RefugePoint 2013 Annual Report

inside refugepoint with elvin

2013 annual report

2 refugepoint 2013 annual report

Our MissionRefugePoint provides lasting solutions for the world’s most vulnerable refugees. We identify and protect refugees who have fallen through the cracks of humanitarian assistance and have no other options for survival.

Jessica Houssian, RefugePoint Board Chair

Message from our Board ChairDear Supporters,

As the new Chair of RefugePoint’s Board of Directors, I am honored to present to you our 2013 annual report. 2013 was a landmark year for our organization. We deployed staff to more locations across Africa than in any previous year, pioneered innovative methods to help refugees achieve self-sufficiency, expanded efforts to protect the lives of refugee orphans and vulnerable children, and celebrated surpassing our 20,000th refugee referred for resettlement.

Similar to Elvin Mobasi featured in this report, I was also introduced to refugee protection through RefugePoint. During my first visit to Nairobi, Kenya in 2007, I witnessed urban refugees struggling to survive in overcrowded slums. I met my friend Edith there, an inspiring young Rwandan woman whom RefugePoint eventually resettled to the United States. Today, I remain close with Edith, who is a constant reminder of the unique role RefugePoint plays in enabling overlooked refugees to transform their lives.

Recently, I returned from Kakuma Refugee Camp in northwestern Kenya where more than 100,000 people live in rows of tents and makeshift structures. In both environments, I was humbled by the courage and resilience of the refugees I

met and I am proud to represent an agency committed to helping the most vulnerable refugees find a path to lasting safety.

On behalf of the Board of Directors and the entire RefugePoint staff, I would like to express our gratitude to all of our supporters who have helped us to achieve these milestones and who continue to be a lifeline for forgotten refugees.

Sincerely, Jessica Houssian

refugepoint 2013 annual report 3

Meet ElvinIn 2005, RefugePoint hired Elvin Mobasi as the fourth employee of our nascent organization. Initially recruited as a temporary lab technician for the medical program in Nairobi, Kenya, she quickly transitioned to a full time employee within her first year.

Elvin had never worked with refugees prior to joining the organization, but she soon found an affinity for the population and a desire to learn more. As RefugePoint expanded, Elvin began shadowing her coworkers across departments and discovered she had a special talent for social work. With her

warm smile, Elvin connected easily with clients and enjoyed working with refugee families to help them rebuild their lives.

As RefugePoint’s tenth anniversary approaches in 2015, Elvin has emerged as a prime example of RefugePoint’s multi-talented and dedicated staff. In this annual report, go inside RefugePoint with Elvin and learn how she and the organization have advanced over the past decade. Discover the lasting impact our entire team made in the lives of thousands of the most vulnerable refugees across Africa in 2013.

“From the beginning, I loved interacting with refugees. I appreciate being able to work with individuals and families to help them find solutions.”

— Elvin


Sasha Chanoff, Executive Director

Message from our FounderDear Friends,

Not since World War II have conflict, human rights violations, and persecution displaced more people. By the end of 2013 over 51 million people were displaced, including nearly 17 million refugees. Addressing their plight is among the most urgent global priorities, and certainly one of the great moral challenges of our time.

At RefugePoint we strive to transform our field by expanding opportunities for resettlement to countries offering permanent residency - such as the U.S., Canada, and Australia - and for local integration into refugees’ first country of asylum. We do this through innovative action, collaboration, and influence.

In this report we share our work through Elvin’s story and those of the refugees we protect. Elvin’s commitment and professionalism exemplify what all of our employees bring to this field. Often working in dangerous and remote locations, they dedicate themselves to refugees in extremis.

We have created pathways to new lives for tens of thousands of the most vulnerable. As they lift their eyes from the daily struggle to survive towards safety and opportunity, we are reminded of the critical importance of our work.

But we must redouble our efforts and unite in unprecedented ways in order to meet the challenges ahead. Thank you for joining us on this journey.

Sincerely, Sasha Chanoff


Inside the Refugee Crisis in Africa in 20132013 saw the highest number of new refugees globally since the Rwandan genocide in 1994. New and old refugee crises in Sub-Saharan Africa combined to produce a quarter of the world’s refugee population. At the end of the year, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Somalia, and South Sudan remained three of the top six refugee-producing countries in the world. The refugee population in Africa reached nearly three million, at least half of whom are children.

