Hope Friends Kia Daechaek, KOICA, and IOM Launch Reintegration Support Project for Returning Migrants in Zimbabwe

Hope Friends Kia Daechaek is conducting a reintegration support project for returning migrants in Zimbabwe in cooperation with KOICA and IOM.

On July 11, Hope Friends Kia Daechaek, an international relief and development NGO led by President Choi Changnam, announced that it will officially launch a support project for returning migrants in Zimbabwe as part of the "Reintegration Support Project for Returning Migrants and Local Communities," in cooperation with the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) and the International Organization for Migration (IOM).

This project will be carried out in a total of four regions in Zimbabwe: Goromonzi, Epworth, Buhera, and Mberengwa. The main focus is to provide essential support to migrants who have returned from South Africa to help them settle into their new communities.

Since 2009, Zimbabwean migrants have been living and working legally in South Africa under the Zimbabwe Exemption Permit (ZEP) issued by the South African government. However, due to the expiration of the ZEP in 2021 and increasing discrimination against foreigners, many Zimbabwean migrants are now being forced to return to their home country. To make matters worse, those who have returned are not recognized as Zimbabwean citizens due to nationality issues involving children or spouses born in South Africa. They are also facing threats to their livelihoods amid poor infrastructure and social isolation in their resettlement areas.

Hope Friends Kia Daechaek is conducting a reintegration support project for returning migrants in Zimbabwe in cooperation with KOICA and IOM.

In response, Kia Daechaek has launched a customized reintegration support project to help returning migrants become self-reliant in Zimbabwe. The organization has identified local needs and priority support areas through on-site monitoring, and is implementing small-scale infrastructure construction projects that encourage participation and solidarity between returning migrants and local residents.

Beneficiaries of the project participate directly in construction activities and, after completing the Vision Of Community (VOC) training program three times, receive livelihood support items. The support items are tailored to the local industrial base and climate, providing sustainable resources such as goats, maize seeds, and solar power facilities. Through this, an economic foundation is being established for the recovery and self-reliance of the local community.

Lee Jaeun, Head of Global Impact at Hope Friends Kia Daechaek, stated, "The goal of this project is to provide returning migrants with opportunities for healthy self-reliance and to support the integration and recovery of the local community. Kia Daechaek will continue to carry out activities aimed at restoring trust between migrants and existing residents, and will lay the groundwork for sustainable development and improved quality of life in the local community."

As part of this project, Kia Daechaek held a ceremony on June 25 in Goromonzi to celebrate the completion of a maternity waiting home, which was planned and built jointly by returning migrants and local residents.