Arba Minch University (AMU) School of Law and Centre for Development and Emergency Practices (CENDEP) Oxford Brookes University, UK, won fund of €137,407.00 for a project entitled "From Crisis to Care: Providing Shelter and Support for Most Vulnerable Returnees at Gelabo Kebele in Konso Zone, South Ethiopia Region". The grant is funded by Gerda Henkel Foundation, Germany, under Accompanying Social Measures Program and it will be used to construct shelters to vulnerable groups within returnees. Click here to see more photos.
Sam Ponniah (PhD), Associate professor of Human Rights Law at AMU and PI of the grant project, said, Ethiopia experiences one of the most complex human mobility challenges globally driven by social, economic, political, and environmental factors. In 2018 and 2019, millions of people moved within the country mainly due to conflicts, and in 2024, such crisis risks remained high. To address the issues, the Ethiopian government initiated a plan to return or relocate internally displaced persons (IDPs) to their original areas or designated locations, Dr. Sam noted
IDPs face multidimensional risks including exposure to communicable diseases, malnutrition, and violence, he said. According to Dr. Sam vulnerable groups within returnees such as people with disabilities, the elderly, children, and female-headed households are particularly affected. These groups struggle to access local livelihood opportunities due to limited labor capacity and social barriers to income-generating activities leaving them dependent on external support; the proposed project will adopt innovative approaches to building shelters to ensure sustainability, cost-effectiveness, and full ownership by local communities, he explained. Extensive community engagement and accountability measures will be central to the project involving communities in the planning, implementation, and delivery phases of this shelter initiative and it is planned to support 100 house-hold families, he further elaborated. We plan to give shelter support to returnees from Gelabo Kebele, Karat Zuria Woreda and Konso Zone as these displaced populations are able to safely return to their original plot of housing, he underscored.
A Team from AMU, Konso Zone Administrative office, Zonal Disaster Risk Management (DRM) office and Zonal Agricultural department are all together visited the construction site at Gelabo Kebele, Karat Zuria Woreda, Konso Zone.
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