RAISE

The Ministry of Expatriates Welfare and Overseas Employment (MoEWOE) has taken initiative to set up a Reintegration Program for returnee migrants as part of a project titled “Recovery and Advancement of Informal Sector Employment (RAISE)” funded by the World Bank. The Wage Earners Welfare Board (WEWB), being an attached body of the Ministry will be responsible for supporting Reintegration of Returning Migrants and overall welfare services for Bangladeshi migrant workers as part of their regular welfare activities.

Under the RAISE project, RMMRU has established four (04) MWWCc/WCs in four districts; Tangail, Mymensingh, Kishoreganj and Thakurgaon, along with the four catchment districts; Sherpur, Jamalpur, Netrokona and Panchagar. Through these Welfare Centres, RMMRU has been conducting returnee migrants’ identification, screening, registration, counselling, referrals and other services. Throughthe project, RMMRU with the support of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) aims to promote a strong collaboration to support the Government of Bangladesh in its efforts to strengthen its services for the reintegration of returnee migrant workers.

Project Description:

RAISE project intends to uphold and establish the rights of the migrant to be reintegrated with the needful support from the Bangladesh government where they will be supported to bring positive change in their economic and social status. RMMRU, under the project, is expected to set up Welfare Centers, identify and register 31000 returnee migrants and provide them reintegration support through proper counseling, psychosocial first aid, referral, and follow-up mechanisms. The activities of the project will help the migrant community to fight back the after effect of the pandemic and support them to stand on their own feet with courage and confidence. In this particular project, the affected migrant workers who returned due to the COVID-19 pandemic and became vulnerable due to their return situation as a result of this emergency are the main beneficiaries and most important stakeholder. Besides them, the service-providing institutions at the local level such as DEMO office, PKB, TTC, any other private service-providing institutions, BMET, WEWB and MoEWOE. Other CSOs are one of the major stakeholders. The project activities at the community level will be implemented from June 1, 2023 to June 30, 2024.

Objectives:

The overall goal and objective of this project is to create a sustainable reintegration model in holistic approach for Bangladeshi returnee migrant workers. The specific objectives of this project are:

• To promote livelihood opportunities through skill development
• To provide referral services for the welfare of returnee migrant workers by engaging concerned stakeholders
• To generate an effective database of returnee migrant workers
• To provide psycho-social counselling to the returnee migrant workers through the welfare centre
• To provide cash incentives to the selected returnee migrant workers

Implementation Strategy:

To smoothly implement the overall project interventions, RMMRU has established some strategies. As the establishment of the four Welfare Centers in Tangail, Mymensingh, Kishoreganj and Thakurgaon districts has already been completed, now the staffs of the centers are now moving towards the project implementation stage. First of all, the staff of the centers will raise awareness among mass people to inform and provide a clear concept of the RAISE project. After that, they will identify and register returnee migrants on the basis of some criteria. After the screening and registration, beneficiaries will be separated in some categories based on their specific needs. Later, the registered returnee migrants will be provided counseling to identify their specific needs and or problems. Then they will be referred for various services, such as skill development training, vocational training, mental health services, certification for RPL and so on. After availing the services the registered migrants will be eligible for the cash incentives. Finally they will be provided a reintegration card each.