The researcher for the 2005 external impact assessment of the Refugee Reintegration Project was Todd C. Cleveland. This document is designed to represent the key findings and lessons learned and is not a full programme-wide evaluation. Instead, this assessment looked at Center for Common Ground in Angola’s progress in achieving the indicators and expected effects of the project funded by UNHCR.
Some highlights from the assessment include the following key findings:
- Invariably, informants readily identified a number of tangible results that they attributed to the sub-project, reflecting the positive impact that programming has had in communities where it has been offered.
- Communities overwhelmingly welcomed this type of programming and consistently participated in numbers much larger than anticipated, while in areas where programming either has or will end recipients were saddened as the need for this type of program is widely seen as necessary if the reintegration and reconciliation processes are to successfully continue.
- Awareness of returnees’ rights and the laws protecting them was extremely low prior to exposure to SFCG programming, even if these individuals had had some exposure to this type of information while in refugee camps prior to returning to Angola. SFCG was instrumental in raising awareness levels.
- Female participants have taken a very active role in the program and cited a number of improvements in their lives related to the ongoing reintegration process as a direct result of the program.
- SFCG was often perceived as performing tasks and offering services that returnees felt that the government should/could be doing.
- SFCG was widely praised for its willingness to react to needs identified by the communities’ themselves, rather than adopting an inflexible or “cookie cutter” approach.
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