eThekwini (Durban), South Africa: Karibu Community Care Center

In 2022, the City of eThekwini, South Africa was selected as a grantee of the Global Cities Fund for Migrants and Refugees (GCF), the MMC’s instrument to channel international funding directly to cities to implement inclusive projects of their own design. 

With support from the GCF, the City of eThekwini built a care center and online care portal to connect migrants to social services and economic opportunities, while improving disaster preparedness and response.

The city of eThekwini is a top destination for climate migrants from South Africa and neighboring countries. Many of these migrants and internally displaced people (IDPs) remain undocumented and face barriers to accessing employment and essential services, such as housing, healthcare, and education. Migrants in eThekwini are often unhoused or live in informal settlements, where they are disproportionately vulnerable to climate disasters and far from public services.     

The City of eThekwini used its GCF grant to promote social inclusion for migrants, connect them to essential services and employment opportunities, and improve their climate resilience.  

Through its project, eThekwini established an online care portal to link migrants and refugees to disaster risk reduction and response mechanisms, including healthcare, employment opportunities, and other critical legal and social services. The portal includes a registry to help the city better understand the demographics of unhoused migrants in eThekwini, warn them of upcoming climate events, and account for their well-being post-disaster. 

To facilitate access to these services, eThekwini constructed the Karibu Community Care Center. The center offers migrants a comprehensive suite of socioeconomic services, including legal assistance, psychosocial care, housing and documentation support, post-disaster relief, broadband access, hygiene facilities, and a food bank. The center also helps migrants access sustainable employment through job opportunities at its permaculture garden, integrated waste management facility, and kitchen space. 

The Karibu Community Care Center and Portal work hand-in-hand to promote migrants’ socioeconomic inclusion and well-being while also strengthening climate resilience, disaster-response readiness, and food security. 

Once completed, the Karibu Community Care Center and the CARE Portal will connect 500 migrants, refugees, and IDPs to essential social services while enhancing the city’s disaster preparedness and recovery capacity. 

While the construction of the Center and Portal are still underway, the city and its local implementing partner City People eThekwini have already started delivering services to clients. The project team conducted a skills audit of 767 migrants, refugees, and IDPs living in eThekwini, referring them to municipal employment and social services to improve their access to livelihoods and quality of life. Once fully operational, the Center will offer in-person advisory services that connect clients with sustainable economic opportunities. 

The city also partnered with AfriGrow to establish a permaculture garden and conduct food security trainings at the Karibu Community Care Center. Fresh produce is already being grown and harvested at the garden, and future plans include hosting weekly trainings on sustainable and nutritious growing techniques. To further promote food security, eThekwini’s project has also delivered 1,000 meals from a local food bank to migrants living in homeless shelters. 

The City of eThekwini intends for the project to offer educational opportunities for local residents and government officials to better understand and serve migrants, refugees and IDPs.