A running spring or a dry river

Mercy Corps adopts a people-centric approach to its cash programming. We are intentional about sharing and ceding power to crisis-affected populations on the way we design, implement and monitor our cash programs. In Lebanon, Mercy Corps conducted a consultation loop with crisis-affected communities regarding the outreach and registration channels, selection criteria and financial service provider for our multi-purpose cash program. The result was a people-centric program that reflected the expressed community preferences.

The user journeys of Lebanese families receiving cash assistance provide the first-hand experiences of program participants through Mercy Corps systems. Through the lens of four different personas (Mohammad, Rana, Hussein and Abbas), the user journeys take stock of Mercy Corps accountability systems and shed light on areas for improvement. They also reveal important insights to inform social assistance policies in Lebanon.