Programme History and Development

Since its formation in 1964, TCRS has worked to enable, facilitate, and provide humanitarian aid to those whose livelihoods are threatened by the effects of natural and man-made disasters, namely the marginalized and vulnerable poor. It has paid special regard to internally displaced persons (IDPs) and refugees, joining with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the World Food Program (WFP) as an implementing partner to serve these populations. In addition to refugees, TCRS has also joined with disadvantaged communities to empower and care for vulnerable community members.

In recent years, TCRS has begun to shift its emphasis from service provision to development facilitator. Though TCRS has always worked to care for both refugees and native Tanzanians, in its formative years the majority of TCRS's time and resources was directed toward providing basic services to refugee populations in western Tanzania. As the political situations in neighboring Great Lakes countries stabilize, peace is becoming a reality in the home countries of many of the refugees TCRS serves. Thousands of these refugees have consequently opted to repatriate, and TCRS has taken this reduction in refugee presence as an opportunity to redirect and refocus its organizational strategy and goals. The current TCRS Country Strategy (CSO) continues the fundamental ideological shift initiated in the 2004-2008 CSO, reflecting this gradual transition from its traditional emphasis on service provision to an emphasis on community empowerment.

The ideology of community empowerment has become concretely manifest in the Community Empowerment Programmes (CEPs). In these programmes, TCRS uses the community empowerment approach to build the capacity and competence of both individuals and groups, so that they might work as communities to achieve results for themselves. By equipping people and local groups with the knowledge, skills, and attitudes that broaden their options, their confidence grows as they begin to understand that they are capable of taking charge of their own destinies.

Other programs built upon the ideology of community empowerment exist in direct relation to refugee camps and host communities. TCRS works to facilitate the empowerment of those affected by disasters to rebuild their livelihoods and live dignified lives as active members of their communities, cognizant of their rights and holding duty bearers accountable. Additionally, TCRS implements the Refugee Host Area Programme (RHAP) which is a peace building initiative designed to improve the relationship between refugees and host communities in the Kibondo District. Through this strategy, TCRS aims to instigate development initiatives in refugee host areas to ensure that host communities are not negatively impacted by the presence of refugees. This program also seeks to foster peace and understanding between the refugees and host communities.

Overall Programme Goal

In formulating its 2008-2013 Country Strategy, TCRS identified "reducing human suffering and poverty by empowering vulnerable, marginalized, and displaced communities in Tanzania to achieve self-reliance and sustainable development" as its overall programme goal. TCRS's approach to accomplishing this goal focuses on several key areas and relies on a combination strategic approaches:

Programme Focus Areas

• Empowering vulnerable, marginalized, and displaced communities to achieve economic self-reliance, effectively participate in national governance processes, and enjoy fundamental human rights.
• Equipping TCRS with the capacity to effectively and efficiently respond to the challenges of the changing environment while fulfilling its mission.
• Providing extremely vulnerable groups with sufficient humanitarian assistance to access basic services.
• Encouraging communities to develop resilient and appropriate coping mechanisms with regard to responding to climate change and disaster situations.

Strategic Approaches

• The Empowerment Approach builds people's capacity and competence - both as individuals and as participating members of groups and communities - to achieve results for themselves. By equipping people and local groups with knowledge, skills and attitudes that broaden their options, their confidence can be built up and they can be empowered to take control of their lives. By this it is expected that people must be actively involved in all aspects of their development, from assessment and planning to implementation, monitoring, and evaluation.
• The Facilitation Approach allows TCRS to bring about the empowerment of those affected by disasters to rebuild their livelihoods and live dignified lives as active members of their communities, aware of their rights and holding duty bearers accountable.
• The Integrated Approach guarantees that issues such as the environmental, HIV/AIDS, gender, and the like are not addressed separately but are considered as integral parts of all lines of action taken in any given sector. As a result, many development initiatives can result in positive impacts on multiple aspects of community life.
• The Rights Based Approach (RBA) involves a conscious and continual reference to human rights standards and objectives which then ensures that the root causes of poverty and exclusion receive proper attention in the formulation and implementation of development programs. This also guards against narrow technical objectives becoming the reference point for development activities and reduces the risk that the poor are seen or treated merely as needy objects of charity.