Project

Urban economics and livelihoods of internally displaced persons

This project aims to highlight the phenomenon of forced urban migration in Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). DRC is a conflict area with ongoing violence in the Eastern part and a flux of displacement of people from places of violence to safe areas in cities. There is an important response by the international community through humanitarian agencies which are involved in assisting Internally Displaced Person (IDPs) in different ways.

My research will focus on the ways in which IDPs shape their livelihood with special attention to the role of host families. Despite the humanitarian services on offer, most families prefer to stay with a host family and we will explore how this family and other members of social networks facilitate the livelihoods of these migrants. The research will take place in Bukavu, Goma and Mbandaka, and will partly build on the livelihood framework of DFID.

Supervisors: Dorothea Hilhorst, Dirk Jan Koch, Carolien Jacobs