The ORVs Program was launched in response to the needs of the populations affected by the ongoing conflict.
The program seeks to empower certain members of the affected community by providing them with communication and monitoring skills and training them on various programs. ORVs’ intervention does undoubtedly shorten the time to meet the affected population’s needs, as ORVs are in direct contact with the living reality. This, in turn, contributes to raising collective awareness, until a point is reached when affected people become self-reliant and can find solutions that meet their needs in coordination with the SSSD work team.
This program also contributes to motivating the affected community to undertake CBIs that contribute to challenge response, surmounting obstacles and meeting emergency needs. It also plays an important role in promoting the SSSD participatory approach to problem solving.
Over time, the ORV program will contribute to the formation of community leaders who will be able to draw on the experience gained thereat to bear post-conflict responsibilities.
Since ORVs are an important part of the work team and the main link in service provision who contribute to alleviating existing problems, SSSD holds regular meetings and training sessions so that ORVs can improve their performance and expertise and possess some basic skills in the field of humanitarian action.
Outreach Volunteers in 2017
As outreach volunteers are in direct contact with the living reality, the SSSD ORV Program seeks to empower some members of the affected community by providing them with communication and monitoring skills and training them on various programs, which would shorten the time to meet the needs of the community as a whole. This, in turn, contributes to raising the affected community’s awareness until reaching a point where it becomes self-reliant, thereby creating solutions that meet their needs in coordination with the work team.
SSSD ORVs perform several tasks, such as initial visits to beneficiaries, during which information is provided on SSSD services and programs, in addition to follow-up visits, service delivery and accompanying beneficiaries to community centers and other NGOs.
In 2017, the total number of SSSD ORVs reached 531 persons distributed in all the governorates covered by SSSD interventions (Damascus and Rural Damascus, Aleppo, Homs, Hama, Tartous, Sweida and Hasakeh).
ORVs carried out 55,914 visits: 38,582 initial visits and 17,332 follow-up visits. Through these visits, they have been able to monitor dropout children in need of educational support, cases of child labor and UASC, cases in need of PSS, SGBV victims, cases in need of legal support, people who lost their work tools in need of livelihood toolkits, persons in need of vocational training and small business grants, persons who proposed CBIs, beneficiaries in need of in-kind and medical assistance who are facing economic and health problems.
ORVs play their role in the community through:
Disseminating information on protection-related community services provided in CCs and by other service providers.
Identifying the most vulnerable groups/individuals and referring them to CCs or other service providers.
Organizing and facilitating awareness sessions in cooperation with the competent authorities in CCs.
Providing aid through mobilization of community resources.
Identifying the ORV team’s intervention areas according to the map of services approved in each region.
Raising awareness and working to meet IDP’s needs within intervention areas.
Assisting in the identification and implementation of CBIs.
Conducting FGDs to identify most frequent trends of concern observed in community.