While some positive developments allowed for many refugees to return home to Angola, Liberia, and Rwanda, the eruption of conflicts in the Central African Republic, Mali, and newly independent South Sudan sent new waves of refugees into exile.

Moreover, as conflicts became increasingly protracted and conditions prevented safe return, the vast majority of refugees in 2013 remained without any durable solution. Globally, 2013 saw little repatriation, and Africa was no exception. The war in DRC entered its sixteenth year while Somalia’s civil war stretched into a third decade. UNHCR estimates that 54 percent of the world’s refugees live in protracted situations, meaning they have been displaced for at least five years. Many refugees have been seeking solutions for decades.


Finding the Most Vulnerable To assist the most vulnerable refugees in Africa, RefugePoint must first conduct triage to identify them, a very staff-intensive activity. When Elvin joined the organization in 2005, RefugePoint’s programming consisted of assisting a small population of HIV-positive refugees in Nairobi that was overlooked and desperate.

At that time, the organization employed five individuals, all in Kenya. By 2013, RefugePoint’s staff had grown to 43, including professionals from Canada, Ethiopia, Germany, Kenya, Netherlands, Poland, South Africa, United Kingdom, and the United States. Collectively, they worked in 17 locations in 10 countries in Africa to identify refugees at grave risk. They also conducted large screening exercises in refugee camps to identify under-served refugee populations and individuals in need of immediate protection.

Identifying the most vulnerable refugees is a difficult process, but also an area of specialization for RefugePoint. While factors vary across refugee populations, we prioritize orphans, separated or neglected children, women at risk, the elderly, survivors of torture, people with serious medical conditions, and individuals in imminent physical danger, among others. Some of our clients in 2013 included traumatized children, couples in interethnic marriages, LGBTI individuals, women fleeing sexual and gender-based violence, and children threatened with forced military conscription.

Refugepoint Staff 2005

Refugepoint Staff 2013435


“Identifying which refugees to help with limited resources is the toughest part of any humanitarian’s job. There is no shortage of need, and often the refugees who have the wherewithal to advocate for themselves are far from the most vulnerable. Traditionally, the process of identifying beneficiaries has been either ad hoc or passive. RefugePoint saw the need to create better, more proactive identification methods to ensure that scarce resources are reserved for those in greatest need. These methods include direct outreach into refugee communities and snowball referrals from existing clients, which lead us to highly vulnerable refugees lacking the means to seek help. We are frequently lauded by UNHCR for our ability to find cases that would have been overlooked. We train others on our original identification tools and methods, as we advocate for more sensitive and equitable identification methods throughout the system.”

— Amy Slaughter, RefugePoint Chief Operating Officer


“I see them. They are telling my mom to kill my younger sister. She’s holding on to the baby tightly. They are giving her a knife and she’s throwing the knife down. My dad is watching. He wants to help, but they are holding him tight. They shoot my mom. My dad gets free. He’s running to her. He’s screaming. Now my parents are gone.”

— Congolese refugee child describing an attack at his home

“I remember one of my first clients. He was a young boy who had witnessed his parents’ murder. His story impacted me because while most children I interview tell their stories in the past tense, this young man was so traumatized that he spoke in the present tense as if the assault was happening right there in the room.”

