afrol News, 15 May - The first badges of 15 undocumented migrants stranded in Morocco have been provided return and integration support from the International Organisation of Migration (IOM).

The migrants from Cameroon, Congo and Senegal solicited support from IOM after having spent years in Morocco without adequate resources.

Upon arrival in their respective countries, the migrants will benefit from IOM's assistance to set up income-generating projects with grants up to US$ 600 made available through a new pilot project funded by Switzerland and carried out in cooperation with the Moroccan government and countries of origin.

This pilot project aims to assist an initial group of 150 undocumented migrants from sub-Saharan Africa.

A Cameroonian who was among the beneficiaries of the new project, Justin, told IOM he had been in Morocco since 2004, doing odd jobs and begging to survive.

"My life makes no sense. My only wish is to return home to work in my family's small shoe business,” he said, adding that the reintegration grant will help his family invest in much-needed equipment.

More than 660 undocumented migrants from sub-Saharan Africa have benefited from IOM's voluntary return program, which is funded by the United Kingdom, Spain, Germany and the Netherlands.

"More than 100 undocumented migrants currently living in extreme poverty have already asked us to help them return home," says Stéphane Rostiaux, IOM's Chief of Mission in Morocco. "This new funding will allow us to provide much needed reintegration assistance to failed migrants to ensure their sustainable return."

By staff writer

© afrol News

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