, aiming to identify entry points and enhance engagement with local protection actors to leverage their positionality and capacity for better protection outcomes.
Stay tuned for the report and read more insights from the event here: https://lnkd.in/eufvib3Q

🤝 Together, let’s work to create a future where every refugee is empowered, included, and able to contribute to a just and peaceful world.