— Elvin


1

3

8

10

13

1112

2

6

54

17

15

7

16

14

9

1 CaiRo, egypt

2 ShiRe, ethiopia

3 JiJiga, ethiopia

4 MbaRaRa, uganda

5 KaMpala, uganda

6 KaKuMa, Kenya

7 dadaab, Kenya

8 naiRobi, Kenya

9 Muyinga, buRundi

10 KaSulu, tanzania

11 lilongwe, Malawi

12 naMpula, MozaMbique

13 pRetoRia, South afRiCa

14 duRban, South afRiCa

15 poRt elizabeth, South afRiCa

16 Capetown, South afRiCa

17 oSiRe, naMibia

2013 Field Locations

RefugePoint Expands Across Africa


Highlights from 2013 RefugePoint Fieldwork

RefugePoint Helps Kick-start Congolese Resettlement from Great Lakes Region

For several years, RefugePoint has worked with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and national governments to significantly expand access to resettlement for Congolese refugees across Africa. In 2012, the U.S. and other governments committed to resettling 50,000 Congolese refugees over the next few years. RefugePoint helped kick-start this historic effort in 2013 by deploying 10 resettlement and child protection experts to the region where they referred 700 refugees for resettlement from four locations in Burundi, Tanzania, and Uganda. This also involved conducting nearly 300 child protection assessments to facilitate the resettlement of highly vulnerable minors.

RefugePoint Expands Resettlement Opportunities in Namibia

In 2011, RefugePoint resettlement experts based at UNHCR’s regional office in Pretoria, South Africa, traveled to Osire, a small camp in Namibia, to assist a group of Congolese refugees with urgent needs. While on site, the team observed the acute needs of thousands of additional refugees in the camp. In response, our staff wrote a short synopsis of these cases and a proposal for their resettlement. Following advocacy with UNHCR and the U.S. government, the resettlement effort was launched two years later and RefugePoint was asked to lend staff to assist. We deployed a resettlement expert who completed 223 resettlement referrals and helped UNHCR in its efforts to empty and close the camp.



Hundreds of Unaccompanied Eritrean Minors Protected in Shire, Ethiopia

RefugePoint has maintained a resettlement expert in Shire, Ethiopia since 2008, helping thousands of refugees from Eritrea access resettlement. Since that time, large outflows of Eritrean children and youth have arrived in the area. Many of the children languished in a transit facility with little supervision or protection support, leaving them vulnerable to traffickers and smugglers. In 2013, RefugePoint deployed a team of child protection experts to assess the needs of hundreds of these minors and refer them for the services and solutions - like resettlement - they need to survive. At the same time, our resettlement staff in Shire referred nearly 500 additional refugees for resettlement.

RefugePoint Returns to Dadaab to Support UK Program

In 2012, resettlement from Dadaab Refugee Complex in eastern Kenya effectively halted, as growing insecurity in the region made it difficult for aid workers and governments to maintain steady programming. This left tens of thousands of refugees without access to resettlement. In 2013, the United Kingdom returned to Dadaab for a single mission to resettle a few hundred particularly vulnerable refugees. In advance of this mission, RefugePoint deployed a resettlement expert to Dadaab for the first time since early 2012 to help UNHCR identify the most critical cases to refer to the UK.



50% of refugees in Africa live in urban areas. In 2013, RefugePoint partnered with National Geographic Photographer Amy Toensing to document this emerging crisis and its effects on refugee children. The full collection, In the Shadows: Urban Refugee Children in Africa, was released on RefugePoint’s website on World Refugee Day and can be viewed online at www.RefugePoint.org.


Inside Urban Refugee Stabilization The refugee crisis in Africa is increasingly urbanized. More people are fleeing directly to cities like Cairo, Johannesburg, and Nairobi in order to avoid the dangers of refugee camps and with the hope of better opportunities. Unfortunately, humanitarian assistance is extremely limited in urban areas, and refugees soon discover the challenges unique to surviving in cities where they lack legal status and are vulnerable to exploitation.

In response to this urban migration trend, RefugePoint operates an Urban Refugee Protection Program in Nairobi, Kenya. The program has come a long way since Elvin first joined a decade ago. In 2005, RefugePoint assisted 160

refugees with limited medical care and resettlement. In 2013, our team assisted 3,219 of the most vulnerable urban refugees in Nairobi with wide-ranging services.

The goal of our Urban Refugee Protection Program is to identify strategies to help urban refugees become more self-sufficient and lead dignified lives, even in the absence of full legal rights. Our complement of services includes food and rent assistance, medical care, education stipends, counseling, and small business development. We also collaborate with other NGOs working in Nairobi to develop innovative models for assisting urban refugees and to strengthen the local protection network.


