1. Bridging The Gap Between Adolescence And Adulthood: Fostering The Development Of Unaccompanied Refugee Youth In Cairo Through Holistic Psychosocial and Educational programming Emma Goldie, Coordinator for Unaccompanied Children and Youth Psychosocial Program

2. Unaccompanied Refugee Children in Cairo Who are they… 1,200 Unaccompanied and separated children Ethiopian, Sudanese, Somali, Eritrean and Syrian Fleeing conflict, detention, torture and trafficking Majority aged between 14-17 years

3. Problems faced by Unaccompanied Children and Youth in Cairo Hostile urban setting Harassment and sexual abuse Limited financial assistance Independent living and no secure housing Language barriers Limited education opportunities : in 2014 less than 5% in full-time school Non-Arabic, non-English speakers particularly affected Drop out for other reasons No right to work leading to informal sector employment and exploitation Ageing out No family, community or support networks

4. The Bridging Program A full time hybrid psychosocial and educational program StARS services targeting Unaccompanied Children and Youth: Aim to capture all areas of need of a young person - from those who need assistance accessing basic services to those who need help in developing further skills and education in order to not only survive but also thrive in Cairo. Work with them until 19 years. Refugee Legal Aid Project Pro-bono legal support and advocacy Youth Advocate Leadership Project Training up youth leaders to advocate with communities Unaccompanied Children and Youth Psychosocial Program Community based Individual case management and group support Community Mobilisation Project ( runs throughout our programs) communities responses to child protection and child participation.

5. The Bridging Program A full time hybrid psychosocial and educational program for unaccompanied children and youth To bridge the gap between adolescence and adulthood with increased access to employment and education and to further build students’ self-protection and increase self- reliance. Full time school, for 6 months, with 75 registered in each semester. Intensive English, Arabic, math, science, IT Psycho-educational afternoon classes (getting around Cairo, nutrition, service providers, detention and safety tips, know your rights, dealing with stress, sexual health, child rights and using your voice, employment safety, education and livelihoods opportunities, transition plans) Preparatory and alumni English classes Job placements for 10 teaching assistants from the program and placements into our full-time school program at StARS: 10-15% of students are unaccompanied children

6. What about those who don’t have the ability to attend full time or those who drop out?

7. Unaccompanied Children and Youth Psychosocial Program Community based Individual case management and group support Focusing on the most vulnerable, community based psychosocial caseworkers provide long term support that goes beyond responding to emergencies and encompasses all areas of a young person’s wellbeing. o Individual community-based case management o Psycho-educational groups in community centres o Youth Groups and sports activities o Community mobilisation All complimented by the work of the Refugee Legal Aid Project, StARS Community, family and friends Managing your emotions Communicating and solving your problems Budgeting and rent living with others Knowledge of services and your rights Learning and Working Health Understanding UNHCR and your legal status Being Safe

8. Youth Advocates Leadership Project 4 day training followed by 6 month Youth Advocates project. The Youth Advocates Leadership project at StARS has been developed in order to promote refugee youth’s active involvement in decision making in matters that concern them, both within their communities, at services as well as at StARS. 15 youth took part in a four day training. Monthly trainings/meetings on further skill development and brainstorming ideas for improving communities and services response to young people Facilitating dialogue with communities and services and UNHCR.

9. Results Young people commented that individual support provided them with emotional support, guidance and hope as well as helped with legal and advocacy. Strong link between girls who attended psycho-educational groups in the community and then attended the bridging program. Graduates of the bridging program – 1/5 got enrolled in full time school, improved self reliance and better able to communicate and care for themselves. M&E every 6 -12 months, monitoring involvement in meaningful activity.

10. Biftu’s story…

11. Challenges and Opportunities: Bridging to what? no right to work continues and lack of integration and safety in Cairo. Increase in irregular migration and young people crossing the Mediterranean to reach Europe Influx of young people coming and going changes the aims and needs of the program. Mobilising communities in urban settings – hard when resources are low. Moving forward to 2016 Focus on finding employment opportunities and placements for young people. Developing community responses with help of the Youth Advocates in order to secure better housing and alternative and community based care.

12. Lessons learnt and recommendations We need to have different levels of integrated support for unaccompanied or other children at risk, that includes intensive case management for the most vulnerable. We need to be more creative in our aims for education for vulnerable adolescents in emergency settings. Re-evaluate our goals and focus on skill building and vocational training to improve their self-reliance and coping mechanisms. Increasing social connectedness and building children’s relationships with the communities to give them a voice and provide them with hope and protection. Improve community responses to child protection.

13. Thank You “I wanted to show the community I had power and could do something…Many children in Cairo have the power in them but they just need guidance and the confidence to use it “ Biftu, StARS Youth Advocate - Cairo