What is Livelihood Support?
A livelihood is defined as the activities that “allow people to acquire and access the capabilities, knowledge, goods, and assets necessary to live in safety and with dignity”, according to the U.S. Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration (PRM). A sustainable livelihood is one which is stable enough to withstand challenges and sudden changes in circumstance.
In simplest terms, one’s livelihood is the honest work and efforts made toward sustaining themselves and those those in their care.
For refugees, the chronically impoverished, and those suddenly stricken with disaster, their losses don’t just affect their immediate food, shelter and health needs - the way they earn money to sustain themselves also comes to an end. Without the means to move forward, they become reliant on the generosity of others and the charitable work done by non-profits, neither of which can be truly permanent solutions.
This is where livelihood support comes in, helping disadvantaged individuals and communities become self-reliant through providing opportunities like skills training, livestock distribution, job placement, entrepreneurship mentoring and more. Through these means, poverty can become a distant reality and their newfound trajectories also translate to strengthening local communities with new economic activity. In total, livelihood support is just one of many means for charity to go further than immediate aid and make societal changes that truly ripple across borders.
