Livelihood Transition of the ESSN | Capacity Mapping and Understanding the Potential

The Emergency Social Safety Net (ESSN) programme is reaching more than 1.7 million refugees with monthly cash assistance to help them cover their basic needs and providing them with freedom of choice while promoting dignity. On the other hand, the project aims to increase affected people’s economic and social resilience and self-sufficiency by reducing their dependency on cash assistance in the forthcoming period. In this regard, livelihood opportunities are the key aspect of sustaining their living conditions.
This study conducted by Turkish Red Crescent (Türk Kızılay) Kızılaykart Cash-Based Assistance Programmes aims to provide an overview of ESSN beneficiaries’ status in line with the principles of sustainable livelihoods. The sample used in the study is designed according to beneficiary density and the respective industrial and agricultural capacity of the provinces to enable better understanding of the skill sets, education level, and Turkish language proficiency of the ESSN beneficiaries. Data collection of this study was carried out by Kızılaykart’s M&E operators via remote surveys and a total sample size of 4804 eligible people who are between the ages of 18 and 55 years old in 13 provinces were surveyed. Based on the findings, it has been recommended that while designing any livelihood programmes, regional and provincial differences regarding socio-economic and socio-cultural dynamics need to be taken into consideration.