Abstract:
This descriptive paper is based on a desk review to unpack the opportunities and challenges that
migrants face in constructing and maintaining meaningful lives in their transition and destination
countries. The paper explores factors that affect inclusion and draws insights on the general and
targeted support for migrants in their new environment. The findings show that migrants face
challenges of being perceived deficient by most stakeholders in migration. Most strategies for
inclusion do not factor migrants’ involvement and are often designed from the lens of the hostgovernments and the organizations working with migrants. There is more focus on migrants’
experience in the destination countries than their experience during transition. It also emerged that
migrants’ individual characteristics interact with factors in their new environment to affect
inclusion. To achieve sustainable futures, the paper recommends interventions that focus on
engagement of migrants as resourceful persons in development and enhance their opportunities for
inclusion during transition and in the destination countries
