Ongoing

Developing effective up-to-date programs that benefit migrant workers is one of the primary goals of RMMRU. Below is a list of the programs RMMRU is currently engaged in: 

Project Name: REMA(K)ER: Returning Migrants Achieve Economic Resilience and Social Cohesion within their Communities
Funded by: International Organization for Migration
Duration:15 December, 2022 – 15 August, 2023

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a large number of migrant workers have been forced to return early or involuntarily to Bangladesh. More than 400,000 migrant workers have returned to Bangladesh between April and December 2020 due to COVID 19. Returning migrants face a variety of challenges when they return home, including lack of job opportunities and limited access to social safety nets. Even the households depending on remittances become more vulnerable because of the pandemic and global economic slowdown as well. Many came back highly vulnerable, with 74% of them leaving behind a significant amount of earnings and lost wages (RMMRU, policy brief 30)[1]. A significant number of returning migrants are in debt and facing financial difficulties, wage theft, exploitation and experiencing both physical and mental health crises, etc. The women migrants specifically become the victims of social stigma, abuse and torture as well. To contribute significantly towards the reintegration and to reduce the vulnerabilities of the migrants, RMMRU undertook a comprehensive approach under ‘REMA(K)ER: Returning Migrants Achieve Economic Resilience and Social Cohesion within their Communities’ supported by IOM. This project is designed to reduce vulnerability where effective remittance management is essential for fostering economic resilience. It engages the returning migrants in livelihood support for economic reintegration as well as improve social cohesion in the community. The livelihood development initiative under this project is being implemented with an innovative approach by using digital tools at the local level in the context of Bangladesh. It is also designed around the proposition that asset diversification is an important component of reducing vulnerability and that remittance management is key to building economic resilience. Besides this, the project is aimed to strengthen the sense of social cohesion among communities to ensure a speedy and healthy recovery from the pandemic.

Project Area: Kalihati Upazila, Tangail

Goal: The goal of the project is to ensure the returning migrants and their families contribution to the strengthening of social cohesion and achievement of economic resilience within their communities

Objectives: 1. To reduce the vulnerability of returning migrants through effective reintegration mechanisms for economic resilience.

2. To strengthen and improve the social cohesion among communities to ensure prompt and successful recovery from the pandemic.

Funded by: Winrock International
Duration: 1 December, 2021 – 31 March, 2023

Bangladesh is one of the largest migrant worker sender countries of the world. Currently Bangladeshi migrant workers are working in 168 countries. A significant number of Bangladeshi migrant workers are going to destination countries as skilled and trained workers. Remittance sent by the migrant workers plays important role in the economic development of Bangladesh. More than 10% of country’s GDP comes from the remittance sent by the migrant workers. Despite all this, migrant workers face many difficulties and challenges such as fraudulence by sub-agents, not getting promised salary and suitable job, human trafficking etc. Due to non-maintenance of all the necessary steps of immigration such as passport, visa, contract letter, medical certificate, resident permit, work permit and others, many migrant workers face challenges in destination countries. In this context, RMMRU is conducting the SafeStep project in the Tangail district using a safe migration related mobile application named ‘SafeStep’. Under this project, a mobile application named SAFESTEP was developed as a result of a consortium consisted of ELEVATE Hong Kong Holdings Limited, Diginex Solution, GFEMS and Winrock International which is promoted by RMMRU in the project areas. The mobile application is developed to equip migrants with adequate information, help workers calculate costs and benefits derived from migration and make informed decision, assist in taking appropriate preparation and organize documents in a digital accessible storage, and reduce vulnerabilities in the migration cycle through facilitating service providers information. It aims to lessen the vulnerability of migrants and enable better access to information through mobile technology.

Project Area: Kalihati Upazilla of Tangail Sadar Upazilla of Tangail District. 5 unions and 1 Municipality- Gala, Silimpur, Gharina, Shahadebpur, Paikora and Elenga municipality.
Goal: The goal of the project is to create a clear understanding of safe migration among aspirant and departing migrant workers, increase awareness in the migrant community and develop skills through digital means to play a major role in ensuring safe and orderly labor migration for migrant workers, especially Malaysia-bound migrants.

Objectives:
1. Raising awareness among migrant workers at the local level about the SafeStep mobile application for accessing digital information services and reducing migration fraudulence cases;
2. Awareness and information campaigns on safe migration among migrants involving the local community or volunteer committee;
3. Enhancing the skills of migrant workers, provide training and information for practical knowledge on safe migration, communication and services to migrants through collaboration with Government Technical Training Centers and District Employment and Manpower Offices.

Project Title: Inclusive and Sustainable Economic and Psycho-social Reintegration: A Survivor-Centered Approach for the Returned Migrants (ISEPR)
Supported by: British High Commission
Duration: October 2022- March 2023

Inclusive and Sustainable Economic and Psycho-social Reintegration: A Survivor-Centered Approach for the Returned Migrants (ISEPR) project has been implementing in Kalihati Upazila of Tangail supported by British High Commission. The project will last for six months. The purpose of the project is to strengthen community-based organizations to ensure gender responsive sustainable economic and psycho-social reintegration of returned and survivor migrants through accessing institutional supports provided by government and private organisations and upholding the voice of the vulnerable migrants to establish their rights towards successful reintegration.

The project plans to engage returnee migrants, address their vulnerability in context of social, access to justice and economic reintegration for affected men and women migrants. It will also contribute in developing the institutional strength, accountable and responsive services in reducing the returned distresses and ensure the rights of the survivors. Through the intervention, RMMRU will innovatively develop a survivor centered approach to the social and economic reintegration of vulnerable migrant workers. Conduct policy research, advocacy initiatives and connect with relevant functionaries for reintegration of the returnees by supporting legal, justice, economic and social rights and grassroots interventions besides acknowledging their contribution. The approach will reflect the survivors’ voice in the initiatives to influence the policy to provide protection of them in their migration journey.

Major activities under this project are
1. Research and policy advocacy to address gaps in terms of reintegration, gather data/profile of the targeted survivors and identify scope for collaboration with the government functionaries.
2. Manage Shelter Home to provide psycho-social counselling and economic reintegration services to those female migrants who have returned after being physically or sexually abused.
3. Pilot market-oriented business to economically rehabilitate the returned migrants by transforming some of them into entrepreneurs. Ensure referral to different business advisory private sector organisations and Government’s extension services related to enterprises pursued by the migrants.
4. Ensure access to justice by Grievance Management System for failed and defrauded returned migrants to protect the vulnerability of survivor community and reduce social cost of returnees particularly for women and their families.

Funded by: Helvetas Swiss Intercooperation
Duration: 2021-2023 (3 years)

Refugee and Migratory Movements Research Unit is working for the well-being of the migrant workers and their family members, particularly the marginalized men and women in safer migration practices through improved quality of services and information. The Strengthened and Informative Migration Systems Project (SIMS) project supports to make informed choices related to migration, ensure access to justice and provide financial literacy to the migrant community.

Geographical Area:

The geographical coverage of the project is in twenty-five unions in five Upazilas of Cumilla district (Adarsha Sadar, Sadar Dakhin, Chandina, Muradnagar, Daudkandi).

Outcome of SIMS Project:

Outcome 1: Men and women migrant workers make an informed decision on migration with a view to choose pathways that maximize economic returns and minimize risks related to migration;

Outcome 2: Public and private sector providers have improved capacity to provide necessary services for safe migration;

Outcome 3: Migrants and their family members are able to reduce exposure to external shocks by using remittances more effectively.

Time Frame: March 2018 to September 2021
Funded By: British Council

RMMRU has started working on the Fairer Labour Migration (FLM) project supported by British Council to establish good governance in the migration sector in Bangladesh. Under the project, RMMRU will take a series of initiatives at the grassroots level to ensure application of the Migration Act 2013, conduct researches and will take different activities to make a strong grievance management system at field level.

The Major Objectives of the Project:

1. Establishing fair recruitment system in the field of labour migration from Bangladesh.
2. Ensuring the protection of the migrants and their family members.
3. Assisting the local government institutions in Bangladesh in order to enhance their skills and helping them to establishing the overall rule of law.

For more information on any of the above ongoing programs please contact us at info@rmmru.org