With support from the United States Agency for International Development’s (USAID) Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance (BHA), the International Organization for Migration (IOM) has concluded the implementation of the fourth and final phase of the project titled “Optimizing the engagement of diaspora for alternative approaches to safer shelters and settlements in disaster preparedness, response and risk reduction” (hereafter, the Safer Shelters project). The overall objective of the Safer Shelters project was to increase affected communities’ access to safer shelters knowledge and solutions, with a disaster risk reduction (DRR) approach, by optimizing diasporas’ specific contributions. To do so, IOM Washington’s Diaspora Engagement Unit (DEU) partnered with select U.S.-based diaspora organizations, alongside academic institutions, private sector entities and other local actors.

While the role of diaspora in humanitarian assistance is gaining recognition, particularly in the shelters and settlements sector, this report analyses the ways in which diaspora contribute to the sector and the impact of dedicated diaspora engagement initiatives.

More specifically, the project aimed to:

• Increase knowledge and access to safer shelters by enabling channels of communication between diaspora organizations and other humanitarian actors (incl. streamlining awareness raising and capacity building initiatives).
• Establish multi-stakeholder partnership models that leverage diasporas’ social and financial contributions to better support shelter-related interventions.

This compendium highlights key examples where diaspora members have directly engaged in DRR interventions, under the Safer Shelters project. It includes activities implemented in partnership between IOM and U.S.-based diaspora organizations to support communities in the Philippines, Bangladesh, and Haiti.