UN Interagency Rehabilitation Programme (UNIRP)

By March 2013, 2,743 (90%) of the 3,040 VMLRs had contacted the programme’s toll free phone to learn about the rehabilitation options. Most of them (2,538) have gone on to receive career counselling and 2,477 of them have opted for one of the four available rehabilitation options:

• vocational skills training
• micro-enterprise development
• health-related training and education
• formal or non-formal education.

By March 2013, 1,786 participants had completed one of these options and 1,234 of them have been either self-employed or employed. 3% of participants who had enrolled for rehabilitation have dropped out before completion of the training.

Vocational skills training — By March 2013, of the total 441 participants enrolled for vocational skills training (VST), 413 participants have completed training with newly acquired skills while 28 dropped-out. They were initially provided with literacy and numeracy training to enable them to meet the entry criteria for embarking on their 4 to 11 month-long courses on their chosen subject. This was followed by on-the-job-training to apply their new skills in real work settings. Following graduation, the programme has helped them in the challenging task of finding work, monitors their progress and provides them career counselling and mentoring support. The Indian cooking, driver, and motorcycle service mechanic courses were popular options.

Micro-enterprise development— By March 2013, of the total 1,323 participants enrolled for Micro-enterprises development (ME), 1,288 completed their training and received start-up support for their new enterprises. The ME participants first received an 11-day business induction course to equip them with the basic skills to start and run a small business. Following this they took part in one to three month skill training courses on the enterprise type of their chose. After producing an approved business plan they received 30,000–40,000 rupees of in-kind benefits as start-up support. From then on they have access to business counselling, mentoring and monitoring support, refresher trainings and help with accessing credit to expand their businesses. The popular options for ME were tailoring, retail shop, and mobile phone repairing courses.

Education—By March 2013, of the total 406 participants enrolled for education, 358 participants are pursuing the education option and 28 have completed. Education is provided through government run schools. Education support includes admission fee, annual school fee, school dress, stationaries, and monthly stipend.

Health Training—By March 2013, of the total 61 participants enrolled for health training, 57 participants have graduated while three participants dropped-out. This option offers a 15 to 18 month course which includes institutional training and three month On-the-Job Training (OJT).

Employment—By March 2013, 70 % of 1,758 graduates from training (except education) had found employment or had established their own businesses. Towards getting even more participants into employment the programme is encouraging the business community and potential employers to employ programme participants — a challenging task given the background of the participants.

Other support

• The programme also supports participants with special needs. It provides childcare and nutritional support for women participants with young children and extra support to dischargees suffering from physical health and psychological problems.
• UNIRP provides psychosocial support to participants and their immediate families including referring them for specialised treatment and care.
• In association with UNICEF many dischargees have taken part in youth mentoring and peacebuilding events where they have learned how to build trust, deal with stress and return to civilian lives.A key part of these programmes is to engage with communities and gain their support for the rehabilitation process and the return of dischargees to civilian life.