New Mastercard Foundation and UNHCR project launched in Goré to support displaced people and host communities

A new project supported by the Mastercard Foundation and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) was officially launched on 16 October 2026 in Goré, southern Chad. The initiative, inaugurated by Colonel Rokoula Rodolphe, prefect of the Nya Pendé department, aims to strengthen education, economic inclusion, and community leadership among forcibly displaced people and host communities in the region.

The project is part of a broader effort to find durable solutions for refugees and to support host communities. It seeks to improve access to quality education for young refugees and local residents, with a particular focus on secondary, higher, technical, and vocational education. The initiative also aims to empower organizations led by refugees, women, and community members to promote sustainable, locally driven change.

A key component of the project is the systematic inclusion of secure legal identity documentation, which is intended to facilitate access to services and support economic and social inclusion. Environmental measures are also planned, with specific actions to promote sustainable management of natural resources in the area.

Over a five-year period, the project is expected to reach approximately 205,000 people in Chad and support 150 associations led by refugees and host community members. The main target groups are youth, women, and people living with disabilities. According to Laura Liliana, head of UNHCR's office in Goré, the project is also intended to promote locally driven, sustainable change.

Colonel Rodolphe said the initiative had come at a crucial time for Central Africans living in Goré for more than two decades. According to Colonel Rodolphe, over 100,000 refugees currently share land, schools, health centers, and markets with local Chadian populations. He noted that many refugees are now entering a decisive phase of voluntary repatriation to their home country.

The beneficiaries of interventions in higher education, livelihoods, and economic inclusion are mainly young refugees, at least 70% of them women and 5% people living with disabilities.