
The displacement caused by the political and economic woes of Zimbabwe
is at the centre of the attention of JRS in this region. At the same
time, in Angola, Malawi, South Africa and Zimbabwe, JRS reaches out to
refugees from other African countries too, implementing projects both in
cities and in camps.
In Zimbabwe, JRS supports IDPs in two districts and offers services in a
refugee camp. In neighbouring South Africa, JRS concentrates on helping
forcibly displaced people to find work and to integrate; this entails
working with host communities, which are usually poor and on the urban
fringe. Apart from projects in Pretoria and Johannesburg set up in 1997
to offer income-generation, healthcare, education, and advocacy
services, JRS runs a border project in Limpopo. The project was set up
in 2008 to offer social support and material assistance to newly arrived
Zimbabweans who had fled their country.
In Malawi, JRS offers pre-primary, primary, secondary and adult
education, as well as counselling, to refugees in Dzaleka camp. In 2010,
the camp became a pilot site for the innovative "Higher education at
the margins" project, a joint venture between JRS and US Jesuit
universities, which provides a university diploma to refugees through
online learning.
True to its pedagogical tradition, JRS has provided quality education
to refugees in Malawi for 20 years. When the JRS region of Southern
Africa was set up in 1995, JRS already had a unique schools project in
Malawi, the Mozambican Open Learning Unit (MOLU), which followed the
Mozambican refugees when they returned home.
During the 90s, much of the energy of JRS in this region was devoted to
meeting the needs of people displaced by the civil war in Angola,
including landmine survivors, with projects in Angola, and in Namibia
and Zambia too. When peace came to Angola in 2002, JRS accompanied the
returnees, participating in repatriation, rebuilding and peace
education. JRS remains present in Angola, offering mostly legal aid and
training to refugees in Luanda, Malange, Cabinda and Lunda Norte
provinces. In response to a pressing need, JRS Angola has become
increasingly involved in the field of sexual and gender-based violence
(SGBV), initiating a counsellor training programme in Caxito, Bengo
province, in 2010.
Projects in Zambia and Namibia, on the other hand, have come to a
close, with JRS accompanying some Congolese refugees home to Katanga in
late 2009, to help with school construction.
Southern Africa
Regional Office
southernafrica.advocacy@jrs.net
+27 11 327 0811
JRS Southern Africa is one of 10 geographic regions of the Jesuit Refugee Service, an international Catholic organisation affiliated to the Society of Jesus. The regional office in Southern Africa supports country programmes in Angola, Malawi, Democratic Republic of Congo, South Africa, and Zimbabwe. With a mandate to serve refugees and forcibly displaced persons, country projects include assisting refugees to access education, healthcare, and offering small business support.
In Angola, in addition to the activities supporting the refugees, the project provides training on refugee law to government authorities, including police, immigration officers and local leaders. In the Democratic Republic of Congo, JRS is constructing and renovating schools, upgrading teachers’ skills, and fostering reintegration by developing sporting activities for children.
In Malawi, JRS is providing primary and secondary education, as well as vocational training, to refugees living in the Dzaleka refugee camp. In Zimbabwe, JRS provides material assistance to vulnerable populations, as well as providing a range of services and vocational training opportunities to refugees living in the Tongogara refugee camp.
In South Africa, JRS offers services primarily to urban refugees and asylum seekers: this consists of small business development and assistance to access public services (including education and healthcare). Close to the Zimbabwe border, the JRS South Africa office offers World Health Organisation-standard food and hygiene packages to undocumented migrants and other displaced persons arriving in the country.
South Africa: refugee documentation remains an issue
Johannesburg, 11 February 2010 – Refugee documentation remains a concern in South Africa, as demonstrated recently in a legal battle in the Cape Town High Court.
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South Africa: JRS wins awards for video on refugee rights
Johannesburg, 14 December 2010 – A public service announcement created for JRS South Africa has won five awards in a prestigious national social responsibility film competition.
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South Africa: photo story of Zimbabweans
Johannesburg, 10 April 2010 – There are thousands of Zimbabwean immigrants and refugees living in South Africa. Some flee persecution and extreme human rights abuses, others extreme poverty. All come looking for a better life.
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South Africa: deportations of undocumented Zimbabweans to resume
Johannesburg, 16 September 2010 – At the end of the year, South Africa is to resume the deportation of Zimbabweans who fail to qualify for visas under the new government regularisation plan.
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Haiti: powerful storm strikes Caribbean nation
Port-au-Prince, 26 September 2010 – A powerful tropical storm hit the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince on September 25, destroying and damaging many of the tents inhabited by the 1.2 million people displaced by the January earthquake who have lived in ad-hoc camps for the last nine months. The Jesuit Refugee Service team responded that very night, deploying our limited resources to address the most urgent needs.
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South Africa: regulation of Zimbabweans, a welcome step
Johannesburg, 14 September – JRS has given a cautious welcome to the introduction of new regulations affecting Zimbabweans in South Africa.
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Kenya: JRS higher education projects evolve
Kakuma, 13 September 2010 – JRS has announced modifications to its higher education distance learning courses.
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South Africa: human rights commission urges political parties to act against xenophobia
Johannesburg, 17 July 2010 – The South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) recently invited South African politicians to commit their parties to doing their utmost to stamp out xenophobic violence in the country.
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South Africa: Bishops Conference calls for renewed vigour in the face of xenophobia
Johannesburg, 9 July 2010 – In a public statement in response to rumours of xenophobic attacks following the end of the World Cup, the President of the Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference, Archbishop Buti Tlhagale, urged the government, employers and citizens alike to listen with renewed vigour to voices expressing legitimate grievances and act for our common good.
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South Africa: World Cup shines a spotlight on refugees and migrants
Johannesburg, 14 July 2010 – Sixty games on, three million spectators and billions of US dollars better, South Africa feels rehabilitated in the eyes of the world. Many believe that a combination of wide media coverage, some early police response and the consciousness that the world is looking on has left at least some refugees feeling safer than they did two years ago.
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