Call for Refugee Led Organizations to Partner with the DREEM Project
Role: Driving the development, operations, and activities of an RLO consortium
centred on disseminating information about higher education
opportunities through the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program and
application support
Location(s): Refugee-led organisations based in Kakuma Refugee Camp and Kalobeyei
Integrated Settlement, Dadaab Refugee Camp, and Nairobi, Kenya
Reports to: Pan African Initiatives Manager, DREEM
Contract term: Eight (8) Months starting 1st of November, 2024
Introduction:
WUSC (World University Service of Canada) is a Canadian non-profit organisation committed to improving the lives of millions of disadvantaged youth worldwide through education, economic opportunities, and empowerment programs.
Through the DREEM project – WUSC serves as the Mastercard Foundation’s partner on the inclusion of refugees and displaced persons (RDP), and supports the foundation and its partners to fulfil their commitment to meaningfully include refugee and displaced young people in the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program. By strengthening relationships between Refugee-led Organizations (RLOs) and Community-Based Organizations (CBOs) in refugee contexts and the universities participating in the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program, DREEM aims to create sustainable systems that allow RDPs to access higher education opportunities on their own.
WUSC is looking to partner with six local refugee-led organisations, forming three pairs—one pair per geographic location in Kakuma and Kalobeyei, Dadaab, and Nairobi. These pairs will work together to shape the direction and operations of the project and lead important activities, such as sharing information about the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program with refugee and displaced youth and co-creating an outreach model that RLOs can manage in the future. This partnership aims to empower RLOs to design and deliver refugee-led solutions that address the needs of refugees and displaced persons in their communities.
As part of its goal to establish a sustainable refugee-led outreach model, the DREEM project will provide mentorship and coaching, and offer technical assistance and support to RLOs who could continue to support higher education institutions with outreach activities and promote opportunities to the refugee and host communities after the project ends.
Objectives and scope:
The project aims to improve access to higher education for refugees and displaced youth by building a consortium of Refugee-led Organizations (RLOs) and Community-Based Organizations (CBOs) who will work with WUSC to promote the higher education opportunities available through the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program to refugees and youth from host communities in Kakuma and Kalobeyei, Dadaab, and Nairobi. The project will focus on strengthening capacity and empowering RLOs to lead efforts that create lasting connections between students and higher education. By leveraging local knowledge and partnerships, the project seeks to create solutions that can be scaled and have a big impact, focusing on outreach, program design, research, and policy influence.
Selected RLOs will take part in activities that strengthen their skills and help develop a long-term plan that ensures lasting results. The goal is to create a service model that can be fully led by RLOs in the future, while building strong networks with universities, schools, and other RLOs to share information, resources, and opportunities without overlapping efforts. Specifically, the project will work towards the following objectives:
Main Tasks and Responsibilities of RLOs
Selected RLOs will receive comprehensive support, including:
Selection Criteria of the Refugee Led Organizations:
Each RLO that makes up the RLO pair/team is expected to:
"Please note that RLO pairs that include Female-led RLOs and those led by persons with disabilities are particularly encouraged to apply. Exceptions may be made if organisations don’t meet the minimum criteria, in line with WUSC and the Mastercard Foundation’s inclusion objectives"
Interested RLOs based in Kakuma Refugee Camp and Kalobeyei Integrated Settlement, Dadaab Refugee Camp, or Nairobi, Kenya must apply in pairs who are based in the same geographic location, and submit one joint Expression of Interest by Wednesday, October 16, 2024. Each pair will be asked to submit information for both organisations in one single form, provide a description of activities they have undertaken, and list donor-funded projects they have implemented. Shortlisted organisations will be asked to provide more detailed information and submit past annual reports or records of financial management as part of the verification process upon selection.
Information Session:
WUSC invites interested parties to join an information session on October 9th, 2024 at 4pmEAT. This session will provide an opportunity to receive more information and ask questions in advance of the submission deadline.
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/87232703843?pwd=aMxWJtacnzZlgsUbydw1bVbA5MUlwK.1
Meeting ID: 872 3270 3843
Passcode: 887388
Selection Process: and Timelines
Stage 1: October 2024
Stage 2: November 2024
Stage 3: December 2024 to July 2025
*For more details, please review the Terms of Reference, provided in Annex A.
For inquiries, please contact:
Ella Ininahazwe, Pan African Initiatives Manager, DREEM
For more information about DREEM, please visit: https://wusc.ca/introducing-dreem/
Annex A
Terms of Reference
Refugee-Led Organization Support to the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program