Our Impact
Since 2017, the RAIC team has been on the ground delivering life-changing services from inside Indonesia’s refugee community. Our programs are creating demonstrated and long-lasting impact for the refugees and asylum seekers we work with.
How do we create impact?
RAIC is deeply connected to the communities we work with and we witness the long-lasting impacts of our programs every day. Our activities are designed to be holistic and complementary to support the whole person and their unique needs. Our community volunteers often remark on the strong sense of community and belonging they feel through their participation in RAIC and the impact this has on their lives.
““I am happy because every month it’s like a refreshment. We all sit together, we talk together, and also we are doing something that makes us feel happy and gives us good energy.” (RAIC Community Volunteer)
RAIC’s approach is highly inclusive and we provide a pathway for assistance for those who do not meet the highly restricted criteria of other services. We understand that all our community members are vulnerable. As such, vulnerability is not a priority criteria to access our programs. Instead, we target gaps left by the other services.
As a refugee-led organisation (RLO), we understand the cultures and nuances that exist within our community. We are able to develop systems and programs that best suit different groups – usually in consultation with members of those groups. Our ability to engage with refugees in a safe and dignified way, and provide access to services that would have otherwise remained inaccessible, is one of the key ways we are impacting our community.
Alongside our programs, we are having a significant impact through the advocacy work we undertake both in Indonesia and abroad. For many refugees like us, it is extremely difficult to have those in power listen to our concerns or ideas. But we know that when we act collectively, and use the leverage we hold as a growing RLO with international support, RAIC can make real improvements to the situation of refugees on a large scale.
RAIC’S IMPACT BY NUMBERS (July 2021 - June 2022)
Hygiene
Packages
distributed
resettlement
applications
funded
dental caretreatment
provided
US$ Facilitated
in rental
assistance
individuals trained in mental health
Who are we impacting?
RAIC’s in-person activities take place in the Jakarta and Cisarua/Bogor regions of Indonesia where large urban refugee populations are based. Several programs, such as Cope and Solutions, are also offered online and can be accessed by refugees in any location.
Our team works across a broad range of cultural and linguistic groups. The largest community we support are Hazara refugees from Afghanistan, however we also work with Iranian, Iraqi, Somali, Sudanese, Ethiopian, Syrian and Congolese communities.
We have a track record of encouraging participation across the community in our projects through measures such as interpretation or translation services; transportation subsidies; women’s only peer-support groups; and stipends for volunteers from refugee-backgrounds.
Wherever possible, community activities are implemented by refugees of the same (or similar) gender, age or cultural/language groups to ensure we are enhancing accessibility and providing appropriate support.
Revolutionising refugee assistance through holistic and localised support: A Case Study
Shahin was an 18-year-old refugee living in Indonesia for nearly seven years with his family of six. Because Indonesia does not recognise refugees, Shahin lived without any basic rights or access to proper medical care. This was particularly challenging for Shahin, who has cerebral palsy. Over time, without care, his condition worsened and he began to lose his ability to walk.
Shahin’s father faced practical and logistical barriers when trying to engage with UNHCR and other organisations regarding Shahin’s situation; as an older man from a minority group, Shahin’s father struggled to be heard and seen.
When RAIC Indonesia became aware of Shahin’s situation, we supported him with legal aid, urgent medical care, and basic needs assistance. We prepared a narrative document demonstrating his eligibility for resettlement and ensured UNHCR understood his specific situation. Our team also completed medical assessment forms for him and had them validated and signed by specialists and hospitals. These forms proved his condition was urgent, a prerequisite for expedited resettlement. Every step of the way, RAIC was there, providing interpretation and advocating for his current needs. In 2019, Shahin and his family were finally resettled in Canada.
RAIC has stayed in touch with the family and continued providing advice in their new country of residence, providing connections to key services and guidance for navigating ongoing processes. Today, Shahin has the medical care he needs and he and his siblings are all enrolled in school. For the first time in nearly 10 years, Shahin and his family have safety, stability, and hope for the future.
This story illustrates the nature of RAIC’s services: solutions and support require holistic case management and deep personal connection.
Learn more about RAIC’s community-led programs in Indonesia.