The International Rescue Committee (IRC) helps people affected by humanitarian crises—including the climate crisis—to survive, recover and rebuild their lives. Founded at the call of Albert Einstein in 1933, the IRC is now at work in over 50 crisis-affected countries as well as communities throughout Europe and the Americas. We deliver lasting impact by providing health care, helping children learn, and empowering individuals and communities to become self-reliant, always seeking to address the inequalities facing women and girls.
The IRC and the IKEA Foundation have partnered since 2016, when we embarked on a youth livelihoods project called Building Incomes and Leveraging Livelihoods for Youth(BILLY). By offering business-skills training, start-up grants, apprenticeships, and connections to local employers, the IRC supported over 3,000 young refugees and local community members in Nairobi, Kenya.
To address the persistent challenges that face displaced people in urban areas in East Africa, in 2021, the IRC launched the Re:Build program with the IKEA Foundation’s generous support. This initiative aims to transform livelihoods opportunities for 20,000 people in Nairobi, Kenya and Kampala, Uganda. Re:Build is working to build and share evidence for innovative, sustainable solutions that can be adopted to support refugees and host residents in other cities in East Africa and beyond.
The Re:Build Approach
- Livelihoods Services
Supporting 20,000 refugees and other residents to find employment by attaining the skills most sought out by employers, or by starting/growing their own small businesses. - Evidence & Learning
Gathering evidence and learning through testing with randomized control trials, pilots, monitoring data, etc., to illustrate what works to improve urban livelihoods. - Influence & Adoption
Establishing a bold influencing agenda aimed at changing policies, practices and investments at nation, regional, and global levels.
Reach
Across our 20,000 refugee and host community clients that will be reached by this program, we aim to reach a diverse range of refugee and host community members – including women, girls, young people and the LGTBQIA+ community. Central to this work is our client-centered approach, ensuring that we design programs that are bespoke to the unique needs and voices of the communities where we operate.
My parents can’t believe I am on the way to becoming a mechanic… I am grateful to Re:Build and the International Rescue Committee for supporting me to acquire skills that support my ambition.
Muhimpundu Marie PatienceBorn in Kenya to Rwandan Refugees
The International Rescue Committee relies on the generous support and expertise of partners like the IKEA Foundation to respond to the world’s worst humanitarian crises; and every member of your team plays a part.
From light-touch, one-time engagements to hands-on, longer-term commitments, volunteers provide vital skills, resources, and energy that enable our programs to reach more people in-need when every second counts. Thank you for being IRC champions!
Let the world know you #StandWithRefugees by engaging with us on TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn.
Submit a hand-written letter for U.S. newcomers or contribute to our digital mural of welcome.
Read a book or watch a film about the refugee experience to discuss with others. Get started with these books or check out the films Flee, Simple As Water, and Encanto.
The International Rescue Committee's advocacy team works alongside our supporters to fight for policies that deliver real change for the people we serve. You can Take Action and help is drive change all over the world.
Volunteers play a critical role in helping refugees and immigrants thrive in the United States. The International Rescue Committee (IRC) offers volunteer opportunities to work remotely and in person.
Participants in the apprenticeship program and vocational placements
