Background

Since the start of the civil war in neighbouring Syria in 2011, Turkey has taken in more than 3.6 million Syrian refugees. This situation is putting growing pressure on public infrastructure and services. As a result, handling the relationship between displaced people and the host communities is becoming increasingly challenging. Against this background, the German Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) contributes to efforts to provide training and income opportunities for refugees and members of the host communities and supports peacebuilding and intercultural activities with the aim of strengthening social cohesion at local level. Since 2016, GIZ (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit) has been coordinating “cash-for-work activities” on displacement and migration in Turkey in a cluster to enable it to consolidate activities and utilize synergies among the projects.

Objectives

The Turkish government has declared that they intend to plant two trees for each felled tree. Minister of Transport, Maritime Affairs and Communications’ Ahmet Arslan’, said that the number of trees to be planted is 9 million for the area of both projects ‘Istanbul Airport Project and 3^rd Bridge Project’. The project focus on the main areas:

1. Eliminating the environmental damage occurred during the construction of the airport and bridge in Istanbul, by replanting trees. This is the duty of the participants in this measure.

2. Implementation of effective and immediate measures to provide livelihood opportunities for Syrian refugees and vulnerable Turkish citizens, while also supporting the host municipalities in providing services all citizens. 

Project Activities

• Project Management
• Awareness raising and focus group meetings
• Reforestation Activities: Planting approximately 4 Mio trees in the course of the project.
• Orientation Training: The orientation program included a proper introduction to the project (project partners, project goal, project duration, etc.), what’s expected and where they would fit in to the overall goals.
• Job Safety Training: Job Safety Training was provided to all beneficiaries working on the workplaces related to gardening and the usage of tools and PPE (personal protective equipment).
• Work Permit: Work permits were obtained for each Syria refugees.
• Temporary Employment: Beneficiaries were registered to the project and temporarily employed with a salary corresponding to the local minimum wage.  Work contract and social security number were provided to all beneficiaries into formal labor system. 
• Bank Account: A bank account was opened for each beneficiary to get his/her salary via bank.
• Medical Checkups: Medical checkups were performed for the newly employed all beneficiaries at the beginning of the project.
• Catering & Transportation Services: Catering and transportation services provided to the beneficiaries within the scope of the project.