Going Home, Making a Life after Conflict; Return and Reintegration of IDPs and Returnees in Bomi, Grand Cape Mount and Gbarpolu Counties, Liberia

The Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) has carried out a project of Return and Reintegration of internally displaced persons (IDPs) and returnees in Bomi, Grand Cape Mount and Gbarpolu Counties, Liberia, since October 2004. The return phase ended in April 2006, by which time 314,000 IDPs had returned. The project is community based, involving the target population and local authorities in decision making in relation to implementation of project activities. It aims to build local capacity and thus sustainability.
ETC-UK was commissioned to conduct an evaluation of the Return and Reintegration project. Project activities evaluated involve protection, specifically of vulnerable people including female-headed households, children, the elderly and disabled. Project areas include: shelter for vulnerable people, water and sanitation, distribution of seeds and tools, supervision of transit camps for returning refugees, and school construction.

The evaluation also examines synergies between the Returnee Monitoring Project and the Return and Reintegration Project. The evaluation is a mid-term assessment of effectiveness, relevance, appropriateness and impact; it advises in improvements to present activities and lessons for future NRC interventions.