RefugePoint’s Urban Stabilization Model

Step OneIdentify extremely vulnerable

urban refugees

New clients in 2013 1,071Total caseload 3,219

Emergency Food Assistance

1,745 Individuals

Medical Care

1,989Individuals

Safe Shelter

175Individuals

Community Outreach

4,341Individuals

Nairobi Refugee Resettlement Referrals

374 Refugees

Step TwoProvide immediate support to

help clients stabilize

Step ThreeEmpower clients with

education, counseling, and livelihoods assistance

Step FourCreate solutions

Our refugee community workers provide their neighbors with critical health information and linkages to local humanitarian assistance agencies.

Refugee community workers alert us to the most vulnerable refugees who become our clients.

Livelihoods Programming

88Individuals

Additional income benefitted 400 refugee family members

RefugePoint focuses on two exit strategies for our clients: (1) helping them to become self-sufficient in Nairobi and (2) referring them for resettlement to a safe country.

33% above target

47% above target

Education Stipends

405Students

25% above target

2+3=

Individual & Group Counseling

237 Individuals


Step OneIdentify extremely vulnerable

urban refugees

New clients in 2013 1,071Total caseload 3,219

Emergency Food Assistance

1,745 Individuals

Medical Care

1,989Individuals

Safe Shelter

175Individuals

Community Outreach

4,341Individuals

Nairobi Refugee Resettlement Referrals

374 Refugees

Step TwoProvide immediate support to

help clients stabilize

Step ThreeEmpower clients with

education, counseling, and livelihoods assistance

Step FourCreate solutions

Our refugee community workers provide their neighbors with critical health information and linkages to local humanitarian assistance agencies.

Refugee community workers alert us to the most vulnerable refugees who become our clients.

Livelihoods Programming

88Individuals

Additional income benefitted 400 refugee family members

RefugePoint focuses on two exit strategies for our clients: (1) helping them to become self-sufficient in Nairobi and (2) referring them for resettlement to a safe country.

33% above target

47% above target

Education Stipends

405Students

25% above target

2+3=

Individual & Group Counseling

237 Individuals


New Livelihoods Program Empowers Refugees In 2013, RefugePoint launched a livelihoods program to help refugees living in Nairobi acquire skills and financial resources to start or expand small businesses. In its first year, 88 refugees were screened into the program. Meanwhile, the international microfinance organization Kiva reached out to RefugePoint to identify refugees to pilot its new Kiva Zip program, which provides loans to borrowers who traditionally cannot access credit.

“Murielle runs the most successful business in our program. The family transitioned in a short period from having nothing to being self-reliant again. Although she is a very quiet person, she’s very determined and will leap at any opportunity to grow her business.”

— Joseph Nyaga, RefugePoint Livelihoods Officer

RefugePoint Entrepreneur

After fleeing the Congo, Murielle* and her family found life in Nairobi full of further hardship. The mother of three needed emergency surgery, her husband was attacked, and their apartment was robbed. When our caseworkers discovered the family, the parents could not afford their rent and eviction was imminent.

RefugePoint responded quickly and referred the former seamstress for the livelihoods program. Murielle was soon awarded a cash grant of 16,500 Kenyan shillings (US $190) to launch a small tailoring business. She bought a sewing machine and material and put down a deposit for a small food shop in her neighborhood. Within the year, the successful entrepreneur was ready to expand with help from a Kiva Zip loan. More importantly, her efforts helped her family to stabilize. The family could afford rent again as well as the fees to send their children to school. RefugePoint also hired Murielle to make school uniforms for other refugee children.

*name changed to protect her identity


The average length of time a person remains a refugee is seventeen years.


Inside Refugee Resettlement As the United Nations, governments, and international humanitarian organizations grapple with the magnitude of the global refugee crisis, refugee resettlement continues to be the only reliable humanitarian strategy offering refugees a permanent resolution to their uncertainty and suffering.

When RefugePoint started, thousands of resettlement slots were left unfilled each year. RefugePoint set about to improve and even transform the resettlement system in order to see every life-saving resettlement opportunity utilized.

In our first year, we referred 50 cases for resettlement out of Nairobi. In 2013, our protection officers completed 4,442 referrals, exceeding our target by 33 percent. We also expanded our geographic scope, resettling refugees from 17 locations across Africa to 13 countries worldwide, the most in our history in both categories. In addition, we have helped to build a collaborative environment that enables other organizations to advance resettlement efforts.

Thanks to our protection officers’ efforts and those of our partners in the field, in 2013 the United States fully utilized its resettlement quota of 70,000 for the first time since the founding of the U.S. resettlement program in 1980.

“I have to be strong for my siblings.

I am their mother and father. My

stomach hurts often for the pain

they feel. I just do my best to create

a world in this one room where they

can play and feel happy.”

— Abdi, age 18

For years, Abdi cared for his five younger brothers and sisters after their mother died during childbirth in a refugee camp in Kenya. In 2013, RefugePoint provided the six children emergency support and eventually helped the orphans reunite with extended family in the United States.


Between 2005 and 2013, RefugePoint referred

22,250refugees for resettlement to the following countries:

auStRalia

belgiuM

Canada

denMaRK

finland

fRanCe

iReland

netheRlandS

noRway

poRtugal

Sweden

united KingdoM

united StateS

RefugePoint celebrates our 20,000th refugee resettlement referral in 2013!

4,442 in 2013 33% above target for the year


NGOs Expand Refugee ResettlementAfter rebels set fire

to her home, this

Congolese refugee

woman and her

children fled to

Kenya. RefugePoint

helped the family

resettle to the U.S.

in 2013.

For decades, the global refugee resettlement system relied almost exclusively on UNHCR to identify and prioritize refugees for resettlement. In recent years, however, RefugePoint and our NGO partners have begun to transform several aspects of the resettlement system, particularly the ways in which refugees are identified and prioritized for resettlement consideration.

Three strategies have allowed NGOs to extend resettlement to thousands of extremely vulnerable refugees who otherwise would not have been able to benefit from it:

NGOs like RefugePoint and HIAS identify vulnerable refugees from among their own clients and refer them directly to resettlement country governments like Australia, Canada, and the United States.

NGOs like Lawyers for Human Rights in South Africa and St. Andrew’s Refugee Services in Egypt identify vulnerable refugees from among their own clients and bring them to the attention of UNHCR, which in turn can refer them to one of the more than 25 countries worldwide that accepts refugees for resettlement.

NGOs like RefugePoint, the International Catholic Migration Commission, and CWS lend their expert resettlement staff to UNHCR operations in order to bolster UNHCR’s overall resettlement capacity.

The effect of these three strategies is that more refugees are able to benefit from resettlement each year and that more highly vulnerable refugees are found and prioritized for resettlement.

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Elvin Celebrates Congolese Family’s ResettlementEach departure of a refugee family for a resettlement country is an occasion to celebrate. It means their journey of fear and insecurity is nearing an end. While thousands of refugees across Africa made this voyage in 2013 thanks to RefugePoint, one family remains closest to Elvin’s heart.

In 2013, the Lokango family ended their 10-year journey as refugees. Displaced from the Congo since 2002, the family of four endured years of extreme hardship and abuse. After rebels captured Joel, a local teacher, his wife Jeanne grabbed their children and fled for Burundi. For the next five years, Joel

was separated from his family and tortured for refusing to join the rebels. Eventually, he managed to escape and reunited with his family in Nairobi.

Once in Nairobi, Joel and Jeanne were unable to legally work and neither of their children could attend school consistently. Accessing food and basic medical care became a daily challenge. RefugePoint learned about their situation and intervened. We provided emergency assistance and referred the family’s case for resettlement. On September 27, 2013, the Lokango family arrived in the United States.


“I met the Lokango family when I was still working in Nairobi. They were one of those families with such pride that we knew when they came into our office, they had really exhausted every option. While I wasn’t there when they departed for the United States because I was on a mission, the news brought me so much happiness.”

— Elvin

“Words cannot describe what a difference RefugePoint has made. In Nairobi, I really started to believe my family would never reach safety. Now, I feel so much relief and joy.”

— Joel Lokango



Inside Child Protection In 2012, Elvin joined RefugePoint’s regional Child Protection Team, which she considers her favorite role with the organization. In this position, she and her colleagues identify refugee children in life-threatening situations and refer them for services. UNHCR recently reported that fully half of the world’s refugees are now children under the age of 18 and that the percentage is likely higher in Africa. Children are arguably the most at-risk within the refugee population, and are particularly vulnerable to abuse, exploitation, kidnapping, and trafficking.

Despite the overwhelming numbers and compelling needs, it is broadly recognized that child protection capacity is severely lacking among actors responsible for the welfare of refugee children. To address this crisis, RefugePoint significantly advanced our child protection efforts in 2013, which led to hundreds of children receiving individual protection assessments and reaching safer situations.

“I think that often refugee children are

at the bottom of the heap. Refugee

situations don’t always take into

account the needs of children because

families are so focused on survival

that they cannot take care of a child’s

emotional survival.”

— Helen Martin, Regional Child Protection Coordinator


Advancing Child Protection in 2013

SIGNIFICANT STAFF EXPANSIONRefugePoint hired our first Regional Child Protection Coordinator to advance our efforts in this field. Our team of child protection specialists also increased from one professional to 11 at the height of our deployments in 2013, a significant expansion for our growing organization. From their posts, our specialists identified neglected refugee children, conducted assessment interviews, and mentored staff from UNHCR and other NGOs on best practices for conducting child protection casework.

MORE REFUGEE CHILD ASSESSMENTSOur child protection specialists completed more Best Interests Assessments and Determinations (BIAs/BIDs) in 2013 than any previous year for a total of 1,218 compared to the 474 completed in 2012. A BIA/BID involves a series of interviews with a refugee minor that lead to a specialized protection plan for the child. Without this process, minors’ unique protection needs are often overlooked and their eligibility for resettlement is delayed indefinitely.

REGIONAL CHILD PROTECTION TRAININGRefugePoint coordinated and facilitated our first regional child protection training in Nairobi, with the goal of strengthening capacity across agencies working in the field. Twenty-eight specialists from Burundi, Ethiopia, Malawi, Tanzania, and Uganda participated, including several colleagues from UNHCR, Jesuit Refugee Services, International Rescue Committee, and Lutheran World Federation. RefugePoint will be hosting similar trainings in 2014.

ENHANCED COLLAbORATIONThe goals of RefugePoint’s child protection activities are to ensure that the coordination of child protection services is conducted effectively and efficiently and to improve the flow of information among government agencies, international organizations, and NGOs. To this end, RefugePoint routinely participates in international child protection forums. Our officers also work with partners to improve policies and practices in their assigned locations.


“Sometimes it takes a lot of time to get a refugee child to open up and communicate with you freely. They don’t know whether to trust the interviewer, especially if they have had a bad experience with someone who doesn’t conduct interviews in a child-friendly manner. They fear the process will be more upsetting.”

— Elvin


U.S. HEADqUARTERS

Sasha ChanoffFounder & Executive Director

Amy SlaughterChief Operating Officer

Martin AndersonAssociate Director for International Programs

Roanne Edwards Director of Philanthropy

Cheryl HamiltonAssociate Director for External Relations

David WeaverAssociate Director for Finance and Administration

SPREAD THE wORD RefugePoint continues to grow thanks to our wonderful network of supporters. Help us reach new audiences by introducing RefugePoint to your community.

FOLLOw US

For more information on our programs, news and refugee stories, sign up for our online newsletter at www.RefugePoint.org or follow us on social media.

RefugePoint @RefugePt RefugePoint

Extend the LifelineSince 2005, Elvin has assisted thousands of vulnerable refugees in Africa. Join her in extending the lifeline to other refugees in life-threatening situations. The following are ways to remain connected to our work and to help us advance lasting solutions for refugees.

GIvE Tax-deductable donations can be made online at www.RefugePoint.org or by mail to the following address. For other giving options, contact us at [email protected] or 617-864-7800.

RefugePoint P.O. Box 984001 Boston, MA 02298-4001

Staff LeadershipBoard of DirectorsAlexander “Sasha” Chanoff Executive Director, RefugePoint

Stephanie DodsonInnovation Lead and Strategy Consultant, Demand Abolition

Daniel A. Draper (treasurer)President, Draper Tax Consulting

Kitty DukakisRefugee Advocate; Author; Former First Lady of Massachusetts

Jessica Houssian (chair)Women Moving Millions

Lorna Brett HowardSocial Justice Activist; Communications Specialist

Dr. M’Imunya J. Machoki (kenyan board)Deputy Director, University of Nairobi Institute of Tropical & Infectious Diseases

William P. Mayer (clerk)Partner, Goodwin Procter LLP

Désirée Younge CEO/Founder, Cotton Tree Philanthropy Advisors Inc.

KENyA OFFICE

David JohnsonCountry Director – Kenya

Paul KaranjaUrban Refugee Program Coordinator

Helen MartinRegional Child Protection Coordinator

Janet Ouma Regional Resettlement Coordinator


“I love working at RefugePoint because leaving home in the morning is like leaving your first family to go to your second family.

Our work is difficult, but everyone on staff is approachable and cares about the people we help. I can’t imagine being anywhere else.”

— Elvin


60 Minutes Feature & 60 Days for Refugee Girls CampaignIn 2002, 60 Minutes featured Executive Director Sasha Chanoff in a piece about the Sudanese Lost Boys and their resettlement to the U.S. In 2013, CBS followed up with the Lost Boys, and interviewed Sasha for a special retrospective. With the release, RefugePoint launched a “60 Days for Refugee Girls” campaign to draw attention to the plight of forgotten refugee girls.

ABC Special with MonaIn 2009, ABC World News aired a special about a Darfuri family that RefugePoint helped to resettle to Columbus, Ohio. At the time, the parents did not know whether their eldest daughter Mona had survived the attack on their village that forced them to flee. She had been missing for nine years. In 2013, RefugePoint helped Mona reunite with her family and ABC World News covered the reunion.

World Refugee Day EventIn honor of World Refugee Day, RefugePoint hosted an event in Cambridge, Massachusetts featuring National Geographic Photographer Amy Toensing’s photo collection In the Shadows: Urban Refugee Children in Africa. Amy spent a month in Nairobi, Kenya with RefugePoint documenting the lives of urban refugee children. Her full collection is available online.

Sasha performs on The MothIn September, Sasha performed in a mainstage production of the popular public radio storytelling program The Moth in New York City. For his piece, Sasha shared how a rescue mission in the Congo ultimately inspired him to found RefugePoint.

Additional Noteworthy Events in 2013


Legacy Venture Event in San Francisco Sasha and Amelia Abiem, a former Sudanese refugee and RefugePoint client, spoke at the annual meeting of Legacy Venture to a community of philanthropists. Amelia discussed her journey as a young refugee woman and how her life has transformed since she resettled to the U.S.

Darfuri Student Selected for Refugee CongressMohyeldin Mohamed, a former refugee from Darfur and RefugePoint client, was selected to represent the state of North Dakota at the national Refugee Congress. Convened in Washington, D.C., refugee leaders from across the country gather biannually to advocate on Capitol Hill on behalf of refugees worldwide.

Gleitsman International Activist Award The Center for Public Leadership at Harvard Kennedy School honored Sasha with the 2013 Gleitsman International Activist Award. In recognition of the organization’s co-leadership, Sasha used the occasion to highlight the contributions of Chief Operating Officer Amy Slaughter. The Gleitsman Award honors leadership in social activism that has improved the quality of life for those abroad.

Urgent Congolese Response Campaign With the escalation of violence and mass displacement in eastern Congo, RefugePoint launched a successful appeal to deploy additional child protection specialists to central Africa, where there is a high rate of separated minors among those fleeing Congo.


“RefugePoint’s transformational leadership in the field of social justice and humanitarianism has been extraordinary. In the worst African refugee crises, RefugePoint has saved the lives of thousands of the most at-risk displaced women and children.”

— David Gergen Professor of Public Service, Harvard Kennedy School & Co-Director, Center for Public Leadership


Financial StatementCondensed Audited Statement of Activities for the years ended Dec. 31, 2012 and Dec. 31, 2013 (in thousands) 2013 2012

Operating Revenues

Contributions & grants 2,293 1,637

Contributed goods & services 47 49

Cooperative agreements & contracts 1.040 450

Interest income & other 11 6

Total Operating Revenues 3,425 2,142

Operating Expenses

Program Services

Africa-wide refugee protection programs 1,529 1,050

Nairobi Urban Refugee Program 768 722

Total Program Services 2,297 1,772

Supporting Services

General and Administrative 166 193

Fundraising 192 193

Total Supporting Services 358 386

Excess (Deficiency) of Operating Revenues Over Operating Expenses

Excess (Deficiency) related to Unrestricted Funds 457 134

Excess (Deficiency) related to Temporarily Restricted Funds* 307 (211)

Non-operating activities (net) 25 5

Increase (Decrease) in Net Assets 789 (73)

Net assets at beginning of year 2,066 2,139

NET ASSETS AT END OF YEAR 2,855 2,066

*Complete financial statements, audited by Alexander, Aronson, Finning & Co., P.C., available upon request.

Programs (87%)

Fundraising (7%)

REVENUE SOURCES

EXPENSE RATIOS

G & A (6%)

Individual Contributions & Grants (67%)

Contributed Goods & Services, Investment & Other Income (2%)

Cooperative Agreements & Contracts (31%)


The LifelineRefugePoint relies on the generous support of multiple partners. We owe tremendous gratitude to our supporters listed on these pages and to the countless others who we do not have the space to include here.

FoundationsAshoka

The Charitable Foundation

The Educational Foundation of America

Flora Family Foundation

Horace W. Goldsmith Foundation

The Isabel Allende Foundation

Jasmine Social Investments

Legacy Works Foundation

The Leir Charitable Foundations

The Morrison & Foerster Foundation

The Mulago Foundation

The Nduna Foundation

Newman’s Own Foundation

United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees

United Nations Voluntary Fund for Victims of Torture

The William H. Donner Foundation

Individual and Family FoundationsCindy and Kevin AbelAid for AfricaAJG FoundationAlchemy FoundationAllison Family FundAnonymous (3)Ansara Family Fund at The Boston FoundationThe Apatow-Mann Family FoundationArlene FoundationAnna and Dean BackerJonathan and Monique BamelAlan BatkinKen and Auli BattsClaire and Bruce BeanPeter BloomRoss Bresler and Anja Rauh BreslerBrian Bronfman Family FoundationCarl and Suzie ByersG. Thomas CatorMatt Chanoff and Lisa Kleiner ChanoffSasha ChanoffWalter Chick and Janet Parsons Giving AccountCLAWS FoundationDiane Currier and Bill MayerJamini Vincent DaviesLauren DiasMelissa and Tom DiTostoDodson Charitable Gift Fund


Dan and Colleen DraperKitty and Michael DukakisJacqueline DyerRoss and Jeanne EdmundsonElmo FoundationJohn and Stacey FiskFloor Family Charitable FundFriends Seminary of New YorkBonnie GosselsElaine and Werner GosselsThe Greenbaum FoundationRichard and Debra HagarJulian HaywardMike and Sara HenryTodd HermanStella HillsThe Houssian Family FoundationLorna Brett HowardAdam and Jules JanovicWilliam Sloane Jelin Charitable FoundationClaire JohnsonDiane and Al KanebSirkku KonttinenRik KranenburgLandry Family Charitable FoundationJohn and Randi LapidusGeorge Lehner Dylan and Andrea LeinerLinowitz Family FundLynne Lipcon

Susan Lowenberg and Joyce Newstat LowenbergDavid and Katherine Moore Family FoundationRobert and Emily MorrisonCraig MurphyKenneth O'Connor and Dorothy RoweThe Plymouth Rock FoundationEdward and Denise RocheRollGivingKeith RosenbloomRachael and Michael RoufaMaurice and Luly SamuelsThe Susan Sarandon Charitable FoundationDoug and Andi ShawBen Sherwood and Karen Kehela SherwoodAmy SlaughterEdward Stern and Stephanie ReinJames M. and Cathleen Douglas StoneVictor Syrmis and Pamela ShawYvette Alberdingk ThijmChristopher TrostJill Tufts and Patrick RuthPatti and Rick Wayne

In-Kind DonorsGoodwin Procter LLPShanah Blevins Paul DaleyEvan McDaniel Christopher Quinn

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RefugePoint 2013 Annual Report

Documents

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