St Andrew's Refugee Services (StARS)
Organization Details
StARS is a refugee-led local organization based in Cairo. StARS is unique in many ways, 90% of its workforce come from forcibly displaced communities, it has an open door policy, and serves people according to their needs, with no distinction for nationality, religion or immigration status. It has five service departments - Education (preschool, junior and senior school, adult education, livelihoods) , Psychosocial , Legal referral servicesrelated to UNHCR processes, Unaccompanied Children and Youth, and Community Outreach which works with refugee-led CBOs in Cairo.
Impact Story
StARS creates spaces in which and through which forcibly displaced people can access available assistance, develop new services for their community, and be supported in trying to build safe and stable lives in Cairo. StARS works closely and effectively with refugee communities to identify and address these educational challenges for individuals and more broadly. The largest number of refugees come from: Sudan, Eritrea, Ethiopia, South Sudan, Syria, and Somalia.
StARS cross-cutting services ensure that each client benefits from multiple interventions enabling StARS to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of the interventions and ensure that the cost per client remains low. All activities are implemented locally and using local (and wherever possible refugee) vendors, either in StARS locations, community-based organizations or in the local refugee community.
In 2016 StARS set up its Community Outreach Department. COD has worked with over 30 Refugee Led Community Based Organisations (RLOs) to assist them in the development of their own services and systems, at the same time advocating with funders for direct funding to RLOS, and with decision makers such as UNHCR for RLOs to have a place at the table. StARS is a founding member of (RRLI. https://www.refugeeslead.org/)
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