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Description
The "United Forces for Community Development" project of "Open Society" Club - Ruse aims to build a partnership between NGOs, institutions and media to support refugees from Ukraine and other vulnerable groups at regional level.One of the corridors through which refugees enter is located on the territory of the Ruse region, namely the Danube Bridge Checkpoint and the Central Railway Station. Now, only the Bulgarian Red Cross provides assistance to the refugees. There are still no informational materials to direct those in need; they rely on the border authorities, who only know the Bulgarian regulations.
The project helps to reduce the negative effects of the war in Ukraine by enabling NGOs and organizations in the Ruse region to support refugees in all ways: information and services.
The project makes it possible to create an up-to-date register of NGOs working in the region and the capacity they have. In addition to serving refugees, this register would be useful for creating partnerships between the NGOs themselves, between them and the institutions, and all this in the service of the most vulnerable groups in the community. The planned Ukrainian language electronic platform will give more refugees a chance to find the service they need when entering Bulgaria if necessary. For this purpose, information materials will be distributed at the Danube Bridge border crossing and at the Central Railway Station - Ruse.
The project provides an opportunity to build capacity and partnerships for the formation of sustainable policies in the changing European context. The creation of a register of NGOs and their capacity to participate in crises is a factor that will help the future development of the community. The planned eight information meetings for dissemination the results would serve to create partnerships between NGOs and institutions for future local development and on other topics, outside of the crisis in Ukraine.
Summary of project results
The main objective of the project was to build a partnership between NGOs, institutions, and media to support the most vulnerable groups, in this case in relation to the refugees arriving from Ukraine. The established NGO Service Register in Bulgarian and Ukrainian enables NGOs at the regional level to support refugees with information and services in view of their needs and problems.
The project offers an opportunity to build partnerships between NGOs and institutions by providing up-to-date information on the capacity and services of 29 NGOs in the region. The registry provides valuable information on the organizations included in it as potential partners of the relevant institutions to quickly and effectively manage emerging crises. It includes a detailed description of each organisation, its activities, resources available and willingness to engage in initiatives to assist vulnerable groups. The register is available online. The information was promoted at a wide information campaign with meetings and leaflets.
The project gathered up-to-date information on 29 NGOs operating in the region working with vulnerable groups, including refugees from Ukraine. The information was presented at meetings with 100 participants in the 8 municipalities of Ruse region. 1000 leaflets with information about the register and the project were distributed, half of which were distributed by the Border Police at the Danube Bridge Border Checkpoint and the Central Railway Station in Ruse, where the refugees from Ukraine arrive. The project has an innovative element and enables capacity building and partnerships for sustainable policy making in the changing European context. The creation of a register of NGOs and their capacity to participate in emerging crises is a factor that will help future community development. The created online platform will be maintained by the Open Society Club - Ruse after the end of the project and will enable stakeholders to access information on current services offered by NGOs. The information meetings would serve to create partnerships between NGOs and institutions for future local development on other topics beyond the crisis in Ukraine. Local authorities were satisfied with the information they received about the expertise of NGOs in the region. An idea discussed at most of the meetings to create a fund for project initiatives on a municipal level has started to be developed by the Club and funding will be